The Los Angeles Kings won’t have to wait long for another opportunity to find their offense and solve the Chicago Blackhawks.
Less than 48 hours after losing to Chicago, the Kings host the Blackhawks again on Saturday night.
Los Angeles will be looking to avenge a 2-1 loss on Thursday night in which it was held to one goal for the second straight game and two or fewer for the fifth time in the past six.
The Kings are 2-3-3 over their past eight.
“There’s some (visible frustration) for sure, but for the most part, we’ve stuck with it and stayed the course,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “I’m sure they’re not happy and they want more; we’re all humans here.”
Nine of the Kings’ last 10 games have been settled by one goal. After winning the first two, they’ve dropped six of the last eight.
Kings forward Warren Foegele, who returned on Thursday after missing three games with an upper-body injury, said he noticed the Kings tend to be “more on our toes” when they’re trailing.
“I felt like last year, that was a lot of our success, was being on our toes,” Foegele said. “I don’t know if we’re trying to sit back or anything like that, but it feels like, when we’re trailing, we keep things much simpler and we’re trying to score a goal. So, maybe if we have that mindset to start the game, it might be a lot easier for us.”
The Kings could be in for another long night on the power play.
They went 0-for-5 with the man-advantage on Thursday to drop to 12.9% on the season, last in the NHL.
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are fourth in the league on the penalty kill (85.3%), having snuffed out 39 of 43 (90.7%) power-play opportunities since Nov. 5.
“On the entries, we’re really gapping up hard and not really giving (our opponents) a lot of options,” Chicago defenseman Wyatt Kaiser said. “It starts there, killing a lot of time, and then you frustrate them. They start trying to force little things. And then in-zone, we’re sticking to doing our jobs.”
The key cog on the penalty kill has been winger Ilya Mikheyev, who Chicago coach Jeff Blashill considers among the best in the NHL at his craft.
“He does it in a different way than some guys,” Blashill said. “Some guys do it just with their head, or the cerebral way. He certainly can think (well), but he’s just so explosive on pucks and wins so many puck battles because his compete level is so high. He takes great pride in it and he’s been excellent at it.”
The strong penalty kill has come in handy as the Blackhawks have found themselves in their own tight battles of late.
Five of their past six games have been decided by one goal – but the only win among those close finishes came Thursday night against the Kings.
“It’s really important for us to be in those tight games,” Chicago goalie Spencer Knight said after making 26 saves in the win. “It’s the way hockey’s going to be, the longer you play into the season. If you eventually get to the postseason, that’s how it is. (When) all the pressure is on, you have to know how to hold that lead. It was good for us.”
