Late-Game Drama: Kings Lose Lead, Blackhawks Seal Shootout Win

 

By Tim Haddock

 

The LA Kings suffered their first home loss in a 4-3 shootout against the Chicago Blackhawks, despite Alex Laferriere’s two goals and Phillip Danault’s late third-period score. Laferriere’s strong performance continues his scoring streak, but the Kings’ blown two-goal lead and missed opportunities highlighted the competitive challenges they face early this season.

 

LOS ANGELES - Alex Laferriere scored two goals in the game against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, but the Kings blew a two-goal lead in the third period and lost 4-3 in a shootout.

 

Laferriere has scored four goals in three games and has scored at least one goal in those three games, one against the Vegas Golden Knights and one against the San Jose Sharks. He leads the team with eight goals after the game against the Blackhawks and has been a pleasant surprise for the Kings in the early part of the season.

 

“He’s been our most consistent player through 12 games. Those things seem to even out over time,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “For now he’s hot, shooting well, finding good spots. His game is an all-around game. It’s nice that he’s scoring and we’ll always take goals for sure. He’s taking a step forward.”

 

He scored his first goal on a power play in the first period against the Blackhawks to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. He scored again late in the second period to put the Kings up 2-0.

“For me as a player, I love connecting with my teammates. I think right now I’m building really good chemistry with these guys. They’re able to find me in the open spots,” Laferriere said.

 

“My job is to get there, and they’re going to find me, and shoot the puck.”

 

But the Blackhawks scored twice in the first six minutes of the third period to tie the score 2-2.

 

Nick Foligno scored the first goal for the Blackhawks to cut the Kings lead in half. Craig Smith followed with a goal to tie the score.

 

Phillip Danault broke the tie with his first goal of the season. But the Blackhawks tied the score again with a goal by Tyler Bertuzzi with 31 seconds to play in the game. The Blackhawks pulled the goalie for an extra attacker, scored and sent the game into overtime.

 

“It was disappointing for sure we didn’t find the back of the net one more time at least,” Hiller said.

 

Neither team scored a goal in overtime, sending it to a shootout.

 

The Blackhawks (4-7-1) won the shootout 3-2 scoring on all three attempts.

 

The Kings (6-3-3) won their first four games at home to start the season and are in second place in the Pacific Division. The shootout loss to the Blackhawks, the last place team in the Central Division, was the first home loss in five games for the Kings.

 

“This league is very hard, and it’s very competitive from one to 32. Everybody was dumping on San Jose and they just won three games in a row. It’s a good league. I really don’t look at the opponent, frankly. Some guys are coming in hotter than other teams. It’s a hard league. You have to play well to win. If you don’t, you put yourself in the danger zone,” Hiller said.

 

Defenseman Brandt Clarke and Laferriere are two big reasons the Kings are off to a hot start at home. Clarke came into the game against the Blackhawks leading the team in assists with 10 and is second in points with 11. The defenseman has been asked to carry a bigger load on the team with Drew Doughty out with an ankle injury.

 

Clarke was held scoreless against the Blackhawks and snapped his four-game points streak.

 

Anze Kopitar leads the team in points with 13. He has four goals and nine assists in 12 games. He also recorded the 800th assist of his career in the 6-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 30.

 

He assisted on the first goal by Laferriere and has 801 assists in his career, the 35th most in NHL history.

 

The Kings are on the road for the next two games against the Nashville Predators on Nov. 4 and the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 5.