When the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Los Angeles Kings earlier in the month (Mar. 1), it was new goaltender Spencer Knight‘s Blackhawks’ debut, and Chicago ran away with a 5-1 victory. Since then, the Blackhawks have lost six of their last seven games. The Kings, on the other hand, have won five out of their last seven games. It turns out these themes of wins and losses stayed the same for both teams tonight.
For this contest on Mar. 20, the Kings prevailed with a 3-1 win, taking the last of three contests between these two teams in their season series. Let’s revisit the highlights.
First Period is All Kings
The first period was dominated by the Kings. After a relatively slow beginning to the game, Trevor Moore got the scoring started (his 14th of the season) at the 8:45 mark. Knight might have been screened a bit by forward Landon Slaggert, but that’s one the Blackhawks’ netminder will probably want back. Just a minute later, Alex Turcotte redirected a shot by Vladislav Gavrikov to make it 2-0 for the Kings.
TURC MADE IT TWO pic.twitter.com/oswGsZ4Dnl
— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 21, 2025
Despite a power play for the Blackhawks at the end of the period where they managed two shots, the Kings outshot Chicago by a whopping 19-7 in the first frame.
Blackhawks Fight Back With Power Play Goal in Second Frame
The second frame started out with a little more excitement as the Kings received a power play early. They got some good shots off, while the Blackhawks actually managed a few short-handed chances as well. Despite the back and forth, nobody was able to find the back of the net.
Related – Blackhawks Need to Do a Better Job of Surrounding Alex Vlasic With Talent
Later in the period, Connor Bedard tallied his second power play goal in as many games to cut the King’s lead to 2-1. It was a nifty assist by Tyler Bertuzzi as well, and Bedard’s 19th goal of the season.
Artyom Levshunov celebrates again with Connor Bedard but this time skates in less aggressively. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/ggLeCLngnh
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 21, 2025
This was a faster paced period for both teams. The Kings still led overall in shots (27-12) and possession, but the Blackhawks scored the lone goal in the period, and led in overall hits (15-11) and faceoff percentage (52%) as they attempted to mount a comeback.
Third Period Close, But Kings Win the Battle
The Kings held on in the third. While the shots were even at 6-6 a piece, the Blackhawks just couldn’t get the equalizer. They pulled their goalie with 1:41 minutes to go in the game, but Joel Edmundson scored the empty netter to make the final score 3-1 for the Kings.
The Blackhawks won the first two games of this season series (4-3 in November and 5-1 in March), but the Kings didn’t let them sweep as they took this one 3-1.
Some standout stats from both sides:
- Moore held the team lead on both sides with five shots on goal. Edmundson was second with four shots. Both Kings’ players scored a goal. Lukas Reichel led for the Blackhawks with three shots on goal.
- Kings’ defenseman Drew Doughty led all skaters with 24:06 minutes of ice time. Alex Vlasic led for the Blackhawks, with 23:33 minutes.
- The Blackhawks won the faceoff battle on this night, winning 52% of their draws. Prospect and also top line center Frank Nazar went 9-of-10 for a 90% success rate on this night.
Related – Blackhawks’ Artyom Levshunov Adjusting on the Fly in First NHL Games
Both these teams will compete in back-to-back games over the weekend. The 31st place Blackhawks head to St. Louis to face the Blues, then return to Chicago to host the Philadelphia Flyers. The Kings, who are currently sitting at third place in the Pacific division, will host the Carolina Hurricanes and the Boston Bruins.
