Blackhawks' loss to Kings officially eliminates them from playoff contention
The Blackhawks were officially eliminated from playoff contention Thursday, cementing a fate that became obvious in November, if not earlier.
A 3-1 loss to the Kings marked their sixth consecutive defeat, dropping them to 20-40-9 this season — 28 points below the Western Conference cut-off line with just 26 possible points left to earn, very few of which they will actually earn.
While the Blues, Canucks, Flames and Utah battle fiercely for the second and final wild-card spot — and Thursday featured wildly entertaining games for all of those teams — the Hawks will continue slogging toward the finish line with only draft-lottery odds to be determined.
"We’ve got so many young guys that every game is important, just for growth and trying to improve," Connor Bedard said. "We're not fighting for a playoff spot or anything, but we're trying to get better. We're still competitors."
The Kings scored twice in the first 10 minutes before Hawks goalie Spencer Knight, making his fourth start in five games, locked things down. The Hawks generated a 14-8 advantage in scoring chances over the latter two periods (after getting swamped 19-2 in that regard in the first period) but couldn't produce an equalizing goal.
Rookie forward Colton Dach suffered an apparent left arm or wrist injury in the final minutes. Interim coach Anders Sorensen said the Hawks will get more information Friday.
Power boost
Most of Bedard's stats in his second season are down from his first season, but scoring on the power play is one area where he has improved.
Bedard received a nice pass from Tyler Bertuzzi and buried a one-timer from the left circle on the man advantage for the Hawks' lone goal Thursday. He now has tallied power-play goals in consecutive games for the first time in his career and boasts nine power-play goals this season, up from four last season.
His power-play assists are slightly down from last season (from 17 to 16), as are his total goals (from 22 to 19). He's also well behind the NHL's power-play goal leaders: Lightning forward Jake Guentzel and Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, with 15 each. But Bedard has certainly become more of a threat for the Hawks' surprisingly eighth-ranked power play.
Different animal
Veteran Hawks defenseman Alec Martinez's 16th NHL season — his first on a truly rebuilding team — has felt decidedly different than his first 15 seasons on the Kings and Golden Knights.
"This year has been a learning experience," Martinez said recently. "I knew, going into a rebuild, it was going to be different. But there's certain situations I've encountered this year that I haven't before.
"That's not a testament to anyone or anything like that; it's just the game of hockey. You could play this game for 100 years and still see something you never saw before. I've just tried to enjoy my time away from the rink."
Martinez was technically paired with rookie Artyom Levshunov for his debut March 10 in Colorado, but a first-period injury prevented him from actually seeing much of Levshunov's play that night. They were reunited Thursday and lasted the entirety of the night this time.
"[Arty] thinks the game well," Martinez said. "He's a smart player. He's capable on both ends of the rink. He moves well out there, too. He seems like the total package."
Martinez is a pending unrestricted free agent again this summer, and it'll be interesting to see if he decides to retire or seek a one-year contract elsewhere. Veteran forward Pat Maroon falls in the same boat.