CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings have taken similar paths toward the top, hitting big in the draft and making shrewd moves after rough stretches. DaShawn Hand Jersey . They find themselves trying to knock each other out in the Western Conference finals for the second straight year. The Blackhawks prevailed last year on their way to the Stanley Cup, and they have the early lead this time after taking the opener, 3-1. They will try to go up 2-0 when the best-of-seven series resumes Wednesday night in Chicago. "We felt this year were in the toughest division and conference," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We just played two real competitive series (against St. Louis and Minnesota). Every game is tight. I think finding a way to win is what its all about in todays game. Our guys are really diligent of doing the little things particularly that some nights give you an edge." Yes, the Blackhawks keep finding ways. Its why theyre eyeing their third championship in five years and are trying to become the first team to repeat since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. In an era with a hard salary cap where players want raises, thats simply not supposed to happen. Parity is the rule, yet the Blackhawks keep rising toward the top. The same goes for the Kings. Theyre enjoying their most successful era with three straight trips to the conference finals and a Stanley Cup two years ago after following a similar path to the Blackhawks. The Kings missed the playoffs from 2003 to 2009 and lost in the first round in 2010 and 2011 before winning their first championship in 2012. Like the Blackhawks did with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, they hit in the draft with Anze Kopitar. They also collected a strong cast to support their core and filled in the gaps with key trades, like the one that landed Marian Gaborik from Columbus in March. "You have to be able to adjust to the game, adjust to the rules, adjust to the style," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "I think thats a big reason why were both in the conference finals again. Whether we can adjust enough to beat the Stanley Cup champions, I dont know." The Blackhawks missed the playoffs from 2003 to 2008 and landed at rock bottom, with dwindling attendance and an alienated fan base unable to watch home games on TV because then-owner Bill Wirtz believed it would be unfair to season ticketholders. They finally emerged with a run to the conference finals in 2009, losing to Detroit. A year later, they beat Philadelphia to end a 49-year championship drought, only to have to part ways with a huge chunk of their team because of cap issues. So they reloaded. "I think management did excellent job with the team," Chicagos Marian Hossa said. "We got a great coaching staff. I think the whole organization, its top class. ... (Los Angeles) is a great organization also. They did an excellent job the last few years. They did it three times in a row. Its just amazing these two teams battling for the West again." The Kings had a few adjustments to make after losing 3-1 in Game 1. Their top line of Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Gaborik got shut down by Toews line, managing just six shots without scoring. Los Angeles will need more from a trio with 16 goals and 24 assists in the playoffs. Even when the Kings had their chances, Corey Crawford stopped most of them. He made 25 saves with several neat stops, turning back Kyle Clifford on a 2-on-1 rush and stopping Gaborik and Brown in rapid succession. So its the Blackhawks with the early lead in the series and the Kings trying to pick themselves up -- again. They did it after dropping the first three games to San Jose in the first round and then rallied from 3-2 down to knock out Anaheim in the conference semifinals. "San Jose and Anaheim had arguably the top two, three, four best home records this year. We went into those tough buildings and won," Jarrett Stoll said. "Chicago is no different. A tough building. Were going to have to figure out a way to win Game 2 and move on." AShawn Robinson Jersey . - Zac Leslie scored two goals and assisted on two more, and Justin Nichols made 34 saves as the Guelph Storm blanked the Kitchener Rangers 6-0 in Ontario Hockey League action on Sunday. Michael Roberts Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Wild getting Matt Moulson from Buffalo. The Wild Get: LW Matt Moulson and LW Cody McCormick. http://www.lionsfansshop.com/Lions-Darius-Slay-Draft-Jersey/ . Al Harrington, another former Knicks forward, scored 22 of his 24 points after halftime for the Nuggets, allowing