Blackhawks lose to Kings after Wyatt Kaiser returns, Colin Blackwell falls

LOS ANGELES — The pattern of playing college hockey, getting a taste of the NHL, spending a lengthy period of time as a No. 1 defenseman in the AHL and then returning to the NHL more seasoned worked splendidly for Alex Vlasic.

The Blackhawks hope that trajectory works just as well for Wyatt Kaiser, whom they called up and reinserted into their defensive corps Tuesday in a 6-2 loss to the Kings.

Kaiser played 17:56 and managed to avoid being on the ice for any Kings goals; the Hawks actually held an 11-7 scoring-chance advantage during his five-on-five ice time. Coach Luke Richardson thought the rookie defenseman wasn’t moving his feet enough early on but improved with that as the game progressed.

It was the pairing of Kevin Korchinski and Jaycob Megna that really struggled; the Kings scored four times against them. Each goal unfolded in different ways, ranging from turnovers to blown coverage to poor box-outs in the crease.

It represented yet another twist in Korchinski’s roller coaster of a rookie season, although he did get some redemption by scoring his second goal in as many games.

“Kevin is the greatest kid in the world,” Richardson said. “He’s got to get a little bit of an edge — that he’s not letting anybody into that crease [and] they’ve got to go all the way around him, the long way. That allows him to get on the right side, to get under sticks so there’s no tip goals and rebound goals.”

Colin Blackwell left in the third period after suffering an apparent upper-body injury when hit into the boards. Richardson didn’t have an update on Blackwell’s status after the game.

Kings forward Anze Kopitar had a big night, tallying three points and drawing a penalty. Hawks goalie Petr Mrazek matched his worst start of the season, allowing six goals after facing only six shots in the first period.

"[The] first period was spot-on,” defenseman Seth Jones said. “We were forechecking, getting pucks in [and] getting through that neutral zone, that 1-3-1 of theirs. Then we started turning some pucks over, and they capitalized. That’s what they do best.”

Kaiser’s path

Tuesday marked Kaiser’s first NHL game since Dec. 19 and third since Nov. 30, a disastrous outing against the Red Wings that marked the low point of his season confidence-wise. The Hawks have already seen, though, that the 21-year-old Minnesota-Duluth product can hold his own at this level when he believes in himself.

“At the end of last year — when he came in [after] playing a lot in college — and then at the beginning of the year, his confidence level was high,” Richardson said Tuesday morning. "[He was] using his best attribute, skating out of trouble [and] just keeping it simple.”

In 31 games with Rockford, Kaiser emerged as their top defenseman — much like Vlasic did last season — and earned trust and responsibility in all situations, averaging well over 20 minutes of ice time.

His puck-moving and offensive skills also reemerged. After tallying one point in his first 12 AHL appearances, he racked up 14 points in his last 19.

"[I was] just trying to play good defense, transition the puck and have good first puck touches,” Kaiser said. “It’s good to touch the puck a lot more and be able to contribute.”

With Kaiser, Lukas Reichel and Landon Slaggert all sliding in over the past week, the Hawks’ lineup has gotten significantly younger and more interesting from a long-term perspective. How those three fare down the stretch will partially determine whether they’ll be penciled or penned into roster spots entering training camp next season.