Blackhawks close trip with special win

Talk about closing out a road trip in style.

Twenty-four hours after manhandling the best team in the West - the Anaheim Ducks - the Blackhawks finished off their circus road trip with an impressive 4-1 victory over defending Stanley Cup champs, the L.A. Kings.

It was the Hawks' fifth win in six games on the trip, something that has become commonplace since Joel Quenneville took over the reins. Under Quenneville, the Hawks are 25-10-2 on the annual trip.

"It was a great trip," Quenneville said. "We did a lot of good things. We played the right way game in, game out."

The Hawks came into Saturday night's matchup between the combined winners of four of the last five Cups knowing it would be a doozy - regular season or not - and they weren't wrong. "Our regular-season games are as intense as our playoff games," Quenneville said. "It makes for a great contest, a great showdown."

And the Hawks came in with a bit of a chip on their shoulders, courtesy of that excruciating loss, one that has stuck with them.

"We were playing great last year in the playoffs, and we were playing against a good team," Andrew Shaw said, following the Saturday morning skate. "Obviously, it left a sour taste in our mouth."

Despite playing their third game in four days, it was the Hawks who came out the aggressors Saturday, hitting the board first when Daniel Carcillo swatted in his own rebound out of midair less than two minutes in.

Following a couple of sweet penalty kills, Brad Richards, off a nice pass down low from Kris Versteeg, beat Jonathan Quick from an almost impossible angle to make it 2-0 late in the first.

"It was a good start; being up 2-0, you're always happy about that on the road," Ben Smith told WGN-TV between periods. "We were rolling four lines, able to get those two kills and then bury some goals."

The Kings were the aggressors to start the second, and it paid dividends when Jordan Nolan beat Corey Crawford, who was making his 14th consecutive start in net.

The Hawks responded, though, thanks to some fancy passing from none other than Michal Rozsival. The veteran defenseman slipped a pass to Richards at the side of the net, and the veteran center knocked it past Quick for his second goal of the night and sixth of the season.

"He's been real good," Quenneville said. "Rozy made a great play. That line … they're a threat."

Brandon Saad finished off the scoring with an empty netter.

"They're the best team in the league," a frustrated Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "If you're going to give them 2 goals you're probably going to get your (butt) kicked."

• Follow Mike's Hawks reports on Twitter @dhspellman.