CHICAGO — The Kings, so good at home this season, are surely eager to get back after a dismal three-game road trip.
Spencer Knight made 41 saves in his first game with Chicago, helping the Blackhawks stifle the Kings, 5-1, on Monday night. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Kings, who were outscored 15-4 on their trek through Dallas, St. Louis and Chicago.
Defensemen Alec Martinez and Ethan Del Mastro scored for the Blackhawks, who opened a three-game homestand by winning consecutive games for the first time since earning three straight wins from Dec. 15-19. Ilya Mikheyev and Ryan Donato each tallied a goal and assist and Andreas Athanasiou also scored.
Knight was acquired by Chicago in a trade that sent defenseman Seth Jones to Florida on Saturday night.
Anze Kopitar scored his 14th goal for the Kings, while Darcy Kuemper stopped 14 shots.
The Kings challenged Knight early, recording 10 shots over the first 7:05 on the way to outshooting Chicago 17-7 in the first period.
The Blackhawks opened the scoring at 10:57 of the first period, grabbing an early lead on just their third shot of the night. Martinez sent a wrist shot from the right point through heavy traffic to beat Kuemper.
Kopitar tied the score just 42 seconds later, converting a chance off the rush. The Kings disrupted a Chicago scoring chance at the other end and pushed the puck through the neutral zone, with Kopitar taking a pass from Alex Turcotte and scoring on a wrist shot from the low left circle.
Mikheyev put Chicago ahead to stay with his 12th goal of the season just 46 seconds into the second period. After Kuemper denied Teuvo Teravainen in front of the net, Teravainen collected the rebound and sent a backhand pass to a waiting Mikheyev in the left circle.
Del Mastro made it 3-1 at 13:30 of the second, darting down the left boards after a faceoff win and sending a puck toward the net that deflected off the left skate of Kings defenseman Jacob Moverare and in for a goal.
An Athanasiou goal 1:20 into the third extended the lead to 4-1. Colton Dach stole the puck from the Kings’ Jordan Spence behind the net and fed an open Athanasiou in the slot.
Donato capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with 90 seconds left, his 22nd goal of the season to extend his career-best. Teravainen, who earned two assists, extended his point streak to five games.
UP NEXT
The Kings play host to St. Louis on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and again on Saturday at 5 p.m.