Road Trip Crucial (or Not)

CHICAGO —  This is a monumental road trip for the Kings ... or it is not, depending on who’s doing the talking.

The Kings open a four-game trip in Chicago tonight. That is followed by a Canadian tour, where they will face Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto -- three of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

“This is a big swing for us ...,” forward Jeremy Roenick said. “If we can come back over .500 on this road trip, I think it sets us up for a tremendous season, in my opinion.”

Coach Andy Murray, though, says he shies away from breaking down the schedule into blocks of games.

“You have to be careful with putting expectations on segments of the season,” Murray said.

“What if you don’t [accomplish the goal]? To us -- and maybe we’re not as smart as other people -- but if you win every five-game segment at the end of the year, you’ll be sitting pretty good.”

*

TONIGHT

at Chicago, 5:30 PST, FSNW

Site -- United Center.

Radio -- 710.

Records -- Kings 16-8-1-0, Blackhawks 9-14-0-0.

Record vs. Blackhawks -- 2-0-0-0.

Update -- The Kings are expected to put forward George Parros on injured reserve. He has sat out the last five games because of a high ankle sprain. The Kings will fill that void by recalling a forward from Manchester, which will probably be Jeff Tambellini. Mathieu Garon will start in goal for the Kings. He has won six of his last seven starts and is 2-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average in two games against Chicago this season.