The Vegas Golden Knights committed grand larceny when they took home a 2-1 shootout win against the Chicago Blackhawks Tuesday night at United Center.
Vegas trailed 1-0 for most of the contest after rookie Kirby Dach netted his first career goal late in the first period.
The No. 3 pick was all alone. Golden Knights already down 1-0. #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/4RHHF4lw8l
— Knights On Ice (@knightsonice) October 23, 2019
Chicago came close to doubling its lead on multiple occasions, but Marc-Andre Fleury was having none of it.
In fact, Fleury was outstanding all night, finishing the game with a .969 save percentage with 31 saves, several of which were 10-bell stops, including this humdinger.
GJDKLSAGHSFKJNBSF #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/I9vwuTUbZ1
— Knights On Ice (@knightsonice) October 23, 2019
He was forced to make more eye-popping saves throughout the night.
Flower. Chest save. Of course.#VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/NcSFjS0vGM
— Knights On Ice (@knightsonice) October 23, 2019
29. Again.
Not that this should be happening at the tail-end of a power play, but good lord.#VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/I9imZhJ7YT
— Knights On Ice (@knightsonice) October 23, 2019
He didn’t have much support as there wasn’t much going on offensively for the Knights, who had trouble setting things up in Chicago’s end and struggled mightily on the power play.
Technically, the Knights’ play improved as the game wore on, and they even won the Corsi battle 18-8 in the third frame with a Corsi For percentage of 69.23 at 5-on-5.
But you would never know it by watching it, and the Knights had nothing to show for it.
That is, not until elite goal-scorer Nick Holden had something to say about it.
The Knights were 93 seconds away from getting shut out for the first time this season when Holden miraculously knotted things up off a cross-ice feed from Mark Stone. It was quite a soft goal that trickled between the pads of Robin Lehner, but it found the back of the net nevertheless. It was Holden’s second goal in the last week. Go figure.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED BUT NICK HOLDEN JUST SCORED FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A WEEK WHAT THE HELL #VEGASBORN pic.twitter.com/l3OsVvDh6I
— Knights On Ice (@knightsonice) October 23, 2019
Stone and Paul Stastny assisted on the equalizer, which extended Stone’s point streak to seven games and sent the game to extra time.
For most of the night, Vegas’ power play was painful to watch. It was completely out of sorts, at times disastrous, and it was difficult to tell which team had the advantage.
Eventually, however, the Knights had a power play that actually resembled a power play on a 4-on-3 opportunity in overtime; it even resulted in a few good looks. Stone tried to pick the corner but missed twice, and Max Pacioretty had one of Vegas’ best chances of the night. However, it was Lehner’s turn to come up with the highlight-reel save.
What a save by Lehner. pic.twitter.com/hnoNKq0iDz
— Knights On Ice (@knightsonice) October 23, 2019
Vegas was unable to convert as the Knights went 0-for-5 on the power play on the night.
But the Knights improved their shootout record to 2-0 on the season with shootout goals from Jonathan Marchessault and Shea Theodore, thus completing the comeback and giving the Knights the unlikely 2-1 victory.
The win improves Vegas’ record to 7-4-0 on the year, and it helps the Knights finish up their road trip with a 2-1-0 record.
Though it was not an inspiring effort, it’s still a big two points for the Knights, and it’s a well-deserved win for Fleury, who is now within eight wins of catching Curtis Joseph for fifth on the all-time wins list.
It also extends Vegas’ undefeated streak against Chicago, as Vegas is now 7-0-0 all-time against the Hawks.
Next up for Vegas is a matchup against the surging Colorado Avalanche Friday night at T-Mobile Arena. Hopefully the Knights can get things settled before then because the last few games have not been pretty.