Hawks disappointing in OT loss

Rookie Jonathan Toews showed once again why he's probably just a half season away from becoming the next Blackhawks captain.

No, it wasn't his rebound goal in the first period -- his 15th of the season -- which gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead and got the evening off to a rousing start.

Rather, it was what the 19-year-old had to say after the Hawks blew a 2-0 third-period lead and eventually dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Los Angeles Kings in front of a sell-out crowd (21,716) Sunday at the United Center.

Toews wasn't happy with the final 20 minutes and he let everyone know about it.

"I hope this isn't an indication of how we're going to play on the road," Toews said. "I think we maybe took for granted the crowds we've had lately and the energy they've given us.

"With a 2-0 lead in the third period, we've got to motivate ourselves to finish hard and play for the last 20 minutes; that's all we had to do tonight ... and we couldn't do it.

"Sometimes we're taking some shortcuts here and there. We've got to put 60 minutes together one of these nights and just play for each other."

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Hawks as well as for goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who played well enough to win, but didn't get the support he needed down the stretch against a Kings team that never stopped grinding despite coming in to a raucous UC off a tough win in Colorado the day before.

"What happened tonight was we had a lot of desire, but not enough smarts," said Khabibulin, who turned away 33 shots, including 4 straight from close range during one sequence in the second period. "I think everybody tried; it was just a lack of experience.

"To allow 2 goals in the third period … you have to come away with 2 points. It's disappointing."

The Hawks looked like they had built a little breathing room after Jake Dowell one-timed a perfect pass from Martin Lapointe for his second goal of the season, but from there, things went up in smoke.

That's because while the big crowd was still celebrating Dowell's goal, Dustin Brown cruised in on a 2-on-1 rush and beat Khabibulin to cut the lead in half. Former Hawk Kyle Calder tied the game a few minutes later when he knocked in a rebound for his fifth of the year.

The Kings swarmed the Hawks zone for the rest of the third -- outshooting the hosts 15-7 -- but somehow the Hawks were able to hold on through regulation.

But at 3:31 of overtime, Brown struck again with the game-winner.

"I think they outbattled us in the first two periods and it was the opposite in the third," Brown said. "Our goal is to wear down the other team; in our last 2 wins we came back in the third.

"It's a lot tougher to play in the third period than it is the first."

The Hawks won't have to wait long to seek some revenge. The two teams meet again Tuesday night at the Staples Center.

"We want to start the road trip off on a good trip," Hawks coach Denis Savard said. "It should be a good game."