The Chicago Blackhawks felt good going into the first intermission. They were up a goal after a tap-in from Connor Bedard and looking to keep the momentum going.
Things then flipped on their head. Again.
The Los Angeles Kings used three unanswered goals to beat the Hawks 3-1 on Sunday at the United Center. The loss ended the Hawks’ point streak at five games.
“I thought we played really good in the first (and) probably could have been up by two,” Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “I thought we self-inflicted a little bit in the second in terms of puck management and we made the game less direct (and) less predictable to ourselves.”
The Kings (4-3-3) were in the second half of a back-to-back after a 5-4 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators. The Hawks (4-3-2), however, were the ones who didn’t have energy.
Sloppy offensive-zone possessions turned into Kings breakaways. The road team scored twice in less than two minutes, including a wrap-around, go-ahead goal from left wing Kevin Fiala at the 4:54 mark in the second period.
Photos: Chicago Blackhawks lose 3-1 to the Los Angeles Kings
It was similar to the Vancouver Canucks’ trip to the United Center on Oct. 17. They scored two goals in the second period, leading to a 3-2 shootout win.
“The power play lost a little bit of momentum there, then we didn’t get a shift after to get back and felt like we were shooting ourselves in the foot,” center Jason Dickinson said. “It’s so cliche, but we made mistakes that they capitalized on and that’s really all it was.”
Added Blashill: “Disappointing for sure. We’re going to have to remember these more (when we’re) on the back half of them so we can’t use it as an excuse. Both cases, we came out with good first periods and I thought took our foot off the gas.”
The Kings clamped down on the Hawks offense in the last two periods. The Hawks finished with a 23-22 edge in shots on goal, but the advantage was 11-6 after the first period.
Blashill knew how frustrating playing the Kings can be, given their size and strength. The players got a firsthand experience.
“They play really boring,” Bedard said. “It’s not a dig or anything. They sit back a lot and they make it hard to get zone entries. We’ve got to figure out how to crack that. It’s a good experience for us.”
The power play has become a concern after it was a bright spot in 2024-25. The Hawks have converted 15.6% of their opportunities, 26th in the league and well below last season’s 24.9% mark that ranked seventh.
“I want to look at it more without commenting a whole bunch, (but) we struggle with faceoffs,” Blashill said. “We’ve got to generate momentum and didn’t feel like we generated momentum on it today.”
Kings captain and center Anže Kopitar was activated from injured reserve Saturday before their game in Nashville. He had suffered a foot injury in an Oct. 13 game against the Minnesota Wild.
Kopitar, 38, has announced that 2025-26 will be his last season, making Sunday’s game his last regular-season appearance at the United Center. The Hawks travel to Los Angeles for a back-to-back Dec. 4 and 6.
Kopitar has some history with the Hawks in his 20 seasons with the Kings — most notably back-to-back meetings in the Western Conference finals.
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In 2013, the Hawks beat the Kings in five games en route to their second Stanley Cup in four years. Patrick Kane ended Game 5 with a double-overtime goal, completing a hat trick.
Kopitar got his revenge in 2014, when the Kings beat the Hawks in seven games. They went on to beat the New York Rangers in five games for Kopitar’s second Stanley Cup.
Kopitar has played in 1,460 games, recording 440 goals and 842 assists for 1,282 points and a plus-112 rating. Young Hawks such as Bedard and Frank Nazar were toddlers when Kopitar debuted in 2006, so it was important for Blashill to get his team ready to face him.
“I don’t know him personally, but he’s honestly been one of my favorite players in the league, and it’s amazing how good he still is this many years into the league,” Blashill said at the morning skate. “He’s one of those great winners in our game.
“It’s just a matter for us of really focusing on playing our game and doing the things that we have to do. I think (Kopitar is) a good model to be able to see what that looks like and why he’s won two (Stanley) Cups.”
Hawks right wing Ilya Mikheyev left the game in the third period after he was tripped into the boards by Kings forward Adrian Kempe. He skated to the tunnel holding his shoulder, but Blashill said he doesn’t think it’s anything serious.
Forward Tyler Bertuzzi didn’t play Sunday and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators is unclear. The injury wasn’t disclosed, but Blashill said Bertuzzi is day to day.