10 observations: Hawks steal point but lose to Kings in OT originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Blackhawks fell to the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in overtime at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
1. The Blackhawks were severely outplayed during 5-on-5 action, where the scoring chances were 29-9 in favor of the Kings, according to Natural Stat Trick. They stole a point by pushing this game to overtime but Kevin Fiala eventually scored the game-winner with 1.4 seconds left to give Los Angeles the well-deserved second point. It felt inevitable.
2. Scoring chances when Jonathan Toews was on the ice at even strength: 7-2 Chicago. Scoring chances when Toews wasn’t on the ice: 30-6 Los Angeles. He was Chicago’s best skater by a mile.
3. The Kings had an expected Goals For of 3.38 in regulation. They had an actual Goals For of 1. That means Petr Mrazek saved 2.38 goals above expected. He didn’t show any signs of rust after missing the last eight games with a groin injury and was the biggest reason the Blackhawks came away with a point. He finished with 33 saves on 35 shots for a save percentage of .943.
4. The Blackhawks generated only two high-danger chances during 5-on-5 action. It was their lowest total of the season so far. They couldn’t get much going offensively outside of the power play.
5. The Blackhawks had one power play when these two teams met a week ago at the United Center. They had four power plays in this game and generated 14 shot attempts, 10 shots on goal and seven scoring chances. They were zipping it around and finished 1-for-4. All five players touched the puck within a nine-second span on the Taylor Raddysh goal.
6. No idea how the Blackhawks got out of the second period tied because they barely touched the puck in the final five minutes of the frame. At one point, the Kings had the puck in Chicago’s zone for 1:45 straight minutes before the puck got out, but it wasn’t enough for the Blackhawks to make a line change. Alec Regula logged a shift of 4:11 to end the period, Caleb Jones was at 3:58, and the fourth line was also out there forever: Colin Blackwell (3:27), Reese Johnson (2:30) and Boris Katchouk (2:27). They could barely move by the end of it.
7. Speaking of the fourth line, the Blackhawks were outshot 9-0 when the Katchouk-Johnson-Blackwell trio was on the ice together. Patrick Kane’s line with Andreas Athanasiou and Max Domi wasn’t much better, and it forced head coach Luke Richardson to shake up the lines in the second half of the third period for the first time this season.
8. In last week’s meeting, Toews lost nine of 13 faceoffs (30.8 percent) and Danault won 10 of 14 (71.4 percent). In this game, Toews won 18 of 21 faceoffs (85.7) and Phillip Danault lost 16 of 20 (20.0 percent). Night and day difference.
9. It doesn’t feel fair to single out one player in a game like this, but I thought Caleb Jones had a tough night and he’d probably be the first to say it. He had three of the Blackhawks’ 10 giveaways. He has really stepped up in his older brother Seth’s absence and I’d expect him to bounce back on Saturday in Anaheim, but I imagine he’ll want to flush the tape for this game down the toilet, just like the rest of the team.
10. The Blackhawks are 4-2-1 with a +2 goal differential at home this season. They’re now 1-3-2 with a -7 goal differential on the road. A pretty big disparity.
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