Drew Doughty on Game 6 vs. Blackhawks: 'We know we can't let it go to Game 7'

The Los Angeles Kings are approaching Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against the Chicago Blackhawks like it's a do-or-die contest. Though the Kings - who still hold a three-games-to-two lead in the series - have some margin for error, they're well aware that you can't let a dangerous, experienced team like the Blackhawks off the mat.

"We know we can't let it go to Game 7," Doughty told Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times. "They're a good team in their home arena. They feed off their fans. It's a tough arena to play in. So we need to win [Friday]."

Continued Doughty: "No matter what, this game has to be ours. It's so important for us to advance to the Stanley Cup Final that we win this game. If we give them this game they're going to have so much more life and they're going to be a different team."

The Blackhawks have been all but impossible to eliminate in recent years, and made some adjustments to their lineup that appeared to give the Kings trouble in Game 5. In particular, Chicago's new-look second line of Andrew Shaw, Brandon Saad, and Patrick Kane did serious damage in Wednesday night's Game 5, flipping the script after the Kings had been enormously successful shutting Kane down in the series.

"We just still need to play harder on their top guys," Doughty explained. "If we're giving Kane space out there to make plays and do his thing it's going to make us hurt, and he did [on Wednesday]. We know what we've got to do better — be better against those top guys and take them out of the game."

The Chicago Tribune also asked Doughty to comment on Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford's water-bottle incident, when the Blackhawks netminder allegedly sprayed a Kings fan during Game 4. The outspoken Kings defender had pretty much the best possible response: "Whoop-de-do."