The Blackhawks finished off their seven-game homestand with a much-needed response Tuesday night, beating the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 and stopping a three-game skid in the process.
It didn’t start cleanly. Chicago was on the back end of a back-to-back and playing its third game in four nights, but Los Angeles came out with the sharper jump anyway, piling up a 6-0 edge in shots on goal over the first five minutes and opening the scoring on Samuel Helenius’ stick play around Spencer Knight after a loose puck sat behind him.
Chicago spent most of the first period and a big chunk of the second chasing the game, but the equalizer finally arrived at 16:40 of the middle frame when Roman Kantserov cashed in on the power play. That goal swung the evening back toward the Hawks, and Wyatt Kaiser delivered the winner in the third period by finding room and beating Anton Forsberg through the five-hole.
That was the whole script from there.
Kantserov’s early-season start keeps looking better. He now has five goals in 12 games, and for a 22-year-old second-round pick seeing North American ice for the first time, that’s a real bright spot.
The Hawks also kept running into the same old problem: chances without finish. Ryan Donato had another golden look denied by Forsberg, and Tyler Bertuzzi was part of a power-play sequence that didn’t turn into a goal either. The puck has not been kind to them lately.
Still, one of the night’s biggest positives was the top line of Moore, Kane and Nazar. In 8:37 together, that group controlled play hard, with advantages of 17-6 in shot attempts, 10-1 in shots on goal, 9-2 in scoring chances and 7-2 in high-danger chances.
Natural Stat Trick had their expected goal share at 74.93 percent. Oddly enough, the goal they were on for did not come from any of the three - Kaiser scored it - but the process was loud enough to suggest more points should follow if they keep generating that kind of pressure.
There was a different story with the Bedard-Greene-Kantserov trio, which was underwater in just about every category during its 6:54 together. Chicago adjusted on the fly, moving Greene down to the fourth line with Greenway and Smith, where he’s spent much of the season, and swapping him with Teuvo.
That gave the Hawks a Teuvo-Bedard-Kantserov look that produced decent numbers in 4:24 together: 8-2 in shot attempts, 4-2 in shots on goal and 5-1 in scoring chances. The line combinations may keep shifting, but that grouping at least had some life.
The defense joined the attack more often too, which matters for a team built around skating and movement on the back end. Outside of Ian Cole, Chicago’s defensemen are mobile enough that sustained offensive-zone time should create more openings.
For much of the season, the Hawks have relied on rush chances or sudden chances that appear out of nowhere. Kaiser’s goal was the kind of play that should show up more often when they can actually hold the zone and wear down coverage.
Chicago also missed the net a lot. Over the last three seasons, 48.6 percent of the team’s shot attempts have turned into shots on goal.
This season, including Tuesday’s game, that number is down to 46.5 percent. Against the Kings, the Hawks had 58 shot attempts at 5-on-5 and only 24 shots on goal, which works out to 41.4 percent.
Even so, it was just the second time this season that Chicago finished with more 5-on-5 shots on goal than its opponent. Small step, but still a step.
A win won’t fix everything, and it doesn’t erase the rough stretch that came before it. But it did stop the slide and quiet the noise for one night. After looking flat during the losing streak, the Hawks at least got to protect a third-period lead and leave the ice with something they can build on.
Three Stars
Spencer Knight (CHI) - 25 saves on 26 shots
Wyatt Kaiser (CHI) - GWG
Roman Kantserov (CHI) - 1 G, 15:52 TOI
What’s Next
The Blackhawks head on the road for much of the next two weeks, beginning Thursday night in Detroit against the Red Wings at 6:30 p.m.
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