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LOS ANGELES \u2014 In most ways, the Blackhawks<\/a> are punching above their weight talent-wise this season.<\/p>\n They absorbed a punch in the form of a five-game losing streak and are now riding another point streak, which they extended to three games Thursday with a 2-1 road win over the Kings. A 12-9-6 record in early December is better than anyone outside their locker room expected.<\/p>\n On the penalty kill specifically, though, the Hawks are punching right at their weight, not above it. They are legitimately stacked with superb killers, and those superb killers are delivering consistent results.<\/p>\n Another five-for-five performance Thursday, including a game-sealing kill for the final 86 seconds of the game, moved the Hawks up to fourth in the league at 85.3% this season. Since Nov. 5, they\u2019re at 90.7%, having killed 39 of 43 opportunities during that span.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got really good penalty-killers that have bought into the system, but the system is less important than the buy-in,\u201d coach Jeff Blashill said.<\/p>\n Leading the bunch is Ilya Mikheyev, who has emerged as a truly elite player in those situations \u2014 a \u201cone-man machine,\u201d as Blashill put it. He relentlessly hounds<\/a> power-play puck-carriers all over the ice, not just in the defensive zone.<\/p>\n \u201cMikheyev is right up there with some of the really good killers in the league,\u201d Blashill added. \u201cAnd he does it in a different way than some guys. Some guys do it just with their head or the cerebral way. He certainly can think [well], but he\u2019s just so explosive on pucks and wins so many puck battles because his compete level is so high. He takes great pride in it, and he\u2019s been excellent at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Forwards Jason Dickinson and Teuvo Teravainen are also stellar. Teravainen lost teeth blocking a shot during the final minute Thursday; Blashill said he\u2019s in \u201ca lot of pain\u201d but will be fine. <\/p>\n Defensemen Alex Vlasic, Louis Crevier and Connor Murphy, meanwhile, use their length effectively to cover more ground than most men could when shorthanded. Wyatt Kaiser uses his agility to do the same.<\/p>\n Analytically, the Hawks\u2019 penalty kill has allowed the second-fewest goals, eighth-fewest scoring chances and fifth-fewest shot attempts per minute.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the entries, we\u2019re really gapping up hard and not really giving [our opponents] a lot of options,\u201d Kaiser said. \u201cIt starts there, killing a lot of time, and then you frustrate them. They start trying to force little things. And then in-zone, we\u2019re sticking to doing our jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hawks benefited from an enormous swing late in the second period Thursday. Murphy saved a goal on one end after goalie Spencer Knight misplayed the puck, then Kaiser buried his first goal of the season with five seconds left.<\/p>\n Knight (26 saves) allowed one goal in the third, but the Hawks showed they\u2019ve learned from their lead-squandering mistakes<\/a> during the past month. They continued to play offense instead of sitting back before eventually letting their penalty kill close things out.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really important for us to be in those tight games,\u201d Knight said. \u201cIt\u2019s the way hockey\u2019s going to be, the longer you play into the season. If you eventually get to the postseason, that\u2019s how it is. [When] all the pressure is on, you have to know how to hold that lead. It was good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n