Blackhawks Game Day
Blackhawks Game 27: Healthy Kings, Preview, Lineups, & ESPN+ Again?
The Chicago Blackhawks (11-9-6) continue their four-game West Coast road trip with the first of two matchups in three days against the Los Angeles Kings (12-7-7) at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night.
It’s the second of three meetings between the Blackhawks and Kings this season, with Los Angeles earning a 3-1 victory in the first contest at the United Center on Oct. 26. Connor Bedard opened the scoring for Chicago in the first period, but the Kings rallied for three unanswered goals over the final 40 minutes. Alex Laferriere, Kevin Fiala, and Joel Armia (EN) were the three goal scorers for the visitors.
The Blackhawks are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in their last time out to open up the road trip. Bedard tallied a highlight-reel goal to put the Hawks ahead 3-2 in the final frame, but Braeden Bowen answered back with under three minutes remaining to force overtime. Shea Theodore netted the shootout winner for Vegas in the fourth round. Oliver Moore and Tyler Bertuzzi scored the other two goals for Chicago.
Last time out, the Kings suffered a 3-1 home loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Adrian Kempe, the team’s leading point scorer, tallied their lone goal of the game.
Los Angeles is 2-2-3 in the past seven games entering Thursday and currently sits in third place in the Pacific Division with 31 points. They’re just one point behind the second-place Vegas Golden Knights and two points back of the first-place Anaheim Ducks.
Here’s everything to note before puck drops at 9:00 p.m. CT in Los Angeles.
Blackhawks Regular Season Notes (Last Five Games)
- The Blackhawks went toe-to-toe with the NHL’s top team, the Colorado Avalanche, but still had their losing streak extended to three games. Scott Wedgewood got the better of Spencer Knight in a goaltending duel at the United Center.
- Another red-hot Central Division opponent, the Minnesota Wild, came into the United Center on Wednesday. Similar to Sunday, the Blackhawks outplayed the Wild for most of the night, but their losing streak was extended to four games with a 4-3 overtime loss. Another controversial call helped Kirill Kaprizov net the overtime winner on the power play.
- The losing streak has reached five games after another one-goal loss on home ice to a Central Division opponent. The Blackhawks lost 4-3 to the last-place Nashville Predators. It’s been a dreadful start to the four-game homestand.
- Connor Bedard exploded for his third four-point performance of the season to lift the Blackhawks to a 5-3 comeback victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Finally, the losing streak has ended.
- For the fourth time in the last seven games, the Blackhawks squandered a third-period lead and lost by one goal. Some tough luck in Sin City also played a part in the 4-3 shootout defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights. Chicago is now 1-6 in overtime this season.
Projected Blackhawks Lineup
Forward Lines
Ryan Greene — Connor Bedard – Andre Burakovsky
Tyler Bertuzzi — Frank Nazar — Oliver Moore
Teuvo Teravainen — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach — Ryan Donato
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy
Sam Rinzel
Scratched
F — Sam Lafferty, F — Landon Slaggert
Injured
F — Nick Foligno (hand)
***
The Blackhawks once again had 19 skaters go through line rushes at the morning skate, while Sam Lafferty was the lone extra. One more player must be scratched, and it’s likely to be Landon Slaggert.
Tyler Bertuzzi has logged multiple points in each of his last five road games, joining Denis Savard and Bobby Hull as the only players in Blackhawks franchise history to accomplish the feat. Bertuzzi also leads the NHL with six road power-play goals and 11 total goals on the road this season. The gritty forward is expected to skate with Oliver Moore and Frank Nazar on the second line once again.
Connor Bedard is riding an eight-game point streak on the road, which is just two games shy of tying his career-long road point streak. Bedard is currently third in the NHL with 38 points (17G, 21A) through 26 games. The team’s leading scorer will center the top line and play with Ryan Greene and Andre Burakovsky.
Speaking of Burakovsky, he’s tallied 14 points in his last 13 games and leads all Blackhawks skaters with 22 career points (7G, 15A) against the Kings. Burakovsky is tied for third on the team with 18 points in 21 games.
Greene (2G, 1A) and Nazar (3A) are both riding three-game point streaks entering Thursday.
Kings Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Joel Armia — Quinton Byfield — Kevin Fiala
Trevor Moore — Anze Kopitar — Adrian Kempe
Alex Laferriere — Phillip Danault — Andrei Kuzmenko
Warren Foefele — Alex Turcotte — Corey Perry
Defensive Pairings
Mikey Anderson-Drew Doughty
Brian Dumoulin-Brandt Clarke
Joel Edmundson-Cody Ceci
Scratched
F — Samuel Helenius, F — Jeff Malott, D — Jacob Moverare
Injured
None
***
The Kings are expected to have both Drew Doughty and Warren Foegele back in the lineup against Chicago. Doughty has been out since Nov. 15 with a foot injury. Foegele has been out since Nov. 24 with an upper-body injury. The forward lines and defensive pairings listed above are unconfirmed.
Captain Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 42 points (16G, 26A) in 57 career games against the Blackhawks. Kevin Fiala has 22 points (10G, 12A) in 29 games, Alex Lafferiere has five goals in seven games, and Andrei Kuzmenko has eight points (4G, 4A) in nine games. Former Blackhawks first-round pick Philipp Danault also has 17 points (8G, 9A) in 20 career games against the team that drafted him.
Projected Goaltending Matchup
Spencer Knight (8-5-5, 2.52 GAA, .917 Sv%, 1 SO) vs. Darcy Kuemper (8-5-5, 2.37 GAA, .908 Sv%, 1 SO)
Knight will make his 19th start of the season in net for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old stopped 25 of 28 shots faced in a shootout loss to Vegas in his last outing. Knight is 1-2-1 with a 1.75 GAA and .950 Sv% in four career starts against the Kings. In his Blackhawks debut on Mar. 3, 2025, vs. Los Angeles, Knight stopped 41 of 42 shots to earn his first win with the team.
Kuemper is expected to also make his 19th start of the season in goal for the Kings. The 35-year-old netminder stopped 22 of 24 shots in a loss to the Capitals in his most recent start. Kuemper is 9-3-2 with a 2.32 GAA, .915 Sv%, and 1 shutout in 15 career games against Chicago.
2025-26 Results vs. Kings
Thursday marks the second of three meetings between the Blackhawks and Kings in 2025-26. Chicago has earned a point in 16 of the last 21 matchups (9-5-7) against Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena.
10/26/25 — 3-1 L, United Center
12/04/25 — Crypto.com Arena
12/06/25 — Crypto.com Arena
2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Connor Bedard (17)
Assists — Connor Bedard (27)
Points — Connor Bedard (38)
GF/GP — 3.19 (9th)
GA/GP — 2.88 (13th)
PP% — 22.8% (9th)
PK% — 84.4% (5th)
FOW% — 47.2% (28th)
Los Angeles Kings:
Goals — Kevin Fiala (10)
Assists — Quinton Byfield (15)
Points — Adrian Kempe (23)
GF/GP — 2.62 (28th)
GA/GP — 2.62 (6th)
PP% — 13.8% (29th)
PK% — 80.5% (20th)
FOW% — 48.9% (20th)
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Chicago Blackhawks (11-9-6, 28 points) @ Los Angeles Kings (12-7-7, 31 points)
9:00 p.m. CT — Crypto.com Arena
Head Coaches — Jeff Blashill (CHI), Jim Hiller (LAK)
TV/Stream: ESPN+ (Bernstein/Campbell-Pascall), HULU
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
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