5 thoughts: Los Angeles Kings vs Chicago Blackhawks

The Los Angeles Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-4, in overtime.

1. Arvid Soderblom - Arvid Soderblom may have played his last game as a Blackhawk last night. He didn't play terribly, given the situation. He stood on his head in the first period. The shots on goal finished with the Blackhawks having only 13 and the Kings having 35. However, he did let up five in a game where he has goal support, and that is just unacceptable. It's unlikely that Davidson will bring him back, as young talent like Drew Commesso and Jaxson Stauber are yearning for an opportunity at the NHL level.

2. Jarred Tinordi - Another player who is more likely to be gone than not is defenseman Jarred Tinordi. A play last night summed up his season. Tinordi was going behind the net, and then he slipped when he tried to stop. It then led to a Kings goal, scored by Trevor Moore.
https://x.com/lakings/status/1781173376482230571?s=46&t=C0vUtW-Hlfa63esuxEc74A

3. Shots on goal - Chicago has struggled all year when it came to shots on goal. Tonight was just the cherry on top, getting outshot 35 to 13. At one point in the game, the shots were six to 24. Luke Richardson tried to get his troops to shoot more throughout the year, but they just struggled with it. And with a strong Kings team like this, they just couldn't get the puck to the net. They did score four goals, though, so that's one positive.


4. Lukas Reichel - Before being sent back down to Rockford for their playoff run, Lukas Reichel scored a goal that we would've loved to see from him earlier in the year. He received a tipped pass from Alex Vlasic (who didn't get the assist on the goal), and just turned on the jets. He then had a one on one chance with the goalie, and capitalized on it as he slipped the puck past Talbot on the backhand for a goal.

5. Blown lead - The Hawks lost in another way that really sums up the season; a blown lead that led to a 5-4 loss in overtime. Chicago came out firing in the third period, benefiting from three goals from Tyler Johnson, Joey Anderson, and Ryan Donato. They had a 4-3 lead until Soderblom fell apart late, letting in a goal with 1:21 left in the third, and then one just six seconds into overtime scored by Adrian Kempe.