LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr said he is available, but it doesn't appear that he will skate against the New York Rangers on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

Regehr said he has been cleared in his recovery from a knee injury that has kept him out since May 3, when he was injured in the first period of Game 1 of the second round against the Anaheim Ducks.

However, coach Darryl Sutter said of Regehr, "He's getting closer. [But] I probably wouldn't play him [in Game 1]."

LOS ANGELES -- As New York Rangers center Brian Boyle waited to take his turn on the podium for Stanley Cup Final media day Tuesday, former teammate Sean O'Donnell walked over, shook his hand and leaned in for a quick hug.

Boyle played all of 36 games for the Los Angeles Kings five years ago, but he still retains friends from the brief period that put him on the path to the NHL. Boyle, picked 26th in the 2003 NHL Draft by the Kings, will face his former team in the Final starting Wednesday at Staples Center (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

Boyle came up in the Kings' organization after a four-year career at Boston College. He played first for coach Marc Crawford and then for Terry Murray during the period when Murray was developing the Kings' younger players into what would become, under Darryl Sutter, a Cup-winning team in 2012.

LOS ANGELES -- It's been one month since the Los Angeles Kings made NHL history.

Friday marked 30 days since the Kings became the fourth team to erase a 3-0 series deficit and win a best-of-7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Kings were calm and collected that day before they eliminated the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference First Round. Los Angeles then erased a 3-2 series deficit against the Anaheim Ducks in the second round and won another Game 7.

Such efforts would leave a lot of teams drained, but Friday morning was business as usual as the Kings prepared for another attempt to close out the defending Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at Staples Center (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter isn't always chatty after games, but give it some time and he'll bluntly voice his assessment. That was the case Thursday, when on an off day he stated what happened the night before in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final.

The Chicago Blackhawks made a strategic move putting together a line of Brandon Saad, Andrew Shaw and Patrick Kane, and it exploited the Kings for a goal, eight assists and a combined plus-10 rating in a 5-4, double-overtime win Wednesday.

It's unusual for the dynamic of a Stanley Cup Playoff series to change late, but that move largely kept Chicago's season alive and forced Game 6 on Friday at Staples Center (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

Los Angeles leads the best-of-7 series 3-2.

Sutter, who didn't talk about Chicago's changes after Game 5, acknowledged Thursday "the adjustment was we couldn't keep up with Saad." Asked about having the answer to counter the line, Sutter said, "The guys that played against them last night were not on top of their game, and that's the answer."

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Kings needed 20 games to win the Stanley Cup in 2012. Game 6 of the 2014 Western Conference Final against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday will be the Kings' 20th game of this postseason (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

Leading the best-of-7 series 3-2, the Kings don't want to play any more games than necessary. They played on the road in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round against the San Jose Sharks and visited the Anaheim Ducks for Game 7 of their Western Conference Second Round series.

"We need to win tomorrow. No matter what, this game has to be ours," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said Thursday. "It's so important for us to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. If we give them this game, they're going to have so much more life and they're going to be a different team, and we need to take that energy away from them."

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr reported some progress Monday from his knee injury but didn't have a timetable for his return.

Regehr came out late to skate on the morning of Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Monday at Staples Center (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, RDS), the second straight day he has taken the ice. But he isn't doing drills and appears a ways off from being available.

"I can't put a timeline on it because it just depends if things keep going along well, then we can kind of gauge that," Regehr said. "But if, all of a sudden, there's a day or two, if something happens, I take a step backward, then that date will then change. I really don't know. I've been making steps forward this whole time, so far, I'm really hoping to avoid any sort of regression."

LOS ANGELES -- Darryl Sutter's press conferences are known for awkward silences and long pauses. The Los Angeles Kings coach isn't chatty on a lot of days, but he perked up Monday morning when asked about limiting Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane.

Kane has been held scoreless in the first three games of the Western Conference Final, which the Kings lead 2-1 going into Game 4 at Staples Center on Monday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN). Kane was a combined minus-4 in Games 2 and 3, but Sutter and the Kings don't need to be reminded that he is a sleeping bear they expect to wake.

"Kane's a scary guy," Sutter said. "We talk about it all the time. The more you play him, the more you know it's coming somewhere. We're very familiar with him and we're very respectful of what he brings to the team. You can say he's been kept off [the score sheet]. But we've done a good job against him. He's had some brilliant opportunities, and those guys like that, they only need those one or two, so we have to be even more aware of him."

LOS ANGELES – During their run to the 2013 Western Conference Final, the Los Angeles Kings were able to find refuge at Staples Center. They won their first eight games at home during those Stanley Cup Playoffs, including elimination games against the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks.

This season has been different, however, for a team that has won eight playoff series in the past three seasons. The Kings are 3-3 at Staples Center in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a mediocre home record they will try to improve when the Conference Final against the Chicago Blackhawks shifts to Los Angeles with Game 3 on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

The best-of-7 series is tied 1-1.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr has a knee injury, coach Darryl Sutter said Thursday.

Sutter revealed the injury on the first off day after Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against the Chicago Blackhawks; tt was previously undisclosed. Regehr has been out since May 3, when he was hit by Anaheim Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne against the end boards in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round.

Asked if Regehr was cleared to skate, Sutter said, "Robyn's not skating. When Robyn's ready to skate, he'll skate. It's a knee injury, and obviously he'll make that decision. If he could play on one leg, he would. He showed it last year in the playoffs … if there's a way to skate, he'd be playing."

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Fewer than 40 hours will have elapsed from when the Los Angeles Kings eliminated the Anaheim Ducks in Game 7 to the puck drop against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final.

That didn't stop the Kings from conducting a morning skate at their practice facility Saturday, using whatever adrenaline was left over from their second-round series win Friday night before they boarded a plane for Chicago. Game 1 is Sunday at United Center (3 p.m. ET; NBC, TSN, RDS).

"I think you just have to reset quickly," Kings center Jarret Stoll said. "You have no other choice, no other option. We're excited. We got a little extra added energy [Friday] night after that win. The boys were coming in this morning, and the tunes were going and it was a happy room in here. We're looking forward to getting on the plane and heading into Chicago and preparing for a Game 1 win. It's been our whole mindset with this group the whole way through, going into tough buildings and winning and battling it out."