Hey Look Ma, I Made It: Blackhawks 4, Golden Knights 3 in SO
Chandler Stephenson of the Vegas Golden Knights and Jake McCabe of the Chicago Blackhawks | Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images
The Blackhawks played spoiler to the Golden Knights’ playoff hopes on Wednesday. The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in the shootout on Wednesday, ending Vegas’s chances at the playoffs, despite the Coyotes defeating the Stars.
The Blackhawks started the scoring as Taylor Raddysh banked a shot off of Logan Thompson late in the first period:
HAWKS LEAD! pic.twitter.com/5JOgWnHCRc— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) April 28, 2022
Raddysh scored from the side of the net.
However, the Golden Knights answered back 98 seconds later as Michael Amadio blasted a one-timer past Kevin Lankinen off of a pass from Shea Theodore.
The Blackhawks got the one-goal lead back with one second left in the first period as Raddysh got multiple whacks at a rebound, finally elevating the puck above and beyond Thompson:
RADDYSH AGAIN!Hawks lead 2-1 pic.twitter.com/B2TMjDGDE2— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) April 28, 2022
The Golden Knights tied the game early in the second period as Alec Martinez put the puck past Lankinen.
But 65 seconds later, Caleb Jones went high blocker side and scored to give the Blackhawks another one-goal lead:
Keeping up with the Joneses #Blackhawks 3, #VGK 2 pic.twitter.com/EHdipACN6g— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) April 28, 2022
Max Pacioretty scored on a shot that was redirected from the point to tie the game late in the second period, bringing the score to 3-3, and there the score would remain until the end of regulation.
In the shootout, Tyler Johnson scored, elevating the puck over Thompson’s blocker side.
Great final home highlight in a tumultuous season for Tyler Johnson #HAWKSWIN pic.twitter.com/PXgvRoXxjQ— Four Feathers Podcast (@FourFeathersPod) April 28, 2022
The Golden Knights, who could have won their last three games if they had only scored a goal in the shootout, remained unable to do so and are now officially out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks.
Notes
The Blackhawks dominated the first 40 minutes with seven high-danger chances at 5-on-5 in the first period alone, also generating 1.99 expected goals and 16 shots to 15 against in the first 20 minutes, which went without a penalty.
The Blackhawks lost that momentum in the third period, getting outshot 16-8 and giving up 23 shot attempts while generating 14. However, the Blackhawks still maintained an edge in high-danger chances (2-1) and expected goals (0.49-0.43) in the final frame of regulation.
With two goals for and zero against, as well as 0.89 expected goals to 0.29 against, the third line of Sam Lafferty, Raddysh and Philipp Kurashev dominated quality in their 10:40 together at 5-on-5. The line also generated six high-danger chances to just two against.
Alex Vlasic and Alec Regula both played more than 20 minutes in this game while Reese Johnson, Boris Katchouk and Henrik Borgstrom all played eight or less. The playing of the kids may not have been coincidental to the success of the Blackhawks in this game. Kurashev also finally got legitimate time with more than 15 minutes.
Vlasic ended up with the best expected goal share on the Blackhawks’ roster on Wednesday, with 78.52%. Kurashev was best among forwards with 77.56%.
Kevin Lankinen made 37 saves on 40 shots before the shootout, facing 2.13 expected goals. Lankinen also made six stops on seven shots from high danger.
The Coyotes overcame a 3-0 deficit in the other game that mattered to Vegas, and yet the Golden Knights couldn’t score a single shootout goal.
Game Charts
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Chicago Blackhawks on 2022-04-27:#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/EJjTIr8JgO— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) April 28, 2022
Three stars
Taylor Raddysh (CHI) — 2 G
Chandler Stephenson (VGK) — 3 A
Sam Lafferty (CHI) — 2 A
What’s next
The Blackhawks head to upstate New York on Friday to take on the Buffalo Sabres in the season finale at 6 p.m. CT from KeyBank Center. The Hawks have a chance to end the season on a three-game winning streak. ...
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