Maatta, 26, was acquired last summer from the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Dominik Kahun. Maatta had 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 65 games last season with the Blackhawks. In nine postseason games, he had six points (three goals, three assists). It was widely speculated that Maatta would be bought out by the Blackhawks to free up the significant salary cap room needed to re-sign unrestricted free agent Corey Crawford and restricted free agents Drake Caggiula, Slater Koekkoek, Dominik Kubalik and Malcolm Subban.

In return for Maatta, Hawks General Manager Stan Bowman acquired a name that might be familiar to Indy Fuel fans. The 6-foot, 170-pound Morrison is a former New York Rangers 2015 fourth round draft pick. He played 17 games with the Ft. Wayne Komets of the ECHL in 2019–20, scoring 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 17 games. Prior to that, he played 50 games with the AHL Ontario Reign during the 2018–19 season, where he had 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists).

Make no mistake, this is purely a salary dump for Bowman and the Blackhawks. Rather than suffering the cap repercussions of a buyout for the next four years, the team will only have to eat $750,108 in this deal each of the next two seasons. That said, Maatta’s value is much higher than that of Morrison, who will likely never see time with the Blackhawks, but Bowman was backed into a corner with no room to maneuver.

So, if the #Blackhawks would have simply bought out Maatta, they would have been on the hook for roughly $680K per year over 4 season.

With this trade they are on the hook for just over $750K for 2 seasons. The actual relief and benefit doesn’t really come for two full seasons

— Puckin Hostile (@PuckinHostile) October 4, 2020

The post BREAKING: Blackhawks trade Olli Maatta to LA in salary cap dump appeared first on The Rink.

The crowd of over 40,000 people did not have much to cheer about, in fact it was the opposite.  Reports on Twitter of logistics complications made the night worse for the fans, who paid a pretty penny to watch their team out in the cold.

I was shocked last night when I received a text from a friend saying he was leaving after the second period ended. At the time, the game was tied 1–1, so I knew something was wrong. He told me that getting into the game, going to the bathroom and buying merchandise was a hassle and took upwards of 45 minutes each. He and his friends wisely anticipated the chaos that would ensue after the game, so they took off after their poor experience.

Apparently this #StadiumSeries game was a disaster. People waiting 30min for the bathroom, 45min for merch, and it took over an hour to get in. Can anyone there validate? #GoAvsGo

— The Rink — Colorado Avalanche (@TheRinkColorado) February 16, 2020

We reached out on Twitter to see if anybody else was having the same experience and we got a lot of feedback. Everything from running out of toilet paper, food, beer and a lot of people missing the game because of traffic. And to put a cherry on top of it, when the game ended, fans were waiting over two hours to get off the base. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynbski reported late last night that fans were demanding their tickets be refunded because of the awful traffic jam.

In a way, the Avalanche got bailed out by some poor event planning, because if things ran smoothly at the event, people would only be talking about how the Avalanche got beat on national television by a last-place Kings team. Maybe if the Avs got their act together a found a way to squeak out a win, this whole debacle would not have been so bad. Maybe people would have been partying in the streets waiting for traffic to clear. But, a lack of effort and discipline by the Avs caused an already poor experience to get worse.

Looking forward, Colorado General Manager Joe Sakic has to take a hard look at the depth of his team and decide whether they are ready to take the next step. On paper, they might be a contender, but it does not look like they are mentally there. It obviously has not been easy with so many injuries, but the Avalanche need players on the ice who want to make a play, yet there was not a whole lot of that Saturday night. Additionally, Colorado goaltender Philipp Grubauer left the game early in the third period with an injury and his status moving forward is in question. Sakic may need to consider adding a net minder prior to the trade deadline.

Can validate. Absolute nightmare

— Tim Preston (@TimmyTebrows) February 16, 2020

It was absolutely terrible. Left loveland at 215, didnt get there and sat until 10 min left in the second. They ran out of beer i guess. There was throw up everywhere. Very very very poorly planned and very very shitty experience

— Nissa Rose (@NissaRose13) February 16, 2020

https://twitter.com/CarlsonDavidM/status/1229041786078674946?s=20

It was a disaster. Shouldn’t have these events in locations that clearly can’t handle it. We got there late and left after watching the last ten minutes of period 2 so we wouldn’t have to deal with the issues on the way out too.

— Courtney Jensen (@courtneyjensen_) February 16, 2020

https://twitter.com/BrianKinger87/status/1229095789034602497?s=20

Yes I can validate. More than half the crowd missed the first period, and no one could use the bathrooms as the lines were too long.

— Liam Hopkins (@svw_303) February 16, 2020

True story… I live normally 10 mins from stadium, took me 1:35 to get to my seats. Ran out of beer midway through first period. Lines absolutely ridiculous… and drunk people puking everywhere to top it off. You couldnt even walk around near bathrooms or concessions.

— Sean M Kennedy (@COHockeyTurf) February 16, 2020

We live 6 miles away & it took us 3 hours to get there from leaving our house to parking. Wasted money on a parking pass bc they stopped charging since it was such a mess. They weren’t prepared at all. AFA games are better planned out, so frustrating that an NHL game wouldn’t be

— taylor (@taylorspalloni) February 16, 2020

The post Avalanche downed by Kings 3–1 in chaotic Stadium Series game for fans appeared first on The Rink.

Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton mixed up the lines and defense pairings once again in hopes of something working out. Erik Gustafsson, Dennis Gilbert, and Drake Caggiula were the scratches tonight. Corey Crawford started in net for the visitors.

These were the Blackhawks’ starting lines:

Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Alexander Nylander

Dominik Kubalik – David Kampf – Patrick Kane

Zack Smith – Kirby Dach – Andrew Shaw

Alex DeBrincat – Ryan Carpenter – Dylan Strome

Duncan Keith – Adam Boqvist

Calvin de Haan – Brent Seabrook

Slater Koekkoek – Olli Maata

First period

The first ten minutes of this game could not have been more brutal for the Blackhawks. The Kings circled the puck around them at the start, and they didn’t wait to score on the visitors. Slater Koekkoek and David Kampf pinched along the boards and the puck found an open Kyle Clifford, who wristed the puck past Corey Crawford.

Less than two minutes later, Olli Maatta and Calvin de Haan left an open gap for Matt Roy to get a clear wrist shit on Crawford. The Blackhawks goaltender barely reacted to the shot and it went past his right shoulder to give the Kings a 2-0 lead. The linesman then headed over to Chicago’s bench, signaling that Crawford was going to be pulled off by the concussion spotter after being hit in the mask with a shot prior to letting this goal in.

Here's where it appeared Crawford may have been injured and why he was probably pulled to be checked pic.twitter.com/O4WbBNKOiO

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) November 3, 2019

Slater Koekkoek then tossed the puck over the glass and took a delay of game penalty. Luckily, Robin Lehner didn’t let a shot past him and the Blackhawks killed the penalty off. In the first 8:25 of the period, the Kings outshot the visitors 10-0.

Kings forward Adrian Kempe then took an interference penalty, and Chicago finally got some consistent time in the offensive zone on the power play. Kirby Dach and Alexander Nylander exchanged passes down low until Nylander tossed the puck to Dach in front of the net. He slipped a backhand pass to Dominik Kubalik, who buried the shot past Jack Campbell and brought the Blackhawks within a goal. This goal also broke the team’s 0-for-21 streak on the man advantage.

The good news continued when Corey Crawford returned from concussion protocol just five minutes after going to the locker room. The Blackhawks continued to pressure the Kings and had good scoring chances. Kings goaltender Jack Campbell made some great saves, one in particular on Jonathan Toews with less than five minutes to go in the period.

What a save by Campbell on Toews pic.twitter.com/otpy2JSyJ3

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) November 3, 2019

Chicago kept pressuring the Kings and eventually, it was too much. Dominik Kubalik, who had an outstanding first period, forced Jack Campbell to turn the puck over to David Kampf. He didn’t miss his chance to score in the empty net.

