CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Vegas Golden Knights at United Center on Friday night. Vegas, a Stanley Cup contender, is a team that should normally be trouble for Chicago.
That isn't always how it goes in hockey. The Blackhawks started this game off well when Ryan Donato scored off his rebound. Ethan Del Mastro made a brilliant stretch pass to find Donato for a breakaway, which led to the goal. Adin Hill initially made a save before Donato buried the second chance opportunity.
Chicago held that score through the first intermission. It was the second period when it felt like Vegas was going to take over. Mark Stone and Victor Olofsson scored consecutive goals just under a minute apart.
After that, Ryan Donato tried to make it a special sports night in town. He scored two goals in 15 seconds to complete the hat-trick. Tons of hats made their way to the ice in celebration.
Once again, the Blackhawks took a one-goal lead (3-2) into the intermission. You knew that the Golden Knights wouldn't go away without a fight.
Just over two minutes into the final frame, Victor Olofsson scored his second of the game to tie it up for Vegas.
It looked like Chicago would get Vegas to overtime, but Teuvo Teravainen took a costly penalty late in the period. With just over three minutes to go in regulation, Pavel Dorofeyev scored a power-play goal, which gave Vegas a lead late.
Before long, Brett Howden threw one into the empty net and sealed the 5-3 victory for the Golden Knights. Despite keeping up with this elite Vegas team, they weren't able to get the win in the end.
Games like this are staples during hard rebuilds. The young defense had their ice time pretty evenly spread out. They all had some really good moments, and there were some mistakes as well. All of them will be better off for having games like this under their belt.
Donato had his first career hat-trick and gave the Blackhawks a chance to win, but they still fell short in the end. Vegas is built to win a championship, and they showed why in the third period when the chips were down.
The Blackhawks are back at it on Sunday against the Utah Hockey Club at the United Center. If the Blackhawks play the same way they did against Vegas, they will have a chance to beat them too.
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