The Kings got exactly what they wanted early in Chicago and still left with nothing.
Los Angeles opened fast on Tuesday at United Center, jumped in front on Samuel Helenius’ first point of the season, and then watched the Blackhawks take over enough of the night to grind out a 2-1 win and hand the Kings a loss in the finale of their five-game road trip.
That opening strike came from the fourth line right away. Jared Wright sent a shot toward the net, Spencer Knight got beat as the puck trickled through his legs, and Helenius finished the job in the crease during the scramble. Andre Lee and Wright each earned an assist on the play.
From there, the game turned into a fight for control, and Chicago slowly dragged it back to even. The Blackhawks got their first real opening when Joel Armia was whistled for tripping Anton Frondell at 14:26 of the second period.
Anton Forsberg answered with a pair of strong stops to keep the lead intact, but Armia was then called for interference while leaving the penalty box, and the Kings were caught without their top penalty killer for four straight minutes. That sequence bit them quickly, with Roman Kantserov burying the tying goal 11 seconds into the second penalty.
Kantserov’s goal at 16:40 of the second came with help from Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen and made it 1-1.
Los Angeles had a chance to seize the game back late in the second when Armia drew a high-sticking double minor on Sam Rinzel, setting up nearly three minutes of power-play time to open the third. The Kings came away with just one shot on goal during the man advantage, and that missed opportunity came back to haunt them.
“We've got to be better in that area out on the power play. We had one last game, I was hoping that it was going to build some confidence off of that,” said Kings right winger Adrian Kempe.
"We've got to be better. We've got to be better at communicating, passes - just everything."
Chicago struck shortly after, with defenseman Wyatt Kaiser snapping a wrist shot through Forsberg five-hole from the left face-off circle 7:17 into the third period. That goal stood as the winner.
“We've been here too many times in the third period, 1-1, with a chance to win a game and we don't get it done. It's on us.
We've got to get that done,” Kings coach Peter Laviolette said. "The record could be a lot different if we're closing out third periods."
Knight locked it down from there, stopping the Kings’ last three shots on goal and finishing with 25 saves on 26 shots. Forsberg was strong in defeat, turning aside 25 of 27, and did plenty to keep Los Angeles in range while Chicago pressed in the final two periods.
For the Kings, the road trip ended at 3-2, a better step than where they started but still a missed chance to cash in on a winnable night. They head back to Los Angeles for a seven-game home stand from Oct. 29 to Nov. 12, and they do it still looking for their first home win after starting the season 0-3-0 there.
“It sucks not winning the last game. From our start, going 3-2 is still a little bit of a positive for us.
Obviously, it would be a lot better 4-1, so it stings on the way back here,” Kings center Quinton Byfield said. “But from where we started, I feel like it's getting a lot better, and it's got to keep going that way.”
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New York managed three of its own through J.T. Miller, Adam Fox and Tye Kartye, but the Kings kept finding answers whenever the Rangers tried to build momentum. The more interesting part of the night for Los Angeles was where the offense came from, and it speaks to a team getting contributions from all over the lineup at a time when every road point carries extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Face A Growing Alexander Nikishin Problem This Offseason
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For teams like the Kings, that kind of ripple effect matters because it shapes what kind of help might be available if they decide to add on the blue line. Los Angeles has its own big-picture questions on defense, with Drew Doughty signaling he wants to stay on a team-friendly deal, but the contract side of that picture is still unsettled, and until the Kings sort out their own plans, they will be watching how the rest of the market evolves around them. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Face One Big Road Test After Laviolettes Expected Goalie Change
The Kings head into the second half of a back-to-back in Chicago with the kind of road momentum every team wants to protect. After a dominant recent win, Los Angeles has reason to feel good about its game away from home, and this one offers a clean test of whether that stretch can hold up under the fatigue of consecutive nights and a fresh opponent on the other side.
Peter Laviolette is also expected to tweak the lineup in net, a move that speaks to how carefully the Kings are managing this trip. The bigger question now is how much flexibility they have elsewhere in the lineup, with the possibility of another veteran forward being held out for the back-to-back leaving little margin for error if Los Angeles wants to keep rolling. [Read more 🡒]