The Blackhawks and Kings headed into the intermission tied 2-2 with the Kings on the power play after a Calvin de Haan interference penalty. The home team outshot the visitors 17-12, and it was great to see Chicago recover from an abysmal start to the game.

Second period

For everything that happened in the first 20 minutes, the start of the second frame was a bit more calm. The Blackhawks killed off de Haan’s penalty that carried over from the end of the first period. Kirby Dach almost connected with Adam Boqvist for a great scoring opportunity, but the pass was intercepted by the Kings’ defense.

The Blackhawks then got caught in their own zone for what seemed like forever after a botched line change. Los Angeles maintained pressure offensively and none of Patrick Kane, Dominik Kubalik, Adam Boqvist, and Duncan Keith were able to get off the ice for around three minutes. Luckily, Corey Crawford kept every shot out of the net on that long shift.

Penalty trouble hit the Blackhawks as Ryan Carpenter sat for hooking, but the visitors killed it off. Still, they were never able to gain momentum and the ice was heavily tilted in favor of the Kings. Olli Maatta took the second penalty of the period for the Blackhawks with around four minutes to go, but Crawford and the penalty kill units didn’t allow a goal with a man down that time, either. They were also blessed by Alex Iafallo hitting the crossbar.

#GoKingsGo | #HNILA pic.twitter.com/XjkGbkylxN

— LA Kings (@LAKings) November 3, 2019

In the last minute or so of play, the Blackhawks finally got a few decent chances, but nothing went in the net. Chicago and Los Angeles remained tied at 2 heading into the second intermission. The Kings outshot the Blackhawks 18-8 in the middle frame and led 35-20 in shots for the game.

Third period

Bad times continued for the Blackhawks in the final twenty minutes of regulation. The Kings continued to dominate offensively while the visitors generated very few scoring opportunities. They did not even record a shot on goal in the first ten minutes of the period.

Corey Crawford continued to stop chance after chance while his team let the Kings skate in circles around them, but you can’t stop everything when pressure is being put on you like that. Andrew Shaw let Dustin Brown skate right by him along the boards. Brown slid a pass to a wide-open Michael Amadio for an easy tap-in goal to give Los Angeles a 3-2 lead.

The Blackhawks didn’t play like a team down a goal, though. They continued to let the Kings create all types of offense while they scrambled in the defensive zone, forcing Crawford to bail them out time and time again.

With about two minutes left in the third, Jeremy Colliton pulled Crawford to make it 6-on-5. And then it was the Patrick Kane show. He held onto the puck along the boards and searched for a passing lane, specifically eyeing the other side of the ice. Kane found Toews with a cross-ice pass, and the captain didn’t miss burying the snap shot to tie the game at 3.

Jonathan Toews ties the game for the #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/x1O8WhWfx7

— Juliana Nikac (@juliananikac) November 3, 2019

The Blackhawks and the Kings headed into overtime with the Los Angeles holding a 45-25 shot advantage over Chicago.

Overtime

The Blackhawks started 3-on-3 overtime with their usual trio of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith. Chances were exchanged at both ends of the ice, with Campbell and Crawford stopping some great shots.

In the middle of the overtime period, Alex Nylander had a burst of speed and created a 2-on-0 chance, but it looked like he attempted to pass the puck instead of take the shot. The Kings flew the other way and had an opportunity of their own.

With a minute and a half left, Adam Boqvist had himself a great scoring chance, but didn’t get back in time to stop the 2-on-1 the Kings had on Nylander. Corey Crawford made a nice stop on Tyler Toffoli, but had no idea the puck was sitting behind him. Drew Doughty did, though, and he slid the waiting puck home to win the game for the Kings.

Drew Doughty ain't missing from there
LA KINGS WIN #GoKingsGo | #HNILA pic.twitter.com/5ywu17CfhD

— LA Kings (@LAKings) November 3, 2019

The final shot totals were 49-27 in favor of Los Angeles. The Kings also out-attempted the Blackhawks 79-47.

Pluses

• The penalty kill surprisingly looks great. The Blackhawks killed all four penalties they took tonight. With how brutal their defense is 5-on-5, it’s good to see they’ve figured out something when they’re down a man.
• Jonathan Toews had his best game of the season tonight. He drove play, had some edge to his game, and scored the game-tying goal in the final minutes of regulation. The captain had a few great scoring chances and was finally rewarded. Hopefully this game can ignite Toews and get him on a roll. This team really needs him.
• After a tough start to the game, Corey Crawford looked fantastic. He was the sole reason the Blackhawks even got a point out of tonight’s game. That’s a great sign for a player who’s struggled to begin the season.

Minuses

• The line blender from Jeremy Colliton has to stop. I get that they’re struggling offensively right now, but they’re also not going to get anything going if the lines are being switched every game, during practice, and also every game. There’s obvious chemistry between certain players. Figure it out because this team has way too much offensive firepower to be struggling this much night in and night out.

The Blackhawks will head down the highway tomorrow night to face the Anaheim Ducks as they continue this road trip. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks fall 4-3 to Kings in overtime appeared first on The Rink.

Four or five years ago, tonight’s matchup between the Blackhawks and the Kings would have featured two dynastic NHL powerhouses at the top of their games. Tonight, it featured two sub-.500 teams struggling to score and establish any kind of consistency.

Prior to the game on the NBCSN warmup, Hawk color man Ed Olczyk pronounced that the Kings are “in a rebuild.” Well, perhaps the same should be said of the Blackhawks.

Robin Lehner, who has clearly been the better of the Hawks’ two goalies early this season, took the net for Chicago, facing Jack Campbell for the Kings.

Of note, veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook was a healthy scratch—something to watch as the season progresses.

The Hawks’ lines and pairings were:

Drake Caggiula — Jonathan Toews — Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik — David Kampf — Alexander Nylander
Brandon Saad — Kirby Dach — Andrew Shaw
Dylan Strome — Ryan Carpenter — Alex DeBrincat

Duncan Keith — Calvin de Haan
Olli Maatta — Dennis Gilbert
Slater Koekkoek — Erik Gustafsson

First period

If Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton was trying to send a message to Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome by demoting them to the fourth line, it seems to have worked—Strome took a DeBrincat set-up off transition and buried it from the slot at just 2:33 into the contest, making the score 1–0 Chicago.

The Kings then took a minor penalty at 3:36, which Chicago failed to capitalize on.

Broken record time (and prepare for more of it): The Kings’ bigger forwards had a target on 18-year-old Kirby Dach’s back from the get-go. Overall, the early going featured a fair amount of banging, with Drake Caggiula and (go figure) Andrew Shaw running around quite a bit for the Hawks.

Calvin de Haan took an unintentional delay of game at 10:56, giving the Kings their first power play of the night. After extended LA offensive zone pressure, Lehner made back-to-back strong saves at 11:43. But, King left wing Ilya Kovalchuk evened it up with a tripping penalty 195 feet from his own net at 12:14, which eventually turned into a brief Blackhawk man advantage that was then killed off by LA.

The Hawks mounted another flurry late in the period led by Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad, but the period ended with the Hawks up by one. Shots were 12–11 Chicago.

Second period

The Hawks struck early again, with David Kampf corralling a pass from a falling Alex Nylander and putting it past Campbell at 2:26 for a 2–0 Chicago lead.

Shaw took a holding the stick minor at 5:24, putting LA on the man advantage, which the Hawks killed with Lehner strong on a few late King chances.

Nylander and Dominik Kubalik had a nice two-on-one opportunity at 9:46 that Nylander could not squeak through Campbell’s pads.

