Blackhawks vs. Kings Final Score: Chicago Destroys Los Angeles to Take 2-0 Series Lead
By Josh Hill
The Chicago Blackhawks came into their series against the Los Angeles Kings not knowing what side of them would show up. All year long we saw how amazing this team could be if they were clicking and firing on all cylinders. But that’s not the team we saw against the Detroit Red Wings as the Blackhawks were taken to the brink of elimination.
That was what made people in Chicago so nervous about going up against the Los Angles Kings and elite netminder Jonathan Quick. The Blackhawks got some swagger back after Game 1 but nobody could predict what was in store for Game 2.
Quick allowed four goals to the Blackhawks before the unimaginable happened — he was pulled from net.
Not since 2011 had Quick given up four goals in a playoff game but that’s exactly what he did on Sunday night in Game 2. Andrew Shaw, Brent Seabrook, Byan Bickell and Michal Handzus all scored goals for the Blackhawks but they got some help from Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr. With the Blackhawks on the power play, video replay shows that it’s Regehr’s stick, not Brian Bickell’s, that knocked in the third goal of the night.
Bickell was given credit for the goal but it should be noted somewhere that he was given credit for Regehr’s goal. TO add to the embarrassment, had he been credited with it, the goal would have been Regehr’s first of the postseason.
That was essentially the Kings night in a nutshell as they picked up the pace a bit in the third period but overall had a night they’d love to forget. The only thing is, they can’t forget it as thanks to the loss they’re now in a 2-0 hole against the best team in hockey.
We saw what an out of sync Blackhawks team plays when they were taken to task by the Detroit Red Wings. But when the Hawks are clicking they’re one of the best offenses in the NHL and it’s going to be hard to dig out of a hole against them when they’re firing on all cylinders.
Before the series, it was largely assumed that if things got hairy, the Kings could always rely on Quick to bail them out as he was a superhuman net minder. But after Game 2, Quick has been exposed as mortal and that’s all the confidence booster the Blackhawks needed to take this series. Los Angeles might put up a fight but Chicago has the upper hand and they aren’t going to give it up after the way they were embarrassed against Detroit.