Winning Streak is Over: Chicago Blackhawks Defeat Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 (OT)

The Vegas Golden Knights had their NHL record for longest winning streak by a defending Stanley Cup champion ended by the Chicago Blackhawks Friday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights scored the game’s first two goals and the Blackhawks controlled the majority of the game after that.

The game within the game: The Golden Knights won their previous two games against the Philadelphia Flyers and Blackhawks despite giving a 60-minute minute effort. The Golden Knights were the better team for the game’s first five minutes and that was about it.

First period: It took just over 90 seconds for the Golden Knights to start the scoring. Pavel Dorofeyev converted from close off a nice pass from Michael Amadio. William Karlsson deflected a Shea Theodore shot from the point to give the Golden Knights a two-goal lead.

It seemed like this would be a one-sided game.

The Blackhawks got goals from Ryan Donato and Connor Bedard just over a minute apart from each other.

Turning point: The life was sucked out of the Golden Knights fans when Connor Bedard tied the game with just over five minutes remaining in the first period. There were many fans who made the trip from Chicago and they were loud and proud after Bedard’s goal.

Second period: The second period featured a lot of nothing. There was a total of 10 shots between the two teams and not many scoring chances.

One would have assumed the Golden Knights would have started the second period the way they started the first. It was hard to tell if the Blackhawks were playing a great game or if the Golden Knights were playing to the level of the competition.

Third period: Taylor Raddysh was the beneficiary of a Theodore turnover to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead. Theodore made up for his error with eight minutes remaining with his second big third period goal of the week.

Overtime: Karlsson took a tripping penalty one minute into overtime. Alex Pietrangelo got caught on the ice for a long shift and failed on a clearing attempt. Philipp Kurashev beat Adin Hill on a long shot through traffic to end the Golden Knights’ seven-game winning streak.

Key storyline: The Golden Knights finished 0-4 on the powerplay including two powerplays in the final seven minutes in the third period. The Golden Knights had multiple chances to steal the game.

Concern: Perhaps the luck ran out for the Golden Knights Friday afternoon. It is hard to win a game in the NHL without a 60-minute effort. “This game was not to our standard.” Brett Howden on the loss. “We did not execute at an NHL level.” Coach Bruce Cassidy said postgame.

Next up: The Golden Knights jumped on a plane for Los Angeles right after Friday’s game ended for the second leg of the back-to-back against the Kings.