There was a bit of controversy when Saad was caught in the face by the follow-through of an LA player’s stick after taking a shot. Saad fell to the ice, but play continued until the refs blew it dow with the Hawks offside at 15:19. The Hawks cashed in just seconds later when DeBrincat picked up a puck behind the LA net and fed Strome again in the slot, which Strome held on to long enough to draw Campbell down then converted up high at 15:55, extending Chicago’s lead to 3–0.

Strome and DeBrincat clicked yet again at 19:52, this time with Strome feeding DeBrincat out front to make it 4–0 Hawks, which was how the period would end. The Kings outshot Chicago 12–8 in the frame.

Third period

Strome almost made it three goals for the night at 2:35 when he got in behind the King defense. But Campbell was up to the challenge to deny the hat-trick bid.

The Kings finally solved Lehner at 3:35 on a Sean Walker blast from the right circle to cut the score to 4–1.

Toews took a hooking minor at 12:18 which the Hawks effectively killed. DeBrincat and Strome again almost converted a two-on-one at 16:00, but to no avail. But, at 17:43, Drake “Caligula” Caggiula finally broke the Cat-Strome spell and tipped a puck home, making it 5–1 Chicago, which would prove to be the final score.

The good

The Strome, Ryan Carpenter, DeBrincat line. Crazy good. Three goals, seven points. Lehner was also very strong (38 saves, .974 save percentage). Nylander made plays all over the ice.

The bad

Hard to find on a night like this against a really bad Kings team. So, yeah, the Kings. Well, the Hawks were yet again outshot, 39–26.

The ugly

The guys in black, again.

All we have on this one. Comment below.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks down Kings 5–1 appeared first on The Rink.

6:00 p.m. CDT
United Center
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN

Projected starting goaltenders

Chicago — Robin Lehner (1–1–2, .922 save percentage, 2.44 goals-against average)
LA Kings — Jack Campbell (2–2–0, .897 save percentage, 2.76 goals-against average)

Team statistics

Power play
Chicago (10.3%, 26th)
LA Kings (9.5%, 28th)

Penalty kill
Chicago (70.4%, 28th)
LA Kings (72.5%, 25th)

Shots for/against
Chicago
32.2, 12th
32.2, 10th
LA Kings
37.1, first
28.5, second

Shooting percentage
Chicago (6.9%, 30th)
LA Kings (7.35%, 28th)

Face-off percentage
Chicago (49.9%, 18th)
LA Kings (51.4%, eighth)

Average height and weight
Chicago — 6-foot-1, 196 pounds
Los Angeles — 6-foot-1, 203 pounds

Projected lines and pairings

Chicago Blackhawks

Alex DeBrincat — Jonathan Toews — Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik — David Kampf — Alexander Nylander
Brandon Saad — Kirby Dach — Andrew Shaw
Dylan Strome — Ryan Carpenter — Drake Caggiula

Duncan Keith — Calvin de Haan
Olli Maatta — Dennis Gilbert
Slater Koekkoek — Erik Gustafsson

Los Angeles Kings

Alex Iafallo – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown
Jeff Carter – Blake Lizotte – Tyler Toffoli
Ilya Kovalchuk – Adrian Kempe – Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford – Michael Amadio – Austin Wagner

Ben Hutton – Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez – Sean Walker
Kurtis MacDermid – Matt Roy

Analysis

After laying a big fat goose-egg in Carolina, yesterday, the Blackhawks lick their wounds and try to get themselves a win against the equally struggling LA Kings for the Hockey Fights Cancer event, tonight at the United Center. Head coach Jeremy Colliton shook up the lines against the Hurricanes but it did little good. As a result, fans will immediately notice that assistant captain Brent Seabook is a healthy scratch for the contest. The active franchise leader in games played (1091) has only been a healthy scratch only one other time in his Blackhawks career.

The last time Brent Seabrook was a healthy scratch, I was 27 years and 364 days old. He also has yet to reply to my ‘How are you doing?’ text, which he CLEARLY read as this picture shows.#Blackhawks #NHL https://t.co/zJaFXCHlGW

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) October 27, 2019

Additionally, winger Drake Caggiula will draw back into the lineup after sitting in Carolina in favor of veteran Zack Smith. With $10.125 million of players sitting in the press box, the Blackhawks are running out of time to get this year’s ball rolling. While their goals against are in the top third of the NHL, they are dead last in goals for. Part of this is bad puck-luck but a portion of this can be attributed to their anemic power play, which is a dreadful 10.3% (3-for-29).

Birthday boy Brandon Saad has been one of the best overall players for the Blackhawks this season and looks to have a big night to celebrate the big two-seven.

The Kings are coming off a terrible 5–1 loss to the one team in the central division that might be worse than the Blackhawks, the Minnesota Wild.  Minnesota was only 3–7–0 coming into last night’s game, yet the Kings came in and gave up four unanswered goals to lose despite leading in shots on goal and dominating the faceoff circle.

This matchup defies logic. The Kings are first overall in shots-on-net per game and second overall in fewest shots given up per game, yet they are only 4–7–0 on the season. Special teams will be an interesting part of tonight’s game, as both teams show up in the bottom third of the league on both the power play and penalty kill.

Both goalies, Robin Lehner and Jack Campbell, have played better than their “starting” counterparts in the opportunities given. Lehner boasts a 92.2 save percentage, while Campbell has a below league average 89.7 save percentage but has a respectable goals-against average of only 2.77.

Individually, Kings’ center Anze Kopitar needs just one point for 900 in his career and wing Ilya Kovalchuk is just one game behind Pavel Bure for fourth overall in games played by a Russian born player.

Will this game be a battle of attrition with both teams struggling to score or a wild west type shootout where 10-plus goals are put up on the board?

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And, be sure to look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game by John Jaeckel right here on The-Rink.com.

Additional special game notes:
The Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation are hosting “Hockey Fights Cancer” night this evening. During warmups, players will wear newly-designed “Hockey Fights Cancer” jerseys, which will each be autographed and auctioned off online to benefit various local cancer-related organizations through the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation. Coaches and broadcasters will wear purple ties, which will also be included in the auction accompanied by an autographed photo.

The auction will begin on Sunday, Oct. 27 and run through Monday, Nov. 4 at noon. Interested fans can visit Blackhawks.com/HockeyFightsCancer for more information. Through the team’s partnership with Make-A-Wish Illinois and Bear Necessities, five local children battling cancer will accompany the Blackhawks starting lineup on the blue line for the National Anthem

Additionally, Benoit Savard, a 12-year-old from Lévis, Québec, who is battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, will perform the ceremonial puck drop prior to the game as part of his Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada experience.

The post Preview/Game thread Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks had Corey Crawford in net, facing Jack Campbell for LA.  Drake Caggiula made his return to the lineup while Slater Koekkoek, John Hayden and Brendan Perlini all took a mulligan for the night.

This was your Blackhawks starting lineup:
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Dylan Sikura
Drake Caggiula – Dylan Strome – Dominik Kahun
Alex DeBrincat – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane
Chris Kunitz – David Kampf– Marcus Kruger

Duncan Keith – Erik Gustafsson
Gustav Forsling – Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom – Connor Murphy

Period One
Not more than a minute and a half into the game, the Kings nearly took a fast 1-0 lead when Anze Kopitar found an errant puck in the Blackhawks slot area and beat Corey Crawford, but drew iron. The visitors could hardly afford to give up the Kings the lead that early on.

With 8:35 remaining in the first period, Marcus Kruger was caught hooking a Kings forward and ended up in the penalty box. Boasting the last ranked penalty kill in the NHL, the Blackhawks forced the Kings to spend most of the power play in their own end.

After holding an early shot lead, the Blackhawks were bending but never breaking. They were down 12-7 in shots when they drew their first power play of the night with four minutes left in the opening period. Their fate was only slightly better than the King on their first power play.

For that matter, only slightly better than the Kings second power play, as well, which LA drew shortly after they killed off the Blackhawks initial power play.

