LOS ANGELES — Jeremy Colliton — remember him? — was five coaches and an entire generation of Chicago Blackhawks ago, but one of his favorite bits of coachspeak still rings true all these years and coaches and draft picks later:
Progress isn’t linear.
The Blackhawks’ two-game residency in Los Angeles was a reminder of that hockey truism. Two nights after one of their better road games of the season — a crisp and structured affair in which they played smart, patient, opportunistic hockey against one of the league’s most frustrating teams, the Los Angeles Kings — the Blackhawks fell apart over the second and third periods in a ghastly 6-0 loss to a normally anemic Kings team at Crypto.com Arena.
It was almost shocking how quickly the game got away after quite a strong first period. And the fact a lopsided loss like this — it was only the third time all season the Blackhawks trailed by more than a goal entering the third period — can feel shocking is progress in and of itself. After all, games like this were commonplace for the Blackhawks the past few seasons.
“I was a part of a few of those,” Jason Dickinson said. “It’s nicer that these are few and far between. I’d still obviously like to minimize them; I’d love to be in all these games. But these happen. The best part about it is they’re a learning opportunity. As long as we take it for what it is, then there’s some value in it.”
After that great effort in Thursday’s game, the Blackhawks had a similarly sound first period Saturday but failed to break through against Darcy Kuemper. When the game turned in the second, it turned hard.
Their puck management was awful — Tyler Bertuzzi committed two glaring turnovers, one of which was turned into a Kings goal, the other of which led to a Kings two-on-none that was miraculously gloved down by Spencer Knight. Their power play was atrocious — twice unintentionally passing the puck out of their own zone at the point and giving up more chances than they created. Their defense crumbled — somehow leaving Corey Perry untouched as he stood inches in front of Knight, who never saw Brandt Clarke’s backbreaking goal from the slot sail past him.
Bad second periods have been a trend for these Blackhawks, though it has been less of an issue lately. But this time, they followed it up with an even worse third, which was out of the ordinary for them. Clarke made it 4-0 early in the third after a Wyatt Kaiser turnover led to a quick three-on-two for Los Angeles. Mikey Anderson made it 5-0 during four-on-four play shortly afterward. And Alex Turcotte outmuscled Sam Rinzel to the net and slipped the puck past Knight to make it 6-0. Those three goals were scored in less than five minutes.
Knight was actually rather brilliant in the second period, despite giving up the three goals. It could have been worse. But even he looked lost in the third as the game spun out of control.
Spencer Knight WOW😮 pic.twitter.com/41r70JOpvo
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 7, 2025
“It’s unfortunate that we let it get to that point,” defenseman Connor Murphy said. “When momentum goes the other way, you want to try to turn it quicker so it doesn’t end up being a game like that.”
It was a reminder that for all the justified excitement around the quantum leap in competitiveness these Blackhawks have taken this season, they’re still young and inexperienced, still prone to mental lapses and poor decision-making, still learning how to play, in first-year coach Jeff Blashill’s preferred terminology, “winning hockey.” The offense didn’t do much of anything against the maddening Kings defense, but the defensive lapses are the ones that will stick in Blashill’s craw the most.
“That’s what happens at times with our team,” he said. “It’s a little bit to do, certainly, with the age. But the other side of it is, they’ve just got to keep learning. If I’m saying this three years from now, we’ll all be disappointed. So let’s make sure we keep learning from these types of mistakes.”
Fortunately for him and his team, the Blackhawks don’t have to wait long to redeem themselves, as they bused down the I-5 freeway late Saturday night for a game against the high-flying Anaheim Ducks less than 24 hours later.
One big step forward, one big step back. A wash, all told, and splitting a set of two games against a veteran, perennial playoff team like the Kings is a perfectly acceptable outcome. Hey, games like this happen to every team. But the response Sunday in Anaheim will be telling.
“We can (still) walk out of this road trip feeling good about what we did,” Dickinson said. “It’s not like we feel good about losing a game and still having a chance to be happy about the road trip, but at the end of the day, if you walk out of a road trip 2-1-1, you did a good job. That’s what you’re meant to do on the road. Sometimes they’re gritty, sometimes they’re ugly, and if you get the job done, nobody cares, nobody asks questions.”
Saying goodbye to Kopitar
After the game, each Blackhawks player skated over to Anže Kopitar and shook his hand. Saturday was the final meeting of the season between the Kings and Blackhawks, and the Blackhawks leadership group made sure their teammates offered the show of respect to the venerable Kings center, who will be retiring after the season.
The Kings and Blackhawks traded championships from 2012 to 2015, and Kopitar was a huge part of those unforgettable Western Conference final clashes in 2013 and 2014. There’s nobody left on the Blackhawks from that era, but Kopitar’s legacy still looms large.
“We know it’s the last time we play him this season unless obviously there’s a playoff scenario,” Murphy said. “I saw on the board before the game (that) he tied Dustin Brown for the most games against the Hawks. So it’s cool to see the history he has against this organization. Obviously, just a really respectable player, and as a person. And the stuff he’s done on the ice over his career is admirable. And the class as a leader he has. It’s easy to pay respect to those guys.”
Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks paid tribute to retiring Kings star Anže Kopitar after the game. (Gary A. Vasquez / NHLI via Getty Images)
Söderblom on deck
The longest Arvid Söderblom had to wait between starts last season was nine days, and that was unusual. He usually got in at least one or two games every week, as he was in a regular rotation with Petr Mrázek and then Knight. But this season, Knight has emerged as a clear No. 1, and Söderblom is no longer a 1B. He started just three games in October, five in November, and Sunday’s game in Anaheim will be just his first in December. With as well as Knight has played, it’s pretty much going to take a back-to-back for Söderblom to get a start.
It’s not easy. In fact, Blashill called being a true backup goaltender “one of the great challenges in the league.” It’s impossible to simulate the true speed of an NHL game in practice, so staying sharp and tracking pucks can be quite difficult. Getting the second end of a back-to-back also means you’re playing behind a tired team, which doesn’t help. But the coach has been impressed with Söderblom’s mentality.
“I’m still on the ice every day, I’m still trying to get better,” Söderblom said. “You can look at it that way that it’s a tough position, or you can look at it as you’re lucky to be in the best league in the world. I get a chance to get better every day, and that’s how I look at it. I’m fortunate to be here, and I want to support the team.”
Slaggert sits again
Landon Slaggert was a healthy scratch for the fifth straight game as Sam Lafferty replaced the injured Teuvo Teräväinen in the lineup Saturday. Teräväinen isn’t expected to miss much time after taking an Adrian Kempe shot to the teeth Thursday, so it’s a safe bet Slaggert will be headed back to Rockford when the Blackhawks head home. It’s one thing to have a veteran such as Lafferty sitting for extended periods. It’s quite another to have a young player not playing at all.
“It’s something we’re cognizant of,” Blashill said. “We don’t want to let them sit for long, long periods of time, whatever that means. Ultimately, it was unfortunate for him in training camp — he missed a lot of training camp because of injuries — and so it’s been really hard to be able to gain traction when you don’t play on a regular basis, and when you do play, you don’t play very many minutes.”
Blashill said Slaggert understands the situation and hasn’t complained.
“When we sent him down last time, I said to him — and he understood it — it was for his (benefit),” Blashill said. “I don’t want to predict what happens down the road, but we’ve got to make sure we’re cognizant of his playing time.”