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Blackhawks Fall to the Los Angeles Kings in a Shootout 2-1

Posted on by Matt Lucas

How it Happened

The Chicago Blackhawks fell short in a shootout to the Los Angeles Kings 2-1. It was the Blackhawks first shootout of the year. On the bright side, the Hawks are 1-0-2 in their last three games under their new coach Jeremy Colliton. Progress is progress. Every point counts.

The first period of the game was pretty quiet. The best scoring chance for the Hawks came from a rocket of a snap shot from Patrick Kane that just missed the post. At about the ten minute mark, the Hawks started to get a bit sloppy with the puck in their own zone and the neutral zone, which resulted in a big swing in momentum for the Kings.

The Kings continued to dominate play for the rest of the first period and well into the second period. The Hawks were then rewarded with three straight power plays. The second and third power plays had the most scoring chances and the Hawks looked dangerous with the man up. Colliton has been focusing a lot of practice time on the movement within the 1-3-1 set up that the Hawks utilize and making crisper and quicker passes. Nick Schmaltz had an A+ scoring chance from the high slot during the third power play that was stopped by Calvin Peterson, the Kings rookie goalie who was making his first NHL start. It sure did not look like it was his first start in the show. He looked calm and collected and made a number of high quality saves throughout the game.

The Kings broke through with the first goal of the game at the 9:31 mark of the second period. Tyler Toffoli grabbed the puck after a turnover by Erik Gustafsson in the neutral zone, came across the blue line and made a slick deke on Alex DeBrincat. He then cut to the slot and took a quick snap shot that took a bad bounce off of Duncan Keith. Unlucky, but Toffoli’s unassisted goal gave the Kings a 1-0 lead midway through the second.

After two periods of play the possession metrics strongly favored the Kings. Corey Crawford kept the Hawks in the game with a handful of impressive stops. The Hawks were in dire need of a spark coming out of the locker room to start the third.

Colliton made the decision to switch up the lines to start the third and put Brandon Saad on the Kane and Jonathan Toews tandem. Schmaltz was moved to a line with Artem Anisimov and DeBrincat. These line changes made a big difference and right away the game felt tilted back in the Hawks favor. The Hawks looked faster, hungry, and determined to come back. After a few solid shifts to start the third, the Hawks tied the game at the 17:20 mark with a goal by Saad. Toews set up Saad with a beautiful pass from below the goal line. All Saad had to do was tap it in.

The Hawks dominated for most of the third period with the rookie, Peterson, making some big time saves on Kane, Schmaltz, and many other Hawks. The Kings survived an offensive onslaught by the Hawks that evened out the heat map and game flow chart.

In overtime, the Hawks and Kings had multiple chances, but could not get anything pass the goal line. The NHL did a wonderful job changing OT rules to make it 3 on 3. It gets the fans on their feet and is extremely nerve-racking and exciting. The game moved to a shootout, the first of the year for the Hawks. Colliton elected to shoot first and Toews barely missed a deke and quick shot from his forehand side. The infamous Ilya Kovalchuk rifled a shot to the far side to put the Kings up 1-0 in the shootout.

88 slowed up in the slot and tried to wait Peterson out. However, the puck dribbled past the netminder’s pads and just missed the outside of the post. The Kings captain Anze Kopitar, who is coming off a career year in the 2017-2018 season, found an opening through the five hole and gave the Kings a much needed win on the road.

The Hawks still managed to get a point. However, the Kings have been dreadful for most of the year and these are the type of games for the Hawks where two points are expected. It will be interesting to see what happens on Sunday night agains the Minnesota Wild, who have asserted themselves as a playoff contender in the central division over the last few weeks. It will be a big test on home ice.

3 Thoughts

Corey Crawford is an elite goalie and we are lucky to have him back and healthy.

Crawford made a number of elite level stops tonight. He saved 31 of 32 shots for a save percentage of .969. The goal he let up was off a weird bounce and had no chance (see above). Goalie Coach Jimmy Waite did a masterful job preparing Crawford to get back on the ice playing at an elite level after ten months off due to a concussion.

Colliton’s line changes made a huge difference

There was a clear momentum switch that happened at the start of the third period. Once Kane, Toews, and Saad were together, it felt like the Hawks, as a whole, started to hustle, finish checks, shoot more often and win battles along the boards. Let’s see what Colliton does with the lines for Sunday’s 5pm start against the Wild.

Gustav Forsling looks comfortable and solid on the third D-paring, since returning from a wrist injury.

Forsling finished with 19:39 minutes of ice time, an assist, and 2 SOG. He even got a chance during OT and almost tipped a shot past Peterson. He made no noticeable mistakes and looked like his speed and stick handling improved since last year.

3 Stars

  1. Calvin Peterson, G, LA — 34 saves on 35 shots, .971 SV%, and stoned Kane and Toews in the shootout.
  2. Jeremy Colliton — Line changes were a major in-game decision that really stood out and shifted momentum. Putting Saad on a line with Toews and Kane, shaking things up, and having the confidence to make that change got us a point tonight.
  3. Gustav Forsling, D, CHI — 19:39 TOI, A, 2 SOG

As always, Go Hawks!

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