As a result, the teams were still tied at zero heading into the first intermission. The Kings were the shots on net leaders, 14-9.

Period Two
A minute and thirty-eight seconds into the second period, their forty goal sophomore Alex DeBrincat drove to the Kings net and swept the puck into the crease. Kings defensemen Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez were charging into the crease and ended up putting the puck into their own net. This was certainly a case of “puck luck” but the Blackhawks could use as much help as possible.

We’ll take it!#Purr pic.twitter.com/teVJeNa29Z

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 31, 2019

The physical play ramped up as the second period went on, with Drake Caggiula and Brent Seabrook getting into altercations. Eventually, Jeff Carter took a penalty for slashing, which put the Blackhawks back on the man advantage. The Blackhawks failed on that power play as well.

With four minutes remaining in the second period, Kings forward Austin Wagner turned on the jets and blew past a flat-footed defenseman Carl Dahlstrom, eventually also beating goaltender Corey Crawford and tying the game for the Kings.

.@Austinwagner97 has wheels. pic.twitter.com/DYmfTivhV0

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) March 31, 2019

As the teams headed into the second intermission, the Blackhawks worked their way back in shots on net, leading 14-6 and thinking a 23-20 edge overall.

Period Three
Three minutes into the third period the Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead. Following a Marcus Kruger offensive zone faceoff win, Duncan Keith feathered a pass right into Erik Gustafsson’s wheelhouse, who surprised Jack Campbell. This was Gustafsson’s 17th goal and 56th point to match his sweater number.

GUS IS FIRING LASERS OUT HERE!

: https://t.co/K9UHgdx4tA pic.twitter.com/fHhN28ODnf

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 31, 2019

The Kings were able to cause enough chaos in the Blackhawks zone that the defense turned it over and gave center Michael Amadio a clean look at Corey Crawford, with plenty of time. Amadio snapped a shot into the top self, tying the game at two goals apiece.

This was how regulation play ended and the two teams went to overtime.

Overtime
Despite some solid action up and down the ice, neither team was able to score on their combined four combined shots until Jonathan Toews took a late penalty. The Blackhawks were not able to get the puck out of their end and Drew Doughty beat Corey Crawford with a cannon of a shot to win the game. Chicago really needed to win the game in regulation to gain any ground.

Pluses

• Alex DeBrincat and Erik Gustafsson continue to have storybook seasons. Of the two, I would predict that DeBrincat will be the one that has the potential to repeat.
• Drake Caggiula’s physical presence was noticeable and he nearly took a bad spill deep in the LA end of the ice after a battle with Kurtis MacDermid
• Corey Crawford continues to play amazing hockey, and continues to get little help.
• Patrick Kane was doing everything he could to try and “will” this team to a win, with a game high eight shots on net.

Minuses

• The Blackhawks out shot the Kings 35-29 and were 1-for-3 on the power play.  Earlier that was a recipe for success, but the law of averages have caught the Blackhawks and penalized them harshly.  They also only gave up 15 shots in the final two period and overtime.
• David Kampf was hit in the face in the first period and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
• Twice in the second period, the Kings just imposed their physical will on the Blackhawks and Chicago looked pretty gutless outside of some minor sparks from Brent Seabrook.
• Artem Anisimov won only 5 of 20 faceoffs.  That’s unacceptable.

The post RECAP: Kings beat Blackhawks in overtime 3-2 appeared first on The Rink.

9:30 p.m. CST
STAPLES Center
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (14–18–3, SV%: .908, GAA: 2.94)
Los Angeles – Jonathan Quick (15–22–7, SV%: .890, GAA: 3.31)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (20.8 percent, T-11th)
Los Angeles (16.0 percent, 27th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (72.8 percent, 31st)
Los Angeles (75.1 percent, 29th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.5, 12th; 34.6, 30th)
Los Angeles (28.6, 30th; 31.2, 14th)

Shooting Percentage
Chicago (10.0 percent, Eighth)
Los Angeles (8.4 percent, 28th)

Faceoff Percentage
Chicago (49.5 percent, T-20th)
Los Angeles (50.5 percent, 12th)

Average height and weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195 lbs.
Los Angeles 6’1”, 206 lbs.

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks
Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Dylan Sikura
Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Dominik Kahun
Brendan Perlini–Artem Anisimov–Patrick Kane
Chris Kunitz–David Kampf–Marcus Kruger
Duncan Keith–Erik Gustafsson
Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook
Slater Koekkoek–Connor Murphy

Los Angeles Kings
Alex Iafallo–Anze Kopitar–Dustin Brown
Carl Grundstrom–Adrian Kempe–Tyler Toffoli
Kyle Clifford–Jeff Carter–Trevor Lewis
Austin Wagner–Mike Amadio–Jonny Brodzinski
Derek Forbort–Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez–Matt Roy
Sean Walker–Dion Phaneuf

Analysis

The Blackhawks playoff hopes are ever-dwindling as the season enters it’s twilight. The Blackhawks sit seven points out of a playoff position. Although not mathematically eliminated, the Blackhawks would need to win every game from here on out, and hope that the Avalanche, Wild and Coyotes all hit a late season skid. It’s not impossible, but it’s very unlikely that the Blackhawks will be playing in the postseason.

However, the Blackhawks will continue to play with that mindset, and try to win every game down the stretch. The final week of the season begins tonight as the Blackhawks visit the lowly Kings.

The Kings, who sit last in the Western Conference, may be without notable winger Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk is not hurt, he has been a healthy scratch in many recent games for the Kings. The former-star winger has had a tough first season of his three-year, $18.75 million contract.

The Kings focus as an organization is more likely focused on the NHL Entry Draft in June than the 78th game of a disastrous season for the team. Jack Hughes or Kappo Kakko would be welcomed additions to the Kings lineup. Odds are, the Kings will get a top two pick with their second-to-last record in the entire NHL.

Just because the Kings front office may have switched their focus, the players surely have not. This is the perfect opportunity for a lowly Kings team to more-or-less officially end the Blackhawks playoff dreams. Saturday night’s matchup sets up well for a trap game.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks at Kings appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks were hoping to build off of their last minute win in Anaheim on Wednesday as they took on the bottom-dwelling Kings. With Drake Caggiula down, Brendan Perlini drew in for his first game after four straight games as a scratch. Corey Crawford also started his second straight game since returning from the IR. The lines were as follows:

Saad – Toews – Kane

DeBrincat – Strome – Kahun

Perlini – Anisimov – Sikura

Kunitz – Kruger – Hayden

Keith – Seabrook

Koekkoek – Gustafsson

Forsling – Murphy

Crawford

First Period:

The game did not begin well for the Blackhawks. A careless too many men penalty sent the Kings to the power play. Soon after going on the power play, a charging Dustin Brown scored on a quality chance to make it 1-0.

A minute later, it was deja vu for the Blackhawks. Dylan Strome tripped Jeff Carter at center ice to give the Kings yet another power play. Late in the man advantage, Adrian Kempe made a beautiful dish back to Sean Walker. Walker ripped a wrist shot that found the twine. Crawford was completely screened on the play by numerous players, so he stood no chance to make the save.

https://twitter.com/CMS_74_/status/1101954781927616517

Just after the midway point of the period, the Blackhawks received their first opportunity on the man advantage. Despite three really good looks for Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks were shut down by Jonathan Quick and the rest of the Kings’ penalty kill.

The Kings however continued to dominate the period. With just under five minutes remaining, Jeff Carter walked up the right wing wall from down low and made a quick pass to Ilya Kovalchuk near the blue line. Kovalchuk fired the puck on net with no hesitation and beat Crawford for his 14th of the season.

https://twitter.com/CMS_74_/status/1101960641701646336

However, the first period wasn’t all bad, despite the horrific first 18+ minutes. With a little different look to the lines, Dylan Strome found Slater Koekkoek at the point with a pass from below the goal line. After receiving the puck, Koekkoek fed Brendan Perlini in the high-slot and Perlini buried the one-timer to give the Blackhawks a sliver of hope heading into intermission. The score was 3-1 Kings after one period.

