ANALYSIS: Line Shuffle Provides Spark, but Blackhawks Fall to Stars

For the first half of the game on Sunday, the Blackhawks and Stars were in an entertaining, back-and-forth game with one team pulling ahead and the other answering on three separate occasions. But in the end, the team fighting for their playoff lives over the season's final week had the extra push late as Dallas took a 6-4 final at the United Center.
"I thought we competed much better. Happy with the way we competed, and we stayed in it. We had some chances and we just couldn't score," interim head coach Derek King said. "Could've used a couple stops here and there and I think the goalies feel the same way… We need to be better in front of them and clean up some of the mess."

POSTGAME LINKS
GAMECENTER: CHI vs. DAL
RECAP: Blackhawks Fall to Stars in Back-and-Forth Series Finale
HIGHLIGHTS: Blackhawks vs. Stars
GALLERY: Blackhawks vs. Stars
INSIDER: A Conversation with Marian Hossa
"Definitely disappointing," Patrick Kane said after the loss. "I think we're all competitors and we want to finish the season strong. Even though we're out of the playoffs, just try to come in with an open mindset and compete every night. For the most part, I thought we played OK tonight, just a couple breakdowns."
Kevin Lankinen was pulled after 40 minutes, allowing five goals on 20 shots through the first two periods, many through traffic or loose sticks in front.
"He's played well. He's kept us in games and not rewarded," King added. "Tonight just wasn't his night. He'll get right back in there. He'll be fine."

LINE SHUFFLE

The Blackhawks three-headed monster of Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane and Dylan Strome over the last month is no more, at least for now. The top line, which had combined for 12 goals and 21 assists on Chicago's 24 total goals over the last nine games, was split as King and the Chicago coaching staff looked for a solution to the Blackhawks' recent skid.
"I caved," King said after practice on Saturday. "Didn't want to, but we've lost six. It rattled in my brain a little too long but we decided to shuffle them up a little bit."
"After the (All-Star) break, we were playing pretty good hockey," King added. "We were still motivated to correct this, trying to build our values, culture, identity. And then all of a sudden, that faded… After the trade [deadline], we just haven't been the same."
DeBrincat and Strome remained together, flanked on Sunday night by former Erie Otters teammate Taylor Raddysh. Kane was on the right wing of longtime teammate Jonathan Toews and was opposite Philipp Kurashev on the top line. As a result of the moves, Kirby Dach and Lukas Reichel, who made a second line with Toews previously, were third in the rotation with Sam Lafferty. In the third period, Reichel and Raddysh briefly swapped roles in the middle six.

The result was the same on Sunday evening, as the team dropped a seventh straight game, but the effort was improved overall in a game that was tied 3-3 at the midpoint.
The Kurashev-Toews-Kane trio immediately made an impact, albeit with a little help, in the first period as Kane won a puck back in the neutral zone and sprung his two linemates on a 2-on-1 rush the other way. Kurashev sent a pass across to Toews at the back post, but the puck deflected off a diving Esa Lindell between the two Hawks and into the Stars net.
"I thought Tazer's line was good," King said. "I thought Kurashev responded when he got back in. That goal he got, you take it. Tried to make a play and it goes in."
"We didn't really sustain much in the offensive zone, but it was nice to get that first goal," Kane added. "I haven't played with those guys in a long time, so sometimes it takes a little time to build that chemistry."
The most impactful line throughout the night was the fourth trio of MacKenzie Entwistle, Reese Johnson and Boris Katchouk, who netted his first goal as a Blackhawk in the second period as a result.
"It's nice getting a goal for the team," Johnson said. "I thought we supported each other well and got pucks deep and that's key for us every night."
"They were outstanding," King said of the three. "They had a job. We talked about how they have to play and they played it to a T. Good for them."