The Kings blew into the Windy City looking for a pair of broad shoulders to help snap their three-game winless streak against the Chicago Blackhawks today.

It’ll be the Kings’ third game in four nights after they bounced off Wednesday’s overtime loss to Vancouver at home and straight into a couple of lopsided defeats in Dallas on Friday and St. Louis on Saturday, which came by a 10-3 aggregate score. The mini-funk marked just the third time this season that the Kings have lost three or more games consecutively.

“It’s a season where it goes up and down but when it goes down for a couple games, you’ve got to pull yourself out in a hurry,” coach Jim Hiller told reporters in St. Louis.

Drew Doughty returned to action after missing the Vancouver game with a lower-body injury, picking up an assist in St. Louis to mitigate his -4 rating over the weekend. With their most experienced defender back in the mix, Brandt Clarke was relegated to being the seventh defensemen one night and a healthy scratch the following evening.

The results were less than desirable at both ends, just as they were when Clarke was scratched during a back-to-back set in Florida in late January. In the three games he has taken in as a spectator, the Kings have gone 0-3-0 and mustered a measly goal while allowing 10.

Hiller has steered nearly every positive development and modicum of praise for Clarke toward a discussion of what he could do better.

Clarke, the eighth overall pick in 2021, has game-breaking setup ability and uncommon swagger, but those traits have not been as well-received of late — despite positive results for both team and player with him in the lineup.

For instance, when Clarke registers at least one point, the Kings are 15-4-1.

After Clarke played just over five minutes in a win against Utah, Hiller pondered aloud what the ideal amount of ice for him might be.

The Kings have lost eight of nine games in which he played 19 minutes or more, but also all three in which he has been scratched. Removing the outliers on either end, they’ve gone 28-8-7 in games in which Clarke has played between 12:56 and 18:52.

Despite a reduction in minutes, power-play time and even games played, Clarke still leads the Kings in scoring by a defenseman. He’s tied for fourth on the team, regardless of position, in assists per 60 minutes on a roster that desperately needs both power-play production and overall scoring.