After sitting out the last 4 games, Brendan Perlini gets his 1st goal since New Years Day at Notre Dame Stadium!

Catch the rest of the game here: https://t.co/0coaeUNAJw pic.twitter.com/ymj3kYUIuD

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 2, 2019

Second Period:

After a miserable first period, the Blackhawks came out of the intermission with some momentum. As the Kings’ defense went for a change, Crawford found a breaking Perlini with a nice feed. Perlini had a breakaway from the blue line in and beat Quick for his second goal of the day and to make it a 3-2 score.

Make that goals for Brendan Perlini! Crow gets the assist and the #Blackhawks are back in this game!

: https://t.co/FIjSLYnCm6 pic.twitter.com/Guft4b5Wnw

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 2, 2019

It was easy to tell the Blackhawks were controlling play. With about 13 minutes remaining, Gustav Forsling avoided a check and got the puck to Chris Kunitz. Kunitz found Connor Murphy through the neutral zone with momentum. As soon as Murphy skated over the blue line, he ripped a frozen rope, top shelf on Quick to tie the game at three.

Sneaky Murphy#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/eySk2Ab13V

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 2, 2019

Just when the Blackhawks felt good about tying the game, a 2-on-1 rush by the Kings ended with Kempe going top shelf on Crawford giving LA the 4-3 lead. The goal came just over a minute after Murphy’s tally. Erik Gustafsson was caught down low on the play, resulting in the 2-on-1 opportunity for the home team.

https://twitter.com/CMS_74_/status/1101970887283302401

With about three minutes left in the period, the Blackhawks were given their second power play of the day after Murphy was boarded by Tyler Toffoli. The Blackhawks were able to move the puck well, but could not get a clean look at the net. The visitors could not take advantage of the opportunity.

As the Kings’ penalty expired, Tyler Toffoli had a breakaway from the blue line in and as he shot the puck, his stick broke. The Blackhawks dodged a late bullet and went into the dressing room with the score 4-3 after two periods.

Third Period:

The early part of the final frame was dictated by high-paced back-and-forth action. However, the Kings made it a two goal lead after Brendan Leipsic hammered home his 6th goal of the season. It would have been a tough save for Crawford on a shot that should have been a rocket, but came in as a changeup and just slipped in under the crossbar.

The fifth goal for the Kings deflated the Blackhawks. Their earlier energy disappeared and the Kings did just enough to keep the Blackhawks from regaining that momentum.

With under two minutes remaining, the Kings would strike again. After a Duncan Keith turnover, Anze Kopitar setup Dustin Brown in the slot. Brown ripped a shot top-shelf on Crawford for his second goal of the day.

Despite a few chances for the Blackhawks in the third, they could not solve Quick. The Kings captured their first win after ten-straight losses and beat the Blackhawks, 6-3.

Quick Hits:

• The Early Bird Gets the Worm: The Blackhawks came out flat in the first period and it really showed. The Kings jumped out to a 3-0 lead early and, although the Blackhawks tied it, they were playing from behind the whole time, only to fall 6-3. Not a good look against the worst team in the West.
• Missing Caggiula: Drake Caggiula’s presence was missed in this game. Not only his energy that he brings playing with Toews and Kane, but his absence threw the chemistry of the lines off for the whole game. 
• Playoffs?: The Blackhawks’ loss critically affects their chance at the playoffs. The Blackhawks are five points out with three teams to jump for the final wild card spot. Arizona has been playing well, and the Stars and Wild are still holding on, further complicating the Blackhawks path to a playoff spot.

The Blackhawks return to action on Sunday, March 3rd as they head to San Jose to take on the Sharks. Puck drop is at 9:00pm CST.

The post RECAP: Kings Snap Streak, Beat Blackhawks 6-3 appeared first on The Rink.

3:00pm CST

STAPLES Center

TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Cam Ward (14–10–4, SV%: .893, GAA: 3.71)

Los Angeles – Jonathan Quick (11–17–6, SV%: .891, GAA: 3.31)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play

Chicago (22.3%, 7th)

Los Angeles (14.8%, 29th)

Penalty Kill

Chicago (73.3%, 31st)

Los Angeles (74.7%, 30th)

Shorts for/against

Chicago (32.1, 13th; 35.1, 30th)

Los Angeles (28.6, 29th; 31.3, 14th)

Shooting %

Chicago (10.4%, 8th)

Los Angeles (8.2%, 30th)

Faceoff %

Chicago (49.7%, 19th)

Los Angeles (50.2%, T14th)

Avg. height/weight

Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs

Los Angeles 6’2” 206lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Drake Caggiula–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Dominik Kahun

Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–Dylan Sikura

Chris Kunitz–Marcus Kruger–John Hayden

Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

Slater Koekkoek–Erik Gustafsson

Los Angeles Kings

Alex Iafallo–Anze Kopitar–Dustin Brown

Ilya Kovalchuk–Jeff Carter–Tyler Toffoli

Bredan Leipsic–Adrian Kempe–Jonny Brodzinski

Kyle Clifford–Trevor Lewis–Austin Wagner

Derek Forbort–Drew Doughty

Dion Phaneuf–Matt Roy

Sean Walker–Paul Ladue

Analysis

Following their thrilling victory on Wednesday night, the Blackhawks travel slightly north to take on the Los Angeles Kings. Wednesday night’s Ducks/Blackhawks battle saw the Blackhawks playing a more offensively-challenged Anaheim team. In today’s action, the Blackhawks will square off against a Los Angeles Kings’ team that, in many categories, is only a little better than the Ducks. Today presents a great opportunity for the Blackhawks, versus an opponent that is far less potent offensively than they are.

A few big positives from Wednesday included Patrick Kane further extending his incredible point streak, as well as the return of Corey Crawford. Overall, Crawford played well, but he is still re-gaining his feet after missing significant time. 

The Kings, for the most part, stood pat at the trade deadline earlier in the week. Instead of trying to sell assets such as Jonathan Quick and Jeff Carter, the Kings held on to their prized possessions and continued to ride it out. 

LA comes into today’s game losers of 10 straight games, setting themselves up for a nice pick in June’s draft, potentially landing either Kappo Kakko or Jack Hughes. The Kings are an aging team with potentially greater cap issues than those facing the Blackhawks.

Any slip-up could prove fatal to the Hawks’ fading playoff chances (5 points out, with 3 teams in the way). So, this is essentially a must-win game for Chicago.

Comment below in our live game thread this afternoon!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks at Kings appeared first on The Rink.

Taken out of context, one might think that sounds incredible. Historic!  If you dig a little deeper, though, you realize that not only are they only four points from last in the Western Conference, but they are just seven points from last in the entire NHL.

What does this mean?

To put it bluntly (as I often do), the Western Conference (more specifically the central division) is mostly trash. After Winnipeg, Nashville, Calgary and San Jose the drop-off in strong, potentially successful teams is drastic. All four of those teams are currently in the low 70s as far as points go, and have goal differentials of plus 20 of more. They are solid playoff contenders with a legit shot at winning the Stanley Cup.

On the flip side, the Blackhawks have 55 points and have a pitiful goal differential of minus 21. The only reason their goal differential is not minus 30, or worse, is that their power play has been operating at an insane clip over the last few weeks. They have given up almost 20 more goals against than any team in the Western Conference, and more goals against than anyone in the NHL. This team is pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes and fans are falling for it.

How are they in the playoff race then, Mister Blackhawks-hater-guy?

They score a lot of goals, too. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are having rebound career years. Erik Gustafsson has fooled the untrained eyes into thinking he is somehow the evil Swedish twin of Erik Karlsson. Alex DeBrincat is up to 28 goals and 53 points. It is a mirage.

