DENVER _ Second chances aren't all they're cracked up to be. Neither is playing without Duncan Keith.
A day after getting thumped by the Avalanche in Chicago, the Blackhawks endured a 7-3 loss Saturday at the Pepsi Center, their second straight humiliating defeat at the hands of their Central Division rivals.
The Hawks dropped to 10-11-5.
Playing without Keith _ who left Friday's game with a groin injury _ for the first time in nearly three years, the Hawks again had no answers for the speedy Avalanche. They trailed 3-1 after the first period for the second straight night, and rather than make something of a game of it, things quickly got out of hand.
The Avs scored twice in the first six minutes of the second period, driving Robin Lehner from the game after allowing five goals on 14 shots. Lehner appeared visibly angry as he departed the ice.
And for good reason. The Hawks repeatedly allowed the Avalanche to enter the slot alone and get off uncontested shots on Lehner, whose save percentage fell from .938 to .929 after his worst outing of the season.
If the Hawks thought their last two games were tough, wait until they see who's up next. The Blues have the NHL's second-best record and come to the United Center on Monday. The Hawks travel to Boston on Thursday to face the Bruins, who have the third-best record in the league. The Blues and Bruins are a combined 35-8-11.
Fans got their money's worth during a first period that saw a short-handed goal, a power-play goal, a couple of even-strength goals and a fight between two players who finished in the top 20 in voting for the Lady Byng Trophy, given to the NHL's most gentlemanly player.
Brandon Saad's short-handed goal put the Hawks up 1-0 less than two minutes into the game, but Nazim Kadri's power-play goal tied it a few minutes later. Kadri scored again and Nathan MacKinnon added one to give the Avs three goals in 3:15.
Before the period was over, Alex DeBrincat and Sam Girard threw the gloves down in a spirited scrap between two of the smallest players on the ice.
The fight didn't help spark the Hawks. Joonas Donskoi scored twice in the second period and Mikko Rantanen and Tyson Jost added a goal to put the Avs up 7-1. The Hawks' Dominik Kubalik scored his sixth goal of the season.
The only mystery after that was whether Patrick Kane would be able to extend his point streak to 15 games. He finally found the scoresheet on a power-play goal _ his 14th goal of the season _ with 5:22 remaining to give him the third-longest streak of his career.
Kane had a 20-game streak last season and set his career best in 2015-16 with a 26-game point streak.
