Many Blackhawks — including coach King — have plenty to prove down the stretch

Fifteen games.

That's all that remains for the Blackhawks, who lost their last two contests after building leads of 3-0 and 4-0 against Vegas and Buffalo, respectively.

And although the Hawks (24-33-10) are simply playing out the string, those were nonetheless two disturbing setbacks. Plenty of these players will be back next season and the next month is important as they learn what it takes to win on a consistent basis.

Blowing huge leads is not exactly a confidence booster — but maybe it helps in the long run.

“We've talked a lot about identity and the culture in our locker room and that just doesn't come out of thin air,” said Jonathan Toews. “We've got a lot of guys who have been through some tough losses and some ups and downs this year. Experiences like that definitely bring you together and we've all kind of learned from that. ...

“To a lot of people these games don't matter, but for us they do in a lot of ways.”

Spoken like a true captain, one who will play in his 1,000th game at Florida on Thursday.

Interim coach Derek King echoed Toews' thoughts after the Hawks lost to Buffalo 6-5 on Monday.

“This is stuff we have to build on for next year and we're not there yet,” King said. “We're close. But we're not there.”

Down the stretch it will be interesting to see if Alex DeBrincat can score 12 more times to reach 50 goals on the season. Difficult for sure, but not impossible. Patrick Kane, who has a 32 points in his last 16 games, could also set a career high in points. He needs 32 to surpass his 2018-19 total of 110.

Many of the other Hawks are playing for new contracts or to prove they can be a part of next year's team. And in some cases, it's both.

Here are some who have impressed of late:

• Dylan Strome, who is a goal from tying his career high of 20. Strome's sensational play down the stretch has surely earned the veteran a nice extension. He'll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.

• Taylor Raddysh, who set up Calvin de Haan's goal to open the scoring against Buffalo on Monday. He was noticeable all night and has been since coming over from Tampa Bay in the Brandon Hagel trade. “I like when guys come back and they talk about little plays after shifts,” said Jonathan Toews, who has been centering a line with Raddysh and Dominik Kubalik. “It's good he's able to do that. ... He brings a lot to our team.”

• Kubalik looks like he took his healthy scratch in Los Angeles the right way. He scored in Vegas (and could have had another one or two), then dished out 2 assists against the Sabres. That's not nearly enough to erase the scars of this disappointing season for the third-year forward. But if he finds his game, it will boost his value this summer, when he'll be an RFA with arbitration rights.

• Sam Lafferty is set to become an unrestricted free agent, but one has to believe GM Kyle Davidson will extend the hard-nosed forward before long. Lafferty turned in one of Monday's biggest highlights, crunching defenseman Will Butcher into the end boards and then scoring seconds later by going to the net and redirecting Jake McCabe's shot into the net.

• Defenseman Caleb Jones has 3 goals and 6 assists while averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time in the last 17 games. Jones, an RFA with arbitration rights, hasn't been perfect but should be in the mix on a crowded blue line next fall.

These final games are also extremely important for forwards Kirby Dach and Philipp Kurashev (both RFAs), Reese Johnson (RFA with arbitration rights), Henrik Borgstrom and Boris Katchouk, as well as defenseman Riley Stillman.

Goalies Kevin Lankinen (10 goals allowed in last four periods) and Collin Delia also must take advantage of every opportunity.

And let's not forget about King, who is 23-24-8 since taking over for Jeremy Colliton. These last 15 games are huge for him as well.

Can he get everyone to play the right way more often — and especially with the lead? Can he insert some harsh language when needed? Will he scratch guys more often for poor play, like he did with Kubalik?

A strong finish could mean King gets another chance, while a meltdown might mean a change is coming.

“The last couple games, the (two) third periods ... were totally not what I was expecting,” King said. “So it's my job to clean it up and make sure the guys understand there's a certain way you have to play ... as a Blackhawk.

“And we've got to continue to build that up.”