When you win games in 3-vs-3 OT and with scores of 6-5, you can sometimes get away with poor defense. This kind of play is simply unsustainable in the playoffs. All of the teams are good, and you can’t use the 3-vs-3 gimmick to fool people into thinking you’re actually good. A team that gives up the most shots and goals in the NHL cannot make a long run in the playoffs. Period.  It has never happened, and never will.

“But what about the 2011-12 Kings, maaaaaan? They were the 8th seed and won the cup. #AnythingCanHappen, BRO!”

Yes, they did and no it can’t.

That eighth seed is where the comparisons stop, and this brings me to the point where I dash all of your hopes and dreams. Any comparison between these Blackhawks of this season and the Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings of 2012 is hilariously and unequivocally invalid. In fact, the teams could not be more opposite and I’m going to show you why.

As I mentioned earlier, the Blackhawks are one of the bottom two defensive teams of the entire NHL. The Kings, on the other hand, were one of the best defensive teams in the NHL that season. The reason they were eighth in the division was that they had a hard time scoring goals. While undesirable, a team can be successful as a low scoring team, as long as you’re playing with a rock solid defensively. Conversely, you won’t see teams winning Stanley Cups with game scores of 7-5 consistently. In fact, the game scores will drop in the playoffs because the quality of competition is much higher. In layman’s terms, no more bum-slaying bad teams.

Let me circle back and examine the statistics for you, though. Here is the stat line of that cup champion team, for their regular season:

2011-12 KINGS
Avg age 26.7
13th overall – 95 points
GF – 194 29th Overall
GA – 179 2nd Overall
PP – 17th overall 16.96%
PK – 4th overall 87.03%
Team save % – 4th overall .925
Shots faced – 4th overall 2247
5v5 HD-Chances Faced: 2nd best (559)
5v5 HD-Save Percentage: 18th (82.26%)

As you can see, the Kings were near the top of the NHL in almost all defensive categories. They had the second lowest goals against totals and 5-on-5 high danger chances faced, fourth lowest team save percentage and total shots faced. They also boasted the fourth best penalty kill. These are all metrics the Blackhawks are on the complete opposite of the spectrum for. Don’t believe it?  Look for yourself:

2018-19 Blackhawks
(Prior to Sunday’s game where they gave up 45 more shots on net)
Avg age 28.3
22nd overall – 53 points
GF – 177 7th Overall
GA – 201 LAST Overall
PP – 10th overall 21.89%
PK – LAST overall 73.62%
Team save % – 25th overall .896
Shots faced – 30th overall 1929
5v5 HD-Chances Faced: LAST overall (604)
5v5 HD-Save Percentage: 5th (85%)

Plain and simple, the Blackhawks stink at playing defense and keeping the puck out of their net. Corey Crawford and Cam Ward have been below average goaltenders, and Collin Delia’s numbers have been slowly sinking down to earth. The Kings had Jonathan Quick in his prime, playing well above average while facing an average of seven less shots a game less. Here are the statistical breakdowns (prior to Sunday’s game) of the goalies:

Jon Quick – 26 – 1.95 GAA, .929 SV, 28.08 Goals saved above avg, 10 SO
Jon Bernier – 23 – 2.36 GAA, .909 SV, -1.88 Goals saved above avg, 1 SO

Cam Ward – 34 – 3.75 GAA, .891 SV, -12.88 Goals saved above avg
Collin Delia – 24 – 2.98 GAA, .923 SV, 6.19 Goals saved above avg
Corey Crawford – 34 – 3.28 GAA, .902 SV, -4.90 Goals saved above avg

What does this all mean? It means that the Blackhawks are a bad team masking huge holes in their own end with high scoring. Similar to the 2017 playoffs when players like Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Jonathan Toews and Richard Panik had Chicago well above the league average in scoring but could not maintain that level of play against the Nashville Predators. Smoke and mirrors.

The difference between the 2017 and 2019 Blackhawks, though, is that Corey Crawford and Scott Darling had a combined .920 save percentage that season. The defense (and some may say the high end scoring) were immensely better.  They were able to win more one-goal, and overtime games. The Blackhawks were also able to maintain a much more respectable goal differential of plus 31, as well. Something these 2019 Blackhawks simply cannot do.

One might say, “yeah, but they are a late bloomers. It took them time to figure it out. What bout since the first of January? I betchoo that’s it!”

Funny you should mention that. Granted the Blackhawks are only a bit over a month into the new year, but here are the numbers:

Teams since January 1st of respective years
Blackhawks
13th overall – 17 points
GF – 57 – 4th Overall
GA – 52 – 24th Overall
PP – 39.1% – BEST overall
PK – 72.1% – LAST overall
Team save % – 15th overall .921
Shots faced – 30th overall 419
5v5 HD-Chances Faced: 31st overall (165)
5v5 HD-Save Percentage: 5th (85.93%)

KINGS
13th overall – 51 points
GF – 64 – 29th Overall
GA – 56 – 2nd Overall
PP – 18.6% – 11th overall
PK – 85.9 – 9th overall
Team save % – 6th overall .933
Shots faced – BEST overall 840
5v5 HD-Chances Faced: BEST Overall (275)
5v5 HD-Save Percentage: 17th (81.52%)

This is still not a promising stat line. The one major factor that has been putting the Blackhawks into the win column has been their power play. Of their seven wins in their current streak, four are against non-playoff teams. In two of the three wins against playoff teams, they needed multiple power play goals to win.  When the power play levels out (and it will), the wins will be harder to come by.

I cannot ignore that their schedule favors a strong finish to the regular season against quite a few bad teams, but they would have to continue on their current pace of 5 plus game winning streaks for the rest of February and March and all the teams around them would have to play .500 or less hockey.

So, after throwing a plethora of stats at you, I want to wrap this up in a nice tight little package.  While the Blackhawks could conceivably continue this regular season run and qualify for the playoffs, making it out of the first round against one of the toughest Western Conference teams is not even remotely realistic or probable.

Basically, the Blackhawks and Kings would be similar only in standings position.  The Blackhawks are not capable of more than 4-5 playoff games.

I agree with the fans that say that Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook and Crawford will not likely “tank” on purpose, but Stan Bowman can move players around and make it hard to climb up the standings. Great teams are not built without high end draft choices. The organization spent the last two drafts drafting potential high end defensemen and, this year, they can add a potential high-end forward that can be cost controlled and slot into the lineup within a year or two.

That is a recipe for long term success, which can put the Blackhawks back in the conversation for more Stanley Cup championships for several years to come, rather than kicking that can down the road over and over. No one wants to endure years of more mediocre-to-bad hockey and waste what is left of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane prime years. Stan Bowman and the rest of the front office need to be making shrewd moves with trades and salaries or we have all seen the last of the top echelon Blackhawks for a long time.

The post Analysis: Should the Blackhawks be Compared to the ’12 Kings? appeared first on The Rink.

Kubalík is a 23-year-old former 7th round Kings draft pick (191st overall) in the 2013 NHL draft. The same draft that the Blackhawks drafted Anthony Louis ten picks earlier (181st overall) and Robin Press later in the seventh round (211th overall).

The 6’2″ 180 lbs left wing has been playing for HC Ambrì-Piotta of the Swiss National League. Coming into Thursday evening, he is leading the league in scoring with 43 points (18G-25A). The native of Plzen, Czech Republic, represented his country at the 2018 Olympic Games and World Championships as well as the 2015 World Junior Championship.

He is currently under contract with his Swiss team and cannot sign a contract with the Blackhawks until his deal with HC Ambrì-Piotta has expired. The Kings tried to pry Kubalík out of Europe in 2017 but, without player compensation, Ambrì-Piotta blocked the deal from happening.

Kubalik 2017-18 Season Highlights from HC-Ambri Piotta https://t.co/tb35J5ri2z#Blackhawks #NHL

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) January 24, 2019

The post BREAKING: Blackhawks Make Trade With Kings appeared first on The Rink.