them to withstand Anthonys attempt to rally the Knicks after his poor shooting had them behind until the final minutes of regulation. Anthony finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, missing 20 of 30 shots in the Knicks sixth straight loss.Michael van Gerwen got the defence of his Austrian Darts Open title off to a perfect start with a thumping second round victory over Jonny Clayton in Vienna on Saturday. After Fridays first round, Saturday saw the second round take place over two sessions with Van Gerwen joined by Phil Taylor, Dave Chisnall and Peter Wright in action and all three were comfortable winners. Second Round Results Alan Norris 6-1 Rowby-John Rodriguez Stephen Bunting 6-3 James Richardson Terry Jenkins 6-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh Nigel Heydon 6-5 Robert Thornton Ian White 6-4 Simon Stevenson Ron Meulenkamp 6-3 Simon Whitlock Steve Beaton 6-3 Gerwyn Price Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Chris Dobey Dave Chisnall 6-2 Jamie Caven Jelle Klaasen 6-0 Zoran Lerchbacher Peter Wright 6-1 Jermaine Wattimena Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Jonny Clayton Phil Taylor 6-1 Steve West Kyle Anderson 6-5 Mensur Suljovic Benito van de Pas 6-1 Josh Payne Michael Smith 6-5 Mark Frost Van Gerwen posted a tournament-high 109.98 average, landing four maximums in his legs to whitewash Clayton, signalling his intent with six perfect darts on his way to a ten-darter for the opening leg and a break of throw. From then on he continued his domination and fired another 11-darter in the fifth leg before completing his victory, notching six doubles from nine attempts in the process.It was, though, a disappointing day for the Austrian contingent on home soil, with all three competitors crashing out of the £115,000 PDC European Tour event. Rowby-John Rodriguez and fellow Austrians Mensur Suljovic and Zoran Lerchbacher In the days opening game, 2016 World Championship quarter-finalist Alan Norris sent former World Youth Championship finalist Rowbby-John Rodriguez packing with a dominant 6-1 victory. Luke Willson Jersey. Host nation qualifier Zoran Lerchbacher was the next to fall, crushed by the impressive Jelle Klaasen and there was more Austrian disappointment to follow as number nine seed Mensur Suljovic was edged out 6-5 by Australias Kyle Anderson. Sundays Third Round Matches Michael van Gerwen v Steve Beaton Jelle Klaasen v Kyle Anderson Kim Huybrechts v Phil Taylor Dave Chisnall v Stephen Bunting Peter Wright v Alan Norris Benito van de Pas v Terry Jenkins Ian White v Nigel Heydon Michael Smith v Ron Meulenkamp Phil Taylor marked a happy return to European Tour action with an impressive 6-1 victory over Steve West.Dave Chisnall, who has made six European Tour finals in his career including the last two events, kicked off his campaign with a 6-2 victory over former Austrian Darts Open runner-up Jamie Caven.Equally impressive was Peter Wright as the number two seed blew away Jermaine Wattimena 6-2, in a battle of the emerging stars Benito van de Pas thumped Josh Payne 6-1, while third seed Michael Smith was pushed all the way before edging out Mark Frost 6-5.Earlier in the day, seeded players were scattered as Robert Thornton, Simon Whitlock and Gerwyn Price all exited the competition. Sundays Quarter-Final Draw Van Gerwen/Beaton v Klaasen/Anderson Hubrechts/Taylor v Chisnall/Bunting Wright/Norris v Van de Pas/Jenkins White/Heydon v Smith/Meulenkamp Thornton missed tops for the match as Nigel Heydon recovered from 5-3 down to win 6-5 and land a tournament high 164 checkout along the way.Whitlock was dumped out 6-3 as Ron Meulenkamps impressive run continued, the Dutch left-hander reaching the last 16 of a European Tour event for the first time.And in a remarkable moment, Price - who was leading Steve Beaton 3-2 at the time - burst a 173 score by hitting a 177 and never recovered, allowing the 52-year-old to clinch four consecutive legs to claim a 6-3 victory.Belgiums Kim Huybrechts carried on his impressive form from the Betway World Cup of Darts with a 6-1 destruction of youngster Chris Dobey.Elsewhere, Stephen Bunting thwarted James Richardson 6-3, Terry Jenkins fired a ten-darter on his way to a 6-4 victory over Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh and Ian White beat Simon Stevenson by the same scoreline to bring an end to the Plymouth qualifiers European Tour debut.The £115,000 PDC European Tour event concludes on Sunday, with the third round games taking place in the afternoon before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in the evening. 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