Chicago Blackhawks return to losing ways
The Blackhawks might want to rethink their in-game giveaway strategy and hand out Budweiser "Red Light Cups" all the time.
The cups, which blink each time the Hawks score a goal via a downloaded app, were doled out Saturday and lit up the United Center all night during a 7-1 victory over Washington.
Two days later, they sat dormant in fans' houses until it was too late as the Kings coasted to a 3-1 victory. The Hawks (25-27-8) have dropped nine of 10 and have scored 3 or more goals in just 4 of the last 18 games.
"These last couple of weeks have been maybe as hard as it gets," said Patrick Sharp, who scored the Hawks' only goal at 1:42 of the third period. "But nobody's going to feel sorry for us. You've got to be a pro and keep fighting through it, keep playing hard every night. Unfortunately we didn't do that tonight."
That was especially the case in the first period as the Kings outshot the Hawks 15-4 and went up 2-0 on goals by Torrey Mitchell at 8:31 and Andy Andreoff at 16:37.
"Every puck that was sitting there in the middle of the ice, we wouldn't get to it or we wouldn't contest it," said coach Joel Quenneville. "It was like that for 20 minutes."
Said the Kings' Anze Kopitar: "Arguably one of the best periods that we've played this year."
Dion Phaneuf made it 3-0 at 4:04 of the second period, and although Sharp scored in the third and the Hawks had numerous scoring chances down the stretch, they failed to beat Jonathan Quick a second time.
Sharp scored for the first time since Jan. 9. He now has 7 goals on the season.
Los Angeles, which is right in the thick of the playoff race, improved to 32-22-5.
With the postseason essentially out of reach - the Hawks are 13 points out of a wild-card spot with 22 games remaining - Quenneville was asked what the message to his team is now.
"You've got to expect to compete to a certain level every single day, every single period, every shift," Quenneville said. "It's a great league.
"Down the stretch, you can make it fun for yourself … (by) being a spoiler and having some incentive to do the right things, play the right way and play at the all-out compete level."
Kempny traded:
The Blackhawks traded defenseman Michal Kempny to Washington for the higher of the Capitals' two third-round picks in the 2018 draft. Washington has its own pick and a pick it acquired from Toronto.
Kempny played in 31 games this season, scoring 1 goal and adding 6 assists. He also had a team-best plus-13 rating. He makes $900,000 and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Slap shots:
Patrick Kane, who recorded his 500th assist against Washington on Saturday, needs 18 more to pass Steve Larmer for fifth place in Blackhawks history and 50 more to pass Bobby Hull. ... Kane played in his 800th game Monday. … Tomas Jurco and Anthony Duclair were the healthy scratches against the Kings on Monday.
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