The Vegas Golden Knights (17-11-12) suffered their fifth consecutive loss and eighth loss in the last nine games in a 3-2 overtime defeat against the Chicago Blackhawks (17-18-7) Sunday night at United Center.
Tyler Bertuzzi scored all three goals for the Blackhawks, completing the hat trick with the game-winner just 78 seconds into overtime.
It was the Golden Knights’ 12th loss beyond regulation this season, which leads the NHL.
Once again, the Golden Knights blew multiple leads, with Bertuzzi erasing one-goal deficits in the first and third periods. Vegas got goals from Mark Stone, who scored for the fourth straight game, and Brandon Saad, but it wasn’t enough to snap the Golden Knights’ skid.
Vegas earned one of a possible four points on the two-game Dads’ trip and has gone 0-1-1 through two games of this three-game road trip.
Alexander Holtz and Cole Reinhardt were back in the lineup in place of Reilly Smith and Braeden Bowman.
Holtz forced a turnover midway through the first period, and Brett Howden got the puck to Saad for the opening tally. It was Saad’s second goal of the year and first since Nov. 15 against St. Louis, another one of his former teams.
But the Golden Knights held that lead for less than two minutes.
In a relatively low-event period, the Blackhawks didn’t generate much but managed to beat Akira Schmid on their first real chance of the game. Ben Hutton gave Bertuzzi a little too much space, and Bertuzzi’s first of the game beat Schmid glove-side from the high slot to make it 1-1.
The Golden Knights grabbed their second lead in the opening minute of the second period.
For the fourth game in a row, the captain found the back of the net. Much like Friday’s game against the Blues, the puck went off a defender before finding its way to Stone in front, and he made no mistake. Stone’s 12th of the season gave Vegas a 2-1 lead just 43 seconds into the middle frame.
The Golden Knights were outshot 8-5 in the second period but didn’t allow the Blackhawks to push back. However, they also failed to extend the lead, which they relinquished 30:53 later.
But not before Schmid made a massive save to rob Ryan Greene in the third.
However, Schmid was unable to hold off Bertuzzi, who broke through at 11:36 to reset the score at 2-2. It was the only goal in a period in which Vegas recorded just two shots on goal.
The Blackhawks had the better of the play early in overtime, and Bertuzzi netted his third of the night on Chicago’s first shot. Toronto initiated a review to check for offside, but the goal was confirmed for the 3-2 finish.
Vegas lost a very winnable game, inexcusably failing to take advantage at almost every turn.
The Golden Knights led in the first, second and third periods but didn’t give themselves any breathing room. They went 0-for-1 on the power play, generating four scoring chances and five shot attempts but zero shots on goal. Remarkably, they recorded just 15 shots on goal against a team in the second half of a back-to-back, and they barely tested backup Arvid Soderblom, who had to make just 13 saves for the win.
In fact, after Stone’s go-ahead goal early in the second period, Vegas recorded just six total shots in the final 40:35 of the contest, including two in the third period and zero in extra time.
In the end, the Blackhawks led 58-40 in shot attempts, 20-15 in shots and 31-24 in scoring chances with a 57.15 percent expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick.
The effort level by the Golden Knights was jarringly absent. Considering the opponent, the circumstances and the fact that Vegas had never lost both games on a Dads’ trip, it wasn’t close to good enough.
Schmid turned aside 17 of 20 shots for an .850 save percentage, but the fact that the Golden Knights generated just 15 shots is the much more telling statistic.
It was another head-scratching performance by the Golden Knights, who are in the midst of a brutal string of losses and have now lost five straight for the first time under Bruce Cassidy. The Golden Knights were facing a tired Blackhawks team without Conor Bedard, they were ahead in the second half of the third period, and Eichel, Stone and Mitch Marner were all in the lineup.
Brayden McNabb missed his second game in a row, with Jaycob Megna struggling once again in 15:41 of ice time. Injuries are clearly playing a role, but there’s no explanation for a performance this flat.
When all was said and done, the Golden Knights’ didn’t do much at all in this game, and though they weren’t wildly outplayed, they were fortunate to walk away with a point considering the lifeless effort.
They are now 4-12 in overtime this season.
At this point, the Golden Knights are reeling.
They will try to stop the bleeding when they wrap up the three-game road trip Tuesday in Winnipeg before returning home to face Columbus and St. Louis on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
Photo via Chicago Blackhawks