ANALYSIS: Blackhawks Lack Energy Against Playoff-Fighting Kings

Chicago couldn't carry momentum from Wednesday's OT win in Phoenix with them to LA, wrapping their final back-to-back of the season with a 4-1 loss to the Kings on Friday night.
The hosts -- in a tight battle for a playoff spot entering the final week -- came out firing on all cylinders in the first period, outshooting the Blackhawks 17-5 through 20 minutes with 18 scoring chances and putting 35 shot attempts towards goal. If not for 13 blocked shots and a few stellar saves from Collin Delia in net, the game could've been more out of hand early.

POSTGAME LINKS
GAMECENTER: CHI at LA
RECAP: Kane Nets Lone Goal as Blackhawks Fall to Kings
HIGHLIGHTS: Blackhawks at Kings
GALLERY: Blackhawks at Kings
"They were buzzing. We knew they were going to come hard, we just couldn't find the energy," interim head coach Derek King said. "We looked tired physically. We looked tired mentally. We were getting frustrated. Hats off to them, they played a good game."
"They came out pretty hard. I think they took advantage of the back-to-back," Dylan Strome said. "A tough schedule against LA this year, both times coming in here on a back-to-back, a pretty late night. They jumped on us early and the shots were pretty heavily favoring them."
The Blackhawks added a goal in the second on a power play as Patrick Kane pulled it to a 2-1 game, but in the end, the Kings found two goals in a 15-second span in the third to seal a dominant on-ice game on the scoreboard.
"I thought we did a good job of clawing back and staying in it," Strome continued. "We kept it 2-1 for a while and had some chances there, especially on the power play. They're a team that's desperate, in a playoff spot and fighting to keep it. I think it showed."

DOUBLE MARK DEBRINCAT

It was a historic back-to-back for Alex DeBrincat. After he tied a career-high with his 35th assist and then reached the 40-goal mark for just the second time in his career with the OT winner on Wednesday night (one shy of a career-best 41 tallies), the winger tied his career mark for points in a season with an assist in LA for his 76th point.
With four games to play, it's likely the fifth-year winger sets personal bests in all three scoring categories.
DeBrincat is just the eighth player in Blackhawks history to log multiple 40-goal campaigns, tying Patrick Kane with two and joining the likes of: Bobby Hull (8), Steve Larmer (5), Jeremy Roenick (4), Denis Savard (3), Al Secord (3) and Tony Amonte (3).
"Obviously I've had a lot of really good players I've been playing with," DeBrincat said of his 40th goal on Wednesday night. "A lot of credit to them, giving me a lot of those back door tap-ins.
"I don't think you cherish it as much when it's in your second season and then you realize how hard it is to get back. I was stuck there for a while, but luckily I got Kaner passing to me, so put it in that one."
DeBrincat also scored 32 tallies last season in a 56-game campaign -- a rate that would've put him in conversation to reach 50 goals over the course of a full season.