The Chicago Blackhawks felt good going into the first intermission. They were up 1-0 after a tap-in from Connor Bedard and looking to keep their 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 home team’s 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 under two minutes, including a wrap-around, go-ahead goal from left winger 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 shots on goal tallied 23-22 after the Hawks held an 11-6 advantage after the first period.
Blashill knew how frustrating playing the Kings can be, given their size and strength. The players got the firsthand experience.
“They play really boring. It’s not a dig or anything, they sit back a lot and they make it hard to get zone entries,” Bedard said. “We 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 15.9% of their power play opportunities so far, below the 24.9% mark they had last year.
“I want to look at it more without commenting a whole bunch, (but) we struggle with face-offs,” Blashill said. “We got to generate momentum and didn’t feel like we generated momentum on it today.”
The matchup featured Kings captain and center Anže Kopitar, who was elevated from injury reserve on Saturday prior to their Nashville trip. He came back from a foot injury suffered in a game against the Minnesota Wild.
Kopitar, 38, announced that 2025-26 will be his last season in the NHL, making Sunday’s game his last regular-season appearance at the United Center. The Hawks travel to Los Angeles for a back-to-back on Dec. 4 and 6.
Kopitar has some history with the Hawks in his 20 seasons with the Kings. Most notably, the Kings and Hawks faced each other in back-to-back Western Conference Finals.
In 2013, the Hawks beat the Kings in five games en route to another Stanley Cup. Patrick Kane ended game five with a double-overtime goal, completing a hat trick.
Kopitar got his revenge in the 2014 series, where the Kings beat the Hawks in seven games. The Kings 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. Skaters like Bedard and Frank Nazar may have been learning to walk when Kopitar debuted, so it was important for Blashill to get his team ready for No. 11.
“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 his team’s 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’s) a good model to be able to see what that looks like and why he’s won two (Stanley) Cups.”
Right winger Ilya Mikheyev left the game in the third period after he was tripped into the boards by forward Adrian Kempe. He skated to the tunnel holding his shoulder, but Blashill said that he doesn’t think it’s anything serious.
Forward Tyler Bertuzzi didn’t play on Sunday and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators is unclear. The injury wasn’t disclosed, but Blashill says he’s day-to-day.