Defenseman Keith Brown injured his groin in the first period Sunday afternoon and didn`t play after that.
Without Brown, the Hawks were down to five defensemen. Doug Wilson is also out of action with a broken bone in his right hand.
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– Denis Savard didn`t play Sunday as he had hoped he might after his injured right-ankle ligament felt better Saturday. But Savard and Wilson both skated hard Sunday morning and they could return Tuesday when the Hawks play at Minnesota.
A victory Sunday by the Hawks would have set up a third-place game against the North Stars. Instead, the Hawks stay four points behind Minnesota in fourth place.
– Everett Sanipass scored his second goal in two games to give Chicago a 1-0 first-period lead. Sanipass has been playing well in front of friends he has had in town this week from his hometown of Big Cove, New Brunswick.
– Kings coach Robbie Ftorek said of Wayne Gretzky after he scored his 45th career hat trick: ”He goes out and plays like a kid. It`s not amazing to me, it`s just nice to see.”
– Outshooting the opposition doesn`t necessarily translate into victory for the Hawks. They outshot the Kings 34-24, but now have a record of 12-10-6 when they take more shots.
– Dirk Graham leads the Hawks in short-handed goals with 6. He picked up another one in the last period Sunday. Graham`s next goal will tie his National Hockey League high of 25 in a season.
– Steve Larmer`s assist on Graham`s goal extended his scoring streak to 10 games. He has 9 goals and 7 assists in that span.
– Kings tough-guy Jay Miller barked something at the Hawks` Dave Manson as Manson skated by him after the game. Asked about it, Manson said: ”Maybe I should have met up with him a little earlier.”
Manson has never had much offensive luck against the Kings, who swept the Hawks in all three games this season. Manson has been held to 1 assist in 9 games against Los Angeles.
– Goaltender Jimmy Waite, who has been out with a broken collarbone, has started to skate and could be ready to play on a conditioning basis with Saginaw (Mich.) in the International League in a couple of weeks.
– Winger Bill Watson, who recently had a short stint with the Hawks, separated his shoulder Friday night when Saginaw played at Milwaukee.