Blackhawks Stumble In L.A.
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 5, 2013 1:30PM
Even after taking the first two games of the Western Conference Finals at the United Center, few believed the Los Angeles Kings would be pushovers, especially as the series shifted to the Staples Center where the Kings remain undefeated in the postseason after Tuesday night's 3-1 win over the Blackhawks.
What was surprising was the overall lackluster performance turned in by coach Joel Quenneville's crew. Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said after the game, "we didn't bring that same effort and same pace" as in Games 1 and 2. Both teams struggled early to create traffic on the ice, but it was the Kings who scored first 3:21 into the game on a shot by Justin Williams.
L.A. took a 2-0 lead 6:37 into the second period with a Slava Voynov goal. Bryan Bickell cut the lead in half with 34 seconds left in the period with a wrap-around shot past Jonathan Quick. But the Hawks lost some of their composure in the period and were thrown off their game. Patrick Sharp and Williams earned roughing penalties 14 minutes in, and Sharp returned to the penalty box three minutes later for slashing.
The third period was all Quick, who stopped 10 shots with a dizzying array of stops, including a hell of a stop on Bickell with three minutes left. Dwight King's empty netter with 28 seconds left in regulation ended the scoring.
If there's anything to take away from the loss it's that the Hawks managed to recover and get back to playing their game. Corey Crawford was still Chicago's best player on the ice, despite allowing two goals. But the core stars of this team need to step it up. Sharp's skills aren't being put to best use when he's picking up chippy penalties and both Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have yet to break out in the playoffs. The Kings, meanwhile, are proving to be a resilient lot. Mike Richards was scratched again and they're a win away from tying the series.
Williams said after the game, "this year we're finding it to be much more difficult not only in the nature of the games, but we've had to deal with injuries left and right. That's part of playoff hockey and something we didn't have to deal with last year. We're trying to learn how to deal with it quickly this year and trying to persevere."
Game 4 is 8 p.m. Thursday at the Staples Center.