Wyatt Kaiser scored the game-winning goal for the Chicago Blackhawks against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks)

In the Chicago Blackhawks’ second game of their four-game West Coast road trip, the Hawks took on the Los Angeles Kings.

This was their second meeting of the season and their first of two consecutive games in LA. A weird quirk in the schedule had the Hawks playing LA on Thursday and Saturday in LA this week.

In the 2-1 victory, the Hawks once again got a spectacular performance in net from Spencer Knight and a goal from Connor Bedard.

Second period

After a scoreless first period in which Corey Perry had five shots on the goal for LA, the Hawks finally got on the scoresheet in the second. After the Hawks were awarded a power play on the Joel Edmundson tripping penalty, Bedard and Frank Nazar switched positions. Bedard took the face off in Nazar’s spot and then filled his role as the bumper. In the bumper spot, Bedard buried the Tyler Bertuzzi pass for the game’s first goal.

Connor Bedard falls down after scoring and immediately gives credit to Tyler Bertuzzi for the pass. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/aXePBkdIcA

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 5, 2025

After a frantic sequence in the Hawks’ own end, Wyatt Kaiser was able to corral the puck and score the Hawks’ second goal of the game late in the second period.

Wyatt Kaiser scores his 1st goal of the season with 5.1 seconds left in the 2nd period. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/cHzG0koJyD

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 5, 2025

The defensive defenseman had not scored in 41 games before his goal on Thursday. The second period ended with Chicago up 2-0.

Third period

The third period was the Kings’ best period of the game and perhaps their season. They were buzzing in the Hawks’ offensive zone and firing shots on Knight. After a steady diet of Kings shots, Knight was finally beaten. Trevor Moore scored to cut the lead in half.

With the Kings desperately trying to tie the game, Bedard committed a penalty with 1:36 left to play. With the Hawks down a man, the Kings pulled their goalie to have a two-man advantage. The Hawks’ defense tightened up and did not allow the Kings to tie the game. The Hawks won 2-1.

Analysis

This victory is yet another step in the Blackhawks’ development this season. Coming into Thursday’s game, the Hawks had lost their last five one-goal games. Last season, Chicago would have lost this game, but this is a much-improved Hawks team.

One of the big reasons for improvement is the goaltender play. Knight continued to be amazing in the net. He made 26 of 27 saves on the night. The last two games have been some of the best goaltending the Hawks have had since Corey Crawford.

In addition to Knight’s performance, Bedard continued his impressive season. He now has 18 goals and 21 assists in 27 games.

Along with Bedard and Knight was the emergence of Nazar. Nazar was very noticeable with his speed. He was driving line into scoring opportunities all game. He also had a key assist on the Kaiser goal and drew a late third-period penalty with a strong move toward the net. It now appears that Nazar is once again fully healthy.

The Hawks will have tomorrow off to enjoy LA before taking on the same Kings again on Saturday. The game will be played at 8:00 pm CST on CHSN/ESPN+.

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