SET THE STAGE: 2013 Conference Final, Game 4

Bryan Bickell was already off to a strong 2013 playoff campaign with five goals and an assist to his name over the opening two rounds. Then he - and the Blackhawks - met the Kings.

Though L.A.'s physical game was a contrast to the Red Wings' skilled approach in the previous round, it played right into Bickell's wheelhouse. The gritty forward more than doubled his playoff point total in the Western Conference Final's five games.

"They were always big and physical," Bickell said of the Kings. "They had good speed, but they had the force and the will to wear you down. My role was to do the same against their top guys, their defensemen to give them second guesses and give my linemates room on the ice so they could work out there and hopefully bang a couple pucks off me at the time."

2013 REWIND

**REWIND**: Schedule and More Info

**GALLERY**: Conference Final, Gm. 4

**WATCH**: Marian Hossa One-on-One

"To me it was his speed on the forecheck and when he finished a check," Patrick Sharp added. "It reminded me a lot like Dustin Byfuglien - his body checks would leave a lasting feeling. It wasn't just a bounce off this guy and keep playing, his checks would do some damage and that made a big difference for us in the series."

His own modesty aside, Bickell had more offense than a few pucks banging off of him against - leading the Blackhawks with seven points (3G, 4A) in the five-game series against the Kings, including a goal an and assist in Game 4 to ensure a clinching scenario back home in Game 5.

Playing with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews throughout the run, Chicago's top line turned out to be the perfect mix of skillsets.

"It just had a little bit of everything," Bickell said of the trio. "For me, I was the grit and the sandpaper of the three. Obviously 'Kaner' with the skill and the poise and then the work ethic of Toews made a good, successful line. I think that run we had, our line was pretty dominant through every series and every shift that we had. That was fun."

All told in the 2013 run, Bickell ended up as Chicago's second leading scorer (9G, 8A), just two points back of Conn Smythe-winning Patrick Kane. His playoff performance, and the Stanley Cup that followed, were the crowning achievements in perhaps the best all-around campaign of the forward's 10-year NHL career.

"'Bicks' was a force," Dave Bolland said. "I think he was one of those guys that you looked up to that was going to have a big night every night ... always getting his nose dirty, making some big hits, sitting in front of the net and tipping a few goals in."

"That's the fun things about winning championships and going deep in the playoffs," Sharp continued. "You see these performances from players you maybe don't expect it from, and Bryan Bickell was the guy in 2013. He played really well for us."