Los Angeles Kings at Chicago Blackhawks | Tuesday, October 27, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT / 8:00 PM ET | United Center, Chicago | ESPN+
I picked the Panthers to win on Sunday, 4-3. They won 3-2, so I had the winner and was a goal off on the final, which is the kind of near-miss that makes the 3-8-0 record feel worse than it already does. The Hawks have lost three in a row and scored three goals in that stretch, and Bedard said after Sunday’s game, “Tonight, we were terrible.”
Here’s the good news: the Kings are the ones coming in tired. They beat the Rangers 6-3 at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, and now they get on a plane to Chicago for a Tuesday game. For a team with a 3-8-0 record, that’s the closest thing to a scheduling gift we’re going to get.
Game Info: Kings at Blackhawks
- Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2026
- Puck drop: 7:00 PM CT / 8:00 PM ET
- Venue: United Center, Chicago
- TV: ESPN+ is the only option one listing showed. I didn’t find a local TV listing, so check before the game
- Records: Blackhawks 3-8-0 (6 points), 15th in the West; Kings 3-5-2 (8 points), 14th in the West
- Odds: DraftKings had Kings -122 and Blackhawks +102, with a total of 5.5 (over -135, under -105). The puck line was Kings -1.5 at +200. That is close to a coin flip, which tells you what the market thinks of both teams
The Hawks: Possession Without Production
Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Florida was strange. According to Second City Hockey, Chicago had 16 attempts and 12 scoring chances but only six shots on goal across all situations, and went about 11 minutes in the third period without a shot on goal. The power play went 0-for-7, and Matthew Tkachuk scored for Florida five seconds into a power play. Roman Kantserov and Ryan Greene scored for Chicago, and Spencer Knight made 31 saves on 34 shots.
Jeff Blashill said the power play mirrors the team’s 5-on-5 struggles and that the staff will review film to decide whether changes are needed.
- Lines: No regular line had a positive shot-attempt share at 5-on-5 on Sunday. The Greene line came closest at 44.4%, and Bedard’s line was at 40.7%.
- Defense: Second City Hockey liked Kevin Korchinski and Sam Rinzel as the best pairing and wants them to get an extended look. Kaiser and Levshunov struggled against tougher assignments.
- Goalies: Knight is 3-6-0 with a .890 save percentage, and Arvid Soderblom is 0-2-0 with a .820, per ESPN’s page. I don’t know who starts.
- Injuries: Bowen Byram (upper body) is day-to-day and has missed three straight games.
The Kings: Hot Last Night, Not Great Overall
Los Angeles won 6-3 in New York on Monday. Taylor Ward, Brandt Clarke, Drew Doughty, Artemi Panarin (on the power play), Mikey Anderson and Edmundson (into an empty net) scored. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves on 26 shots.
That was the Kings’ first back-to-back of the season, according to the Kings Insider’s preview of the Rangers game. If Kuemper played Monday, I’d expect Anton Forsberg to start Tuesday, but I couldn’t confirm that.
- Coach: Peter Laviolette is in his first season behind the bench after being hired in June.
- Power play: The Kings were 27th in the league at just under 15% before Monday, and Laviolette has been testing Erik Gustafsson on the top unit. Panarin scored on Monday’s man advantage.
- Injuries: Mats Zuccarello (IR, estimated Nov. 4), Kevin Fiala (IR, Oct. 31), Alex Turcotte (IR, Oct. 29) and two others are listed out on ESPN’s page. Quinton Byfield was a game-time decision on Monday, and I don’t know whether he plays Tuesday.
- Roster note: Anze Kopitar retired, so the Kings lost their longtime center. NHL.com’s season preview named center depth as a weakness.
- Recent form: Earlier this month the Kings lost 4-1 to Edmonton and 4-1 to Boston, and they won at Washington and at the Islanders. Reports conflict on how their game at New Jersey went, so I’m leaving it out. The Rangers win left them at 3-5-2.
The Matchups That Matter
The power play against a bad penalty kill. NHL.com’s preview said the Kings ranked 30th on the penalty kill last season (74.6%). I couldn’t find this year’s rank, but the Hawks need to take advantage of what they get. Going 0-for-7 again would be a disaster.
Chicago’s shot volume. Six shots on goal won’t beat anyone. The Hawks created chances on Sunday, but they didn’t turn them into pucks on net.
Panarin and Kempe against Chicago’s pairings. Panarin has the skill to beat anyone one-on-one. Blashill will have to decide who he wants against them.
Goaltending. Neither team is getting elite saves. Whichever goalie makes the one big stop in the third period might win it.
The legs. Los Angeles played Monday night in New York and has to be in Chicago for Tuesday. I’m not going to claim fatigue decides it, but a rested home team with a motivated goalie has a shot.
What Actually Decides It
The market says it’s a coin flip, and honestly I agree. The Hawks have more reasons to win: a home game, a tired visitor and a 3-8-0 record they badly need to start fixing. The Kings have more recent wins, a top line that can score and a coach who has been through this before.
I’m not going to pretend the process has been good. A team that gets six shots on goal in a game isn’t a team I trust. But the Hawks were still competitive on Sunday, and I think they find a way to score on a power play eventually. I’ll go with Chicago in a one-goal game.
My Final Score Prediction: Chicago Blackhawks 3, Los Angeles Kings 2
The post Blackhawks vs. Kings Prediction October 27th: A Pick’em Line, a Tired Opponent and a Power Play That Needs a Pulse appeared first on UrbanMatter.
