LOS ANGELES _ No doubt, this was one the Blackhawks had to have.
Enough time theoretically remains for the Hawks to make the playoffs, but Saturday afternoon's 6-3 loss to the Kings _ losers of 10 straight entering the game _ might be too much to overcome.
The Hawks remain five points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot with several contenders yet to play Saturday night. Nine of the Hawks' final 17 games are against teams who currently are in playoff position.
Corey Crawford allowed six goals on 24 shots while making his second straight start since returning from a concussion. The Kings had not scored six goals in a game all season.
The Kings jumped in front 2-0 less than five minutes into the game on power-play goals by Dustin Brown and Sean Walker after the Hawks were called for too many men and Dylan Strome took a tripping penalty.
The Hawks fell behind 3-0 on Ilya Kovalchuk's 13th goal, but Brendan Perlini, who had been a healthy scratch the previous four games, provided some hope with his sixth goal of the season with 1:14 left in the first period.
Perlini scored his second of the game early in the second when Crawford sent him a pass near center ice for a breakaway to make it 3-2.
The Hawks tied it on Connor Murphy's third goal of the season, but the Kings went back up 4-3 barely over a minute later, when Adrian Kempe converted after a turnover by Patrick Kane led to a 2-on-1 break.