The lineup was very similar to the one that stole a win from the Blues just a few nights prior. Brandon Davidson went on the IR and Marcus Kruger was activated. He took Luke Johnson’s place on the fourth line. The lines were as follows:

Schmaltz – Toews – Kane

DeBrincat – Kampf – Kahun

Saad – Anisimov – Hayden

Kunitz – Kruger – Martinsen

Keith – Seabrook

Gustafsson – Jokiharju

Manning – Forsling

Crawford

First Period:

Early action in the first period was highlighted by back and forth chances for both the Kings and Blackhawks. Neither team could crack the opposing goaltender as the game remained scoreless early on.

Kings goaltender Calvin Petersen, Notre Dame alumnus, was making his first career start Friday night at a place he was very familiar with. Petersen played high school hockey in the Chicagoland area and his college hockey an hour and a half east in South Bend, Indiana. Petersen made some incredible saves early on. Despite the best look in the first period for Chicago being a wide shot by Patrick Kane on an open look, Petersen slammed the door on all other quality chances early.

Corey Crawford was also spectacular in the opening frame. Mid-way through the first period, Crawford made an incredible point-blank save on an Adrian Kempe shot in the slot. Kempe was wide open after Blackhawks’ center David Kampf got caught beneath the goal line with both Chicago defenders. Crawford made the incredible save in the end and kept the Kings off the board.

Crawford makes a nice save on Kempe. No. 9 had all day to shoot because three #Blackhawks were caught behind the net. pic.twitter.com/aeT48X4p5w

— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) November 17, 2018

In the late half of the first period, Tyler Toffoli had an excellent attempt in front after Jeff Carter distributed a puck from beneath the goal line to the front of the blue paint. It was hard to tell, but it looked like Crawford was able to get a tiny piece of the puck and keep what could have been an easy goal out of his net.

The Blackhawks entered the intermission trailing the Kings 10-8 in shots on goal. Strong play from both goaltenders kept the game scoreless after one period.

Second Period:

Early in the second period, the Blackhawks were granted a great opportunity on the power play. They went 1-for-2 on the man advantage Wednesday night and looked to build off that performance going into the game against Los Angeles. However, fans were treated to the more likely scenario, as the power play could get nothing started. All shots on net were not high danger chances and allowed the young visiting goaltender to make some easy saves.

At the 10:29 mark of the period, the Blackhawks were exiting the zone when Duncan Keith found Erik Gustafsson headed up ice. Gustafsson looked like he was tripped on the play but no penalty was called and the Kings went flying up the ice.

Tyler Toffoli carried the puck over the blue line on the right wing boards, crossed over to the left wing side and fired a shot on net. The puck looked to be going wide but it glanced off Duncan Keith’s leg. The puck snuck through Crawford’s five-hole on the deflection and put the Kings up 1-0.

Late in the period, on a Blackhawks power play, Petersen made a spectacular save to deny a quality chance from entering the back of the net. The young netminder made numerous high quality saves late in the period. Chicago had three power play chances in the period but were unable to capitalize. A late slashing penalty by Toews sent the Blackhawks in to the intermission down a man. The Kings led 1-0 and led 22-20 in shots on goal through two frames.

Third Period:

The Blackhawks killed the Kings penalty to open the third period, but still could not get anything going offensively for themselves. Down 1-0, Chicago needed to find life and push back if they wanted any chance of winning against Los Angeles.

At the 2:39 mark, the Blackhawks’ luck changed with newly activated Gustav Forsling adding some much needed playmaking to the Chicago back end.

Forsling dumped a puck deep around the boards and Brandon Saad picked it up on the right wing boards. Saad sent it low to Jonathan Toews and drove to the front of the net. Toews was able to free himself from the Kings defender and put a perfect give-and-go pass on Saad’s blade.  Saad quickly shuffled the puck past Petersen and tied the game for the Blackhawks.

As Eddie Olczyk says, “good things happen when you go to the net”, and the Blackhawks found some good fortune as they beat young Petersen for the first time all night.

Crashin' the net #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/qmt0xSa0BN

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 17, 2018

Chances were exchanged for the remainder of the period but the game found its way to extra time as the teams were tied at one goal a piece.  The Blackhawks were, however, able to reclaimed the shots on goal advantage (34-32) after three periods.

Overtime:

Neither team could generate anything in overtime, as only one shot on goal was registered between both teams. The best play of the period came from the Forsling – Anisimov – DeBrincat combination.

About half way through the extra time, the aforementioned combination played catch in the offensive zone. Forsling made a cross ice pass to DeBrincat near the blue line. Alex DeBrincat skated half-way down the right wing boards before dropping the puck back to Artem Anisimov. Anisimov found a crashing Gustav Forsling out in front but the tipped puck was soaked up by Petersen.

The Kings nearly struck gold when Anze Kopitar batted a puck out of mid-air late in overtime. However, the puck hit the post, narrowly missing the back of the net and sending the Kings home happy. Although a great chance, the Blackhawks and Kings needed a shootout to determine a winner.

Shootout:

The Kings and Blackhawks only needed four shooters to decide Friday’s outcome. Jonathan Toews shot first for Chicago and was denied by Petersen. The Kings then sent Ilya Kovalchuk out to face Corey Crawford. After being sent back because of an early start and an unready linesman, Kovalchuk converted low glove side on Crawford to put the Kings up 1-0.

The second round saw Patrick Kane get denied by Petersen after attempting his trademarked slow move in on the goaltender. Kane attempted to put the puck over Petersen’s left pad but could not convert. The Kings sent out Kopitar to try and give the Kings only their sixth win of the season. Kopitar easily beat Crawford and the Kings beat the Blackhawks 2-1 in a shootout.

The Good:

• Chances: Chicago was able to generate great chances throughout the entire game. Numerous high quality saves were required by Calvin Petersen to keep the Blackhawks off the board. Chances from Kane, Forsling and others could have easily been goals had it not been for great goaltending for the visitors.
• Goaltending: As mentioned above, goaltending was really good for both teams until the shootout where Corey Crawford was 0-for-2. However, Crawford was spectacular once again for the Blackhawks, making some great point-blank saves on Kings forwards. Crawford gave the home team a chance to win, and really, that’s all you can ask for from your goaltender.

The Bad:

• Turnovers: Many careless turnovers for the Blackhawks resulted in quality chances for the Kings. Crawford came up big on most of them, but a turnover from Gustafsson (on a play that could have been a penalty) led to the opening goal of the game for the Kings. If the Blackhawks defensemen can clean up the turnovers, they may be able to rattle off some wins and keep Crawford from having to carry the team on his back.
• Depth scoring: Although third-liner Brandon Saad scored the lone goal for the Blackhawks, it came when he was added to the top line left wing with Toews and Kane. The Blackhawks have become a one line team, similar to the Artemi Panarin days. The depth players have not been scoring at all. DeBrincat has gone cold and others like Nick Schmaltz and Dominik Kahun have disappeared from the scoresheet. If for some reason the Blackhawks’ players don’t want Jack Hughes in their locker room next season, they will need scoring from other players besides Toews, Kane and Saad if they expect to compete.

The Blackhawks return to action on Sunday, November 18th for Hockey Fights Cancer night at the United Center. Eddie Olczyk will participate in the Last Shift program for the Blackhawks and likely be recognized for winning his battle with cancer. Chicago will wear their purple jerseys in warmups as they take on divisional foe, the Minnesota Wild, at 5:00pm CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks Lose to The Lowly Kings 2-1 in a Shootout appeared first on The Rink.

