The Vegas Golden Knights made history when they collected their sixth consecutive win of the 2023-24 season with a 5-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night at United Center.
The Golden Knights became the first defending Stanley Cup champion team in NHL history to start the season 6-0.
The turning point in the game came early in the third period when Nicolas Roy gave Vegas a 3-2 lead just 13 seconds into the frame. The Golden Knights added two additional goals later in the third, their best period of the night, to come away with two points.
The Golden Knights remain undefeated through six games (6-0-0) in the best start in franchise history.
First period
It was the home opener for Chicago, and it marked an important moment in franchise history as the first home game for first overall pick Connor Bedard.
Bedard did not disappoint.
In fact, he scored on his very first shot at United Center, beating Adin Hill short-side to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead just 90 seconds into the game.
The goal came just five seconds into an early power play after Vegas got called for too many men.
But the Golden Knights responded quickly, netting a power-play tally of their own less than three minutes later. It was a persistent shift by the second unit, which led to a backhand shot by William Karlsson that found twine.
Paul Cotter recorded the primary assist on the play with his family in attendance. It was the first of a two-point performance in a strong showing by the 23-year-old.
Hill made a big save late in the period to keep things tied at 1-1 in a choppy opening 20 minutes, very little of which was played at 5-on-5.
Second period
Jonathan Marchessault gave Vegas its first lead of the night when his shot from the slot got through goaltender Arvid Soderblom and trickled across the goal line. The goal came moments after Hill made another clutch save.
But that lead lasted all of 80 seconds, as Reese Johnson tipped a point shot by Connor Murphy to make it 2-2 at 8:50.
The Blackhawks hit the post, but Vegas managed to get out of the second without trailing. Bruce Cassidy shuffled the lines, but the Golden Knights couldn’t get anything going.
It was an uninspiring 40 minutes of hockey, and the Golden Knights needed to come out strong in the third.
Third period
That’s exactly what happened.
In fact, it took just 13 seconds for the Golden Knights to completely change the game.
After winning the opening faceoff, Roy eventually drove to the net and tapped home a perfect cross-ice feed from Keegan Kolesar to make it 3-2 early in the final frame.
It was a perfect play by the Golden Knights, as Shea Theodore collected the puck off the faceoff and calmly found Brayden McNabb, who then sprung Kolesar on the 2-on-1. It was Kolesar’s first point of the season.
Though the Golden Knights continued to take penalties in the third period, setting up back-to-back power plays for Chicago, Hill, Karlsson and the Vegas penalty kill came through to keep the Blackhawks off the board.
Mark Stone then scored the insurance marker at 13:47, giving Vegas a two-goal cushion. Chandler Stephenson (with Stone’s help) forced a turnover in the neutral zone before leading Michael Amadio along the boards. Amadio wrapped around the net and sent a puck through the crease; Stone managed to get just enough of the puck to get it past Soderblom for his first goal of the season.
The Golden Knights made it 5-2 when Cotter scored on an absolute laser for his first of the year to cap off a two-point game.
The Blackhawks scored on their final shot of the game, as Corey Perry beat Hill with just 15 seconds remaining for the 5-3 final.
Thirteen different Golden Knights found the scoresheet, and five different players lit the lamp for Vegas in yet another win.
The Perry goal moved Hill’s save percentage below .900 (.875) for the first time this season, but he secured his fourth consecutive win, improving to 4-0-0 with a 1.73 goals-against average and .934 save percentage.
The Golden Knights scored two more goals on the power play and went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
It was another game in which Vegas had lulls in its execution, however. In this case, the Golden Knights did not play well in the first two periods. That being said, the fourth line set the tone early in the third, and the Golden Knights won the period and the game.
“We knew after two periods we were gonna have to be better if we expected to win, and I thought we responded well,” Cassidy said.
McNabb said it was important for the Golden Knights to return to their game in the third.
“I think we understood that we didn’t like our second period as much as we wanted to, and we knew we wanted to come out and play our game,” he said. “We understand when we play to our game and how we want to play, we’re a hard team to beat. And we just got back to it and kind of took the game over.”
Roy’s early strike was a pivotal moment.
“I think it had a lot to do with the outcome of the game,” Cassidy said. “It’s usually deflating if you get scored on 15 seconds into the third period.”
Karlsson, who had a fantastic game, said the goal was “a bit of a killer for [Chicago]. Obviously, it’s not easy to let one in right off the bat, and, obviously, that’s gonna give us momentum.”
The Golden Knights had some good fortune with a few goals, but good things happen when you get pucks to the net and go to the net, and that’s exactly what the Golden Knights did. They turned things around and did what they had to do to win.
Vegas needed an offensive spark, and the fourth line provided it.
“They might be the best fourth line in the league, in my opinion,” Karlsson said. “They do it all, really. They’re physical but they also can do stuff like that, go and score. … That’s why they start. To set the tone every game. And we’re lucky to have them on our team.”
The Golden Knights also stayed in the game early. Given the early goal by Bedard on home ice, things could have spiraled; instead, the Golden Knights managed to keep things tied after the first and second periods despite playing poorly.
“I thought our team kept our composure,” Hill said. “We didn’t really play the way we wanted to the first two periods, but we came back in the third and had a strong period.”
The Golden Knights will look for a more complete effort when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.