The Kings led early and late, but couldn't hold either advantage to the final horn. The Chicago Blackhawks rallied twice and then held on for dear life in the closing minutes of Game 6 of the Western Conference finals Friday at Staples Center.
So, there will be another Game 7 for the Kings, who dropped a 4-3 decision to the Blackhawks, who forced the best-of-7 series to go the distance by scoring twice in less than five minutes late in the third period. Game 7 is Sunday in Chicago.
It's familiar territory for the Kings, who defeated the Sharks in Game 7 in the first round in San Jose and then beat the Ducks in Game 7 in the second at the Honda Center. Do the Kings have another Game 7 victory on the road in them?
Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane scored for Chicago in the third period to push the series to the breaking point. The Kings pressed for the tying goal after Kane's goal gave the Blackhawks a 4-3 lead at 16:15 of the third, but couldn't score.
Drew Doughty ignited the Kings' rally from a 2-1 deficit in the early minutes of the third period, scoring the tying goal and then setting up Alec Martinez's power-play strike to make it 3-2 and send Staples Center into a roaring celebration during a TV timeout moments later.
The Kings' lead lasted less than four minutes, however.
Keith skated toward Jonathan Quick's net from the left point, accepted a pass off the boards from teammate Kane and tied the score at 3-all with one flick of his wrists at 11:34 of the third.
The Blackhawks poured on the pressure in search of the go-ahead goal, with Marcus Kruger narrowly missing from point-blank range only moments after Keith scored. The shot missed the mark and the teams skated toward a second consecutive sudden-death overtime.
Kane wired a shot through traffic for his second goal of the game to make it 4-3.
The Kings got off to a halting start. They couldn't seem to complete a simple defenseman-to-defenseman pass to begin to move the puck out of their own end of the ice. The puck seemed to be hopping around at the most inopportune moments.
The Blackhawks were sharper with the puck and on top of the Kings from the opening faceoff. They weren't first to score, though. The Kings took a 1-0 lead late in the first period and despite their early flubs and failings they took their one-goal lead into the second period.
Justin Williams outskated the Blackhawks' Brent Seabrook to Justin Williams' entry pass and slipped a quick pass from below the goal line to a hard-charging Dwight King in the slot. Dwight King slammed the puck behind Corey Crawford and the Kings led 1-0 at 17:03 of the first.
The Kings' lead and their momentum didn't last long, however.
Anze Kopitar was penalized for holding Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews only 20 seconds into the second period and Chicago made the Kings pay with Kane's power-play goal at 1:12. Ben Smith then gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead 1:37 later.
Staples Center suddenly grew quiet.
No question there was plenty of time for a Kings comeback, but the easy manner in which the Blackhawks seized the lead was spellbinding. Kane's goal gave him five points in the last two games to that point after he had four assists in Game 5.
Kane's dazzling speed was the X-factor in the Blackhawks' series-extending victory in double overtime Wednesday in Chicago. The Kings spent too much time in Game 5 trying to keep up and attempting to match scoring chances. They said they didn't want a repeat in Game 6.
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