ANALYSIS: Physical, Mental Fatigue Set in as Winless Streak Hits Eight

The Blackhawks are wearing down in the final weeks of the season, and for stretches of games, it shows.
"It's physical (fatigue), but I think mentally we're gassed," interim head coach Derek King admitted after Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the LA Kings. "And then you add on a losing streak, and we can't get out of it. The teams we're playing, that are coming in here, it's not going to get any easier because these guys are looking for points, too. There's some desperate teams out there that want to get into the playoffs. It's going to take a lot of hard work, solid effort, almost a perfect game for us."
The loss was the eighth straight contest without a win for Chicago, who at times in games have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the night's foe. But a stretch off or a bad bounce, as seemed to be the case on Tuesday, flips the ice the other way and the team can't climb back out.

POSTGAME LINKS
**GAMECENTER**: CHI vs. LA
**RECAP**: Blackhawks Fall to Kings, 5-2
**HIGHLIGHTS**: Blackhawks vs. Kings
**GALLERY**: Blackhawks vs. Kings
LA took a 2-0 lead in the first, capitalizing on an open man at the side of the net for the opener and then seeing a redirect off the leg of Caleb Jones a few minutes later. Late in the second, Taylor Raddysh found the net to make it a 2-1 contest, but then 30 seconds later, the Kings took back the two-goal lead.
"The guys, they're trying. They're competing. They are trying," King said. "We're making young mistakes, immature mistakes at times. We get that goal quick, I throw that checking line out and they get scored against. Those are the times when you need that next shift after a goal, against or for, you need that next shift to be a solid one. We kind of got a little lazy on that one. It's in the back of the net, kills the momentum."
Chicago had a string of three power plays early in the third to try and pull one back, but drew iron on a couple looks and saw Jonathan Quick stand tall on other chances.
"We had good looks," Raddysh said. "I think Alex (DeBrincat) and Kaner (Patrick Kane) both hit the bar, so if those go in, it's a one-goal game with a couple minutes left. Those things happen."
Video: CHI Recap: Raddysh tallies 2 points in tough defeat
It became even more clear on Tuesday night that the final 10 games, or at least a portion of them, will be about continuing to get more young players into the lineup.
Alex Vlasic played in his third straight game, the longest stretch since he signed in mid-March. Lukas Reichel played in his third straight game, matching a season-high in his third NHL stint. And Alec Regula returned to the Blackhawks on Tuesday for another big-league call up this season, stepping right into the lineup and playing alongside Seth Jones at even strength for much of the night.
Regula logged 17:22 in his return, including time on both the power play and penalty kill. Vlasic skated 13:57, nearing the 14-minute mark for the second straight night, his highest use to date.
Erik Gustafsson and Calvin de Haan drew out of the lineup on the blue line in favor of the two, along with getting both Caleb Jones and Riley Stillman into action, who have rotated in and out of the group in recent games.
"I've explained it to the guys. The situation we're in, this is what happens," King said of sitting a pair of veterans to give looks to the younger guys. "Any team (this happens).. they understand it. They've been around long enough."
For the Blackhawks, it's a perfect chance to not only reward the work Regula has done in recent weeks to take his game to the next level, but can also serve as a litmus test to where his game stands in comparison to The NHL level.
"He gets better all the time," King said. "Even when he came up with us the one time and goes back down, he takes that game and what he's learned here, the pace, and he continues to build on that down there. All the reports I have when I talk to (IceHogs interim head coach) Anders (Sorenson) is he's one of their top D. He's a right shot, he can run the power play and he's been doing some good things."
The 6-foot-4 defenseman is gaining confidence in all aspects of his game, eating big minutes on the back end and starting to find the scoresheet more consistently as well with 13 points in his last 20 games.
"I think throughout the year, I've had parts of my game that feel good and others that don't and it's kind of been up and down a little bit, but I think right now, I feel like I'm playing my best hockey and I feel really good about it," Regula said. "I think I'm defending well, doing good on the PK and also contributing offensively and on the power play and stuff like that, so all around I feel really good."
Just last weekend, the defenseman doubled his goal total on the year with a pair against the Tucson Roadrunners, including this beauty:
"I think I have that kind of offense in my game," he said Tuesday. "I feel like I've had a lot of chances this year to score and I haven't really been scoring as much as I like, so to get a couple goals this past weekend felt really good."
Like Reichel, Regula doesn't know how long his latest NHL stint is slated to last, but there's a lot of hockey ahead ahead in Rockford. The team is 11-3-1 over the last 15 games and the IceHogs on the cusp of an AHL playoff bid for the first time since 2018.
Although he jumped straight to the NHL out of college, Vlasic is also expected get some playoff action in the AHL in the coming weeks.
"We're playing really well," Regula said. "It's a good vibe down there. Now we're having fun and getting down to it."
"I'm super happy to get another chance, another game to play (in the NHL)," he continued, "but I'm excited to go back down there, which I didn't think I'd ever say that really. I've been down there most of the year and we're all really excited for the playoffs. It'll be good to get back down there whenever I do and kind of keep that ball rolling."
"That's good hockey for him to play, meaningful hockey," King added.