Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Blog: Golden Knights handle Blackhawks for fourth straight victory

Knights Bellemare Shoots

L.E. Baskow

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (41) looks to a puck he’s just shot while maneuvering around Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook (7) during their game at T-Mobile Arena.

Updated Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017 | 9:36 p.m.

Add the Blackhawks to the ranks of teams defeated by the Golden Knights.

The storied franchise that’s entrenched itself at the top of the NHL for the last several years was no match for upstart Golden Knights. Vegas spoiled the night for the thousands of Chicago fans who turned up at T-Mobile Arena with a 4-2 victory.

The win improved Vegas 7-1 on the season going into the final game of a two-week home stand, a special Nevada Day matinee at 3 p.m. Friday against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Golden Knights trailed for all of 26 seconds against the Blackhawks. Third-string goalie Oscar Dansk, forced into action after injuries to Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban, gave up a shorthanded goal to John Hayden on Chicago’s second shot of the night but was nearly perfect otherwise.

The Golden Knights evened it up on the same power play when William Karlsson finished off solid puck movement, with assists going to Colin Miller and Brad Hunt. Tomas Nosek added his second goal of the season less than two minutes later on a rebound in front of the net. Aside from Dansk, Nosek was the star of the night.

He picked up another point in the second period when he found Pierre-Edouard Bellemare from behind the net for another goal.

The Golden Knights’ final goal came on a power play with 10 minutes remaining when Jonathan Marchessault scorched one over Chicago goalie Corey Crawford’s shoulder. Vegas went 2-for-5 on the power play, improving its season total to 6-for-34.

Chicago scored its second goal with 1:05 remaining when Patrick Kane slipped one past Dansk, who had stymied the perennial All-Star several other times earlier in the game.

Check back to the Sun later for full coverage of the Golden Knights’ victory and read below for live updates from the game.

Golden Knights lead Blackhawks 3-1 at end of second period

The Golden Knights are 20 minutes away from improving to 7-1 on the season with what would possibly be their most impressive victory.

Vegas added another goal on Chicago in the second period, increasing its lead to 3-1. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored his first of the season after cleanly receiving a pass from Tomas Nosek in front of the net and putting it past Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford.

Bellemare’s goal came at 18:14 of the period, breaking more than a 30-minute dry spell without a score in the game. Vegas’ defense remained tough, but goalie Oscar Dansk had to make several challenging saves to keep his team in front.

Dansk has stopped 17 of 18 shots so far, while the Golden Knights have scored three of their 12 attempts.

Golden Knights lead Blackhawks 2-1 at end of first period

The packed T-Mobile Arena crowd — albeit one comprised of more Blackhawks than Golden Knights fans — was treated to a fast-paced and highly offensive first period.

The two teams combined for 24 shots on goals. The Golden Knights converted on more of their chances, and lead the Blackhawks 2-1 at the end of the period.

In his first career start, goaltender Oscar Dansk made a number of impressive saves including several during a Chicago power play at the end of the period.

The Blackhawks’ only goal came when they were shorthanded, as John Hayden pushed one past Dansk. The Golden Knights answered less than 30 seconds later with their fifth power play goal of the season when William Karlsson cashed in on a pass from Colin Miller.

Tomas Nosek scored the next goal, knocking through a Deryk Engelland rebound. Vegas has outshot Chicago 14-10 through the first 20 minutes.

From the minute the Golden Knights released tickets for their inaugural season, tonight’s game stood out as one of the most in-demand contests.

Consider it an effect of hosting an Original Six opponent with an immense fan base spurred by recent success. The Chicago Blackhawks, winners of two of the last five Stanley Cups, visit T-Mobile Arena for the first time and are expected to bring a mass of red jersey-clad fans in the stands with them.

Ticket prices remain inflated hours before game time, as secondary sites have most seats more than twice as expensive as Friday’s home game against the Colorado Avalanche. The Blackhawks and Avalanche are the final two opponents in a seven-game home stand where the Golden Knights have already clinched a winning record by going 5-1.

But tonight should be the toughest test. Not only because the Blackhawks are arguably the best team during the stretch, but because the Golden Knights are perilously thin in front of the net.

Their two goaltenders, Oscar Dansk and Maxime Lagace, were both in the AHL less than two weeks ago and had never played in the NHL until Malcolm Subban went down with an injury in Saturday’s win over the Blues. Dansk relieved Subban, who was already filling in for the concussed Marc-Andre Fleury, and saved 10 of 11 shots to help the Golden Knights grab their third overtime victory.

Coach Gerard Gallant said that was the deciding factor in starting Dansk over Lagace, though he didn’t make the call until this morning’s skate. Dansk will have to battle against some of the NHL’s most well known offensive threats including Patrick Kane and Jonathan Towes.

Despite going scoreless in Vegas’ last three games, James Neal remains the team’s leader in points with eight. Chicago has four players with at least eight points, though the disparity is largely because it’s played two more games than Vegas.

Offered at a price of nearly 2-to-1 in sports books, the Golden Knights are the biggest underdog they’ve ever been at home going into the game. It will take another special performance to pick up an extra two points in the standings with a victory.

Puck drops: 7:00 p.m.

Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink Prism 1760, Dish Network 5414)

Betting line: Blackhawks minus-180, Golden Knights plus-160; Total 6 minus-120 under

Golden Knights (6-1-0) (4-1-0 home)

Coach: Gerard Gallant

Goal leader: James Neal (6)

Assist leader: Reilly Smith (5)

Expected goalie: Oscar Dansk (1-0-0, 4.36 goals against average)

Chicago Blackhawks (6-2-0) (3-2-0 away)

Coach: Joel Quenneville

Goal leader: Brandon Saad (6)

Assist leader: Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith (7)

Expected goalie: Corey Crawford (5-2-0, 1.86 goals against average)

Golden Knights game day roster

Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, William Carrier, Cody Eakin, William Karlsson, Brendan Leipsic, Oscar Lindberg, Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal, Tomas Nosek, David Perron, Reilly Smith and Alex Tuch.

Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Brad Hunt, Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Luca Sbisa and Nate Schmidt.

Goalies (2): Oscar Dansk and Maxime Lagace.

Prediction : Blackhawks 5, Golden Knights 1

Season record for predictions: 3-4

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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