7:30pm CST/5:30pm PST
United Center
TV/Radio: NHL Network, NBCSCH, FS-W/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (4-6-0 W/L, SV%: 0.911 GAA: 2.76)
Los Angeles – Peter Budaj (0-1-0 W/L, SV%: 0.833 GAA: 5.50)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (13.8%, 28th)
Los Angeles (14.3, T-26th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (74.6%, 26th)
Los Angeles (78.4%, 19th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.5, T-9th, 33.1, 24th)
Los Angeles (27.6, 29th, 30.2, 9th)

Shooting %
Chicago (8.4%, 26th)
Los Angeles (7.4%, 30th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.9%, T-17^th)
Los Angeles (52.3%, 4^th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Los Angeles 6’1” 206lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Nick Schmaltz–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden
Chris Kunitz–Marcus Kruger–Andreas Martinsen
Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson–Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Manning–Gustav Forsling

Los Angeles Kings

Alex Iafallo–Anze Kopitar–Dustin Brown
Ilya Kovalchuk–Jeff Carter–Tyler Toffoli
Carl Hagelin–Michael Amadio–Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford–Adrian Kempe–Nate Thompson
Derek Forbort–Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin–Alec Martinez
Dion Phaneuf–Oscar Fantenberg

Analysis

Chicago ended an eight-game losing streak, shutting out the Blues on Wednesday, and look to start a winning streak against a struggling Kings team.

Willie Desjardins, hired as head coach after the firing of John Stevens, has the Kings coming in on a three-game losing streak. Los Angeles managed a measly two goals in those three losses.

The offensive hindered Kings are led by forward Ilya Kovalchuk, signed this summer after a stint in the KHL, with five goals and fourteen points.

Do not adjust your televisions, that was a power play goal on Wednesday. Blues’ defenseman Jay Bouwmeester did kick the puck into his own net, but they all count the same for the Hawks. Brent Seabrook was credited with his third goal of the season, and all things considered, the Hawks’ power play will take it.

Corey Crawford is expected in net tonight. Crawford played excellent in his first shutout of the season. Los Angeles will really on goalie Peter Budaj tonight, both Jonathan Quick and Jack Campbell are out with injuries, and stopped only 15 of the 19 shots he faced on Tuesday.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com. 

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs. Kings appeared first on The Rink.

Anton Forsberg was back in goal for the Blackhawks, after mopping up the bloody massacre of Jean-Francois Berube in San Jose. Jan Rutta was skating with the team, but still on IR, so he was the only scratch.

Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane
Tomas Jurco – Artem Anisimov – Anthony Duclair
Alex DeBrincat – Nick Schmaltz – Vinnie Hinostroza
Patrick Sharp – David Kampf – Matthew Highmore

Duncan Keith – Connor Murphy
Erik Gustafsson – Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom – Jordan Oesterle

In a pretty even first period, the Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead just over seven minutes into regulation. Jordan Oesterle beat Jonathan Quick with a long, well placed point shot through roughly six bodies after Quick thwarted an Alex DeBrincat wrap around attempt.  It was nice to see the pair of Oesterle and Dahlstrom have some success together after some rough individual play against the Sharks.

With under a minute left in the first period, the Blackhawks looked to have scored a fluky goal when Matthew Highmore nudged Jonathan Quick as the Kings goaltender was trying to glove a long flip shot. Quick lost control of the puck and David Kampf shuffled it into the net. After further review, the war room said that Highmore’s contact was enough to keep the goal off the board.

Duncan Keith began a rough stretch of play in the second period, with about four and an half minutes played. He tried to be a little too cute with a cross ice pass at his own blue line and it was picked off by Tanner Pearson. Pearson was off to the races with no one in front of him and beat Anton Forsberg to tie the game.

Two minutes later, Keith was in the center of another Kings goal. Anze Kopitar threw a puck towards the Hawks goaltender, which was stopped, but the rebound laid in the slot.  Duncan Keith, a few Blackhawks and a host of Kings players tried to gather the loose rebound, but eventually, Alec Martinez swatted the puck past Forsberg to give the Kings a 2-1 lead.

Keith was not done there, though. He was front and center once again, for the Kings third goal of the second period, with just over two minutes remaining. He had, what looked to be, an easy clearing attempt along the Blackhawks left half-wall. It looked like he just did not get enough mustard on the pass attempt to David Kampf, and it dribbled helplessly between the two Hawks players.

Alex Iafallo picked up the loose puck, turned towards Forsberg, took a few steps and beat the Hawks goalie. This gave the Kings a 3-1 lead, which usually means “meltdown time” for the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks were also out shot 25-15 through the opening two periods. Conventional wisdom would have told us all that the Blackhawks were done, but they actually pulled off a rare comeback.

Not only did they mount a comeback, but they did it in the final ten minutes of the game. A Drew Doughty hooking/unsportsmanlike conduct call gave the Hawks a four minute powerplay, which started the avalanche of momentum for the Blackhawks.  On the power play, Jonathan Toews sent a shot towards Quick, who made the save but kicked the fat rebound right into the slot. Artem Anisimov was waiting there, and sniped the Kings goalie to cut the lead to just one goal.

With just over five minutes remaining in the game, the Kings returned the Duncan Keith favor by handing the Blackhawks their opportunity to tie the game. Carl Dahlstrom started the play, letting a long shot from the point go towards Quick. The shot was stopped by Kings defenseman Derek Forbort, who attempted to clear the puck, but flubbed it. He ended up putting the puck right on the stick of Vinnie Hinostroza, who took a shot that was initially saved by Quick but, somehow, squirted through and just barely over the goal line.

Then it was time for Jonathan Toews to save the day, like Superman, and on the power play. Toews and Patrick Kane played catch across the Kings’ slot, and with little pressure, Toews was able to let a long wrist shot go. The shot magically beat Jonathan Quick, and the Blackhawks had the lead with just under two minutes to play.

A late empty net goal by Patrick Kane sealed the Kings’ fate, and the Blackhawks put themselves in position to get four of six points on this road trip with a 5-3 win.

Pluses

• Artem Anisimov is continuing to have a nice little season. There has been much talk about having to get his contract off the books, and it is probably true, but he is driving up his trade value in the process. It would be wonderful to be able to keep him, but his salary at third line center just won’t work going forward.
• The third Kings goal was a little “iffy” for Anton Forsberg but his Norris trophy winning defenseman also should have never turned the puck over, like he did. Because of that, I’m putting Forsberg in the plus category. He saved 29 of 32 shots and out-dueled “elite goaltender” Jonathan Quick.
• The Blackhawks best players need to be their best players, and they were in this game.  Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane each had three points, while playing on the same line.
• I have been hard on Oesterle lately, but today he looked much better with more favorable match-ups as he was moved down the lineup.
• All hail, Vinnie!  Vinnie, Vidi, Vici!  Hinostroza is putting together a nice little season for himself.  No matter which line Quenneville puts him on, he seems to contribute.  Maybe if his hometown buddy had the same kind of production he wouldn’t be in Nashville.

Minuses

• The Nick Schmaltz faceoff woes continued. The team was just under 50% as a team, but Schmaltz was 27%. If he is the second line center of the future, he needs to be better. If not, the Hawks will be limited in the situations he can be on the ice for faceoffs.
• Duncan Keith had a pretty horrid second period, and it almost cost the Blackhawks a win.  It looks like his frustration is boiling over and he might need a night off.  Now, I’m not screaming for his head or anything but he looks frustrated, and maybe a night off could clear his head.  Sometimes a hard reset can do a world of good.  This is a lost season anyway.  Riding him like a rented mule doesn’t do anyone any good.
• I know I’m piling on and splitting hairs, but I have zero use for Tomas Jurco and Patrick Sharp.  Unfortunately, because of the CBA rules, the Blackhawks are stuck with this lineup for the rest of the season.
• Poor Connor Murphy was saddled with a -3 when it was actually his partner that was mostly responsible for the goals against.  I want to see more of Murphy with Keith.  They could be a really nice pairing once Keith exorcises his “yips“.

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