Blackhawks Follow The Script in Sixth Straight Loss

The Chicago Blackhawks losing streak has hit six games after a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. The same problems that have plagued this team all season did them in again. This game wasn’t as lopsided as some of the most recent outings, but it was another loss nonetheless.

Trevor Moore broke the scoreless tie nine minutes into the game by firing a wrist shot from the slot that went post and in. Chicago-area native Alex Turcotte doubled the Kings’ lead 59 seconds later by redirecting a Vladislav Gavrikov shot past Spencer Knight.

Midway through the second period, the Blackhawks got their second power play of the night. After a sloppy power play in the opening period, Connor Bedard cashed in to tie the game. Tyler Bertuzzi got the puck to the side of the net and then found Bedard at the left dot, where he ripped home a one-timer. He now leads the team with nine power-play goals.

The Blackhawks played their best period of the night in the final frame. They forced Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper to make some big saves, but they could not draw even. Defenseman Joel Edmundson put the game away with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

Jason Dickinson Quiet on the Top Line

Last season, you could strongly argue that Jason Dickinson was the team MVP. He set career highs in goals (22), assists (13), points (35), and games played (82), all while playing Selke-level defense. This season hasn’t gone as many expected, including Dickinson.

“I’m not contributing, and it’s driving me nuts,” Dickinson said Tuesday night. “I expect a lot more of myself, and it’s increasingly frustrating feeling OK physically and good enough to go that I should be contributing a lot more than I have been.”

Dickinson returned to the lineup on March 10 against the Colorado Avalanche but has not made the impact he’d hoped for. Interim head coach Anders Sorensen was surprised about Dickinson’s defensive struggles since getting back in the lineup.

“I think he’s done some good things and some moments defensively, which is usually his strong set, where he got out of rhythm,” he said. “I think when you miss that much time, it’s hard to get right back into it. We played some tough games as a group, so it’s not just him.”

Sorensen put Dickinson on the left wing of the top line with Bedard and Frank Nazar, hoping to get his game going. In case you’ve lost count, this is the 48^th different line combination Bedard has been a part of this season.

“We have a lot of trust In him,” Sorensen said.” We rely on him. So, find your game here.”

Individually, Dickinson was fine. He had two shots on goal and two hits and was not on the ice for a goal against. As a trio with Bedard and Nazar, they weren’t very effective. In 9:15 of 5v5 ice time, they had just four shot attempts to 15 for the Kings. They were out-chanced 7-2, while the Kings had a 4-1 advantage in high-danger scoring chances. We’ll see what the lines look like at practice tomorrow.

Slow Start Spells Doom for Blackhawks

“Playing a full 60” is one of those hockey cliches that, if I never hear it again, it will be too soon. Part of the problem is that the Blackhawks have been constantly saying it for the last few seasons. This team cannot string three good periods together. Before tonight’s game, Sorensen wasn’t displeased with the start of the previous couple of outings, but he couldn’t have been happy with the opening 20 minutes against the Kings.

“If you look at the last couple of games, the starts have been good,” he said. “So, we’re ready to play, right? I think when things don’t go our way, it snowballs a little bit, and we get discouraged. That’s something, more so than anything, that has been an issue the last couple of games. The young guys are ready to go, so it’s just a matter of sustaining that.”

The first period was another lousy 20 minutes of hockey for the Blackhawks. Not only did they give up two goals in less than a minute, but they were thoroughly dominated at 5v5. The Kings had 33 shot attempts to the Blackhawks’ 12, a 19-2 lead in scoring chances, and 10-1 in high-danger scoring chances. Sorensen always says it’s not the shots you allow but rather the scoring chances. Giving up over one scoring chance per minute at 5v5 is not a recipe for success.

“They took it to us in the first period,” Sorensen said. “A lot of traffic, a lot of shots, a lot of extra rebounds and stuff. Spencer did a good job of keeping us in there. In the last two periods, I think we had more quality chances, but [they] didn’t go our way.”

Odds & Ends

• Colton Dach left the game late in the third period with an injury to either his left arm or wrist. Sorensen did not have an update on his condition after the game. We will hopefully learn more after tomorrow’s practice.

• With the loss, the Blackhawks were officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
• Nazar went 9-for-10 at the faceoff dot. He’s been one of the season’s biggest success stories and has proven without a shadow of a doubt that he belongs in the NHL. Not bad for the 14th-ranked Blackhawks prospect.