A palpable tension hung in the United Center air on Thursday, March 20th, as the Blackhawks, desperate to halt their slide, welcomed a Los Angeles Kings team eager to erase the sting of their previous loss, and the final horn signaled a 3-1 Kings victory, consigning the Blackhawks to a sixth consecutive defeat. Connor Bedard provided the lone bright spot for Chicago, scoring their only goal of the night, while Spencer Knight faced a barrage of shots, ultimately turning away 30 in the losing effort. For the Kings, this victory marked a successful rebound after their five-game winning streak was abruptly ended by the Minnesota Wild. The Blackhawks head to St. Louis hoping to end their losing streak while the Kings host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
Chicago Blackhawks Lineup:
Dickinson - Nazar - Bedard
Teravainen - Donato - Mikheyev
Slaggert - Foligno - Dach
Veleno - Reichel - Bertuzzi
Vlasic - Kaiser
Del Mastro - Murphy
Martinez - Levshunov
Knight
Soderblom
Los Angeles Kings Lineup:
Kuzmenko - Kopitar - Kempe
Foegele - Danault - Moore
Fiala - Byfield - Laferriere
Jeannot - Helenuis - Turcotte
Anderson - Doughty
Gavrikov - Spence
Edmundson - Clarke
Kuemper
Rittich
After taking a pass from Warren Foegele in their zone before driving up through the neutral zone, Trevor Moore moved into the offensive zone, stopping before he moved into the slot, and scored his 14th goal of the season on a wrist shot past Spencer Knight's stick side with 11:15 on the clock in the first period. Alex Turcotte struck soon after the opening goal, making it 2-0, when he tipped in a shot by Vladislav Gavrikov, who fired from the left boards. This had been Turcotte's eighth goal of the season.
Connor Bedard ended Darcy Kuemper's shutout at 9:10 of the second period on the power play for his 19th of the season, as well as his second in back-to-back games. He pulled Chicago within 2-1 when he scored while going to one knee at the left face-off circle after receiving a pass from Tyler Bertuzzi, who got the puck from Teuvo Teravainen before sending it across to Bedard from the right corner.
Late into the third frame, Joel Edmundson struck the empty Blackhawks net with 19 seconds left to play with his sixth of the season for the 3-1 final.
Connor Bedard on difference, the Kings, Spencer Knight, growth/improving/playoff spot, and playing wing and center: "I think we had a couple looks. Obviously after the first period, we got a lot better, I think. We didn't create enough 5-on-5 probably, and that's kind of where the difference was. ...They came out flying. I think they just took it to us. We got to try to take it to them and set the tone early. I think they just got energy off the first few shifts. - He played great. A couple of huge saves there when we're down a goal and we're pressing. ...Every game is important just for growth and trying to improve. We're not fighting for a playoff spot or anything, but we're trying to get better and we're still competitors. We want to win. In the end, playing hockey is fun. We're always excited to go out there, especially when we're in front of our fans," - "It's fine. I mean, I've played a bit of both positions. Obviously more center... Even when I'm center, I found myself on the wall a little bit. I can keep improving in that area, but I feel comfortable."
Notes:
- With this loss, the Blackhawks were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
- In their past six games, the Blackhawks are 0-5-1.
- Both of Connor Bedard's back-to-back goals were power-play goals.
- The Kings outshot Chicago 19-7 in the first period.
- CHI: 20-40-9, LA: 37-21-9
- In their past seven games, the Kings are 6-1-0.
- Darcy Kuemper made a total of 17 saves for Los Angeles.
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