Third-period rally lifts Knights past Blackhawks

[February 14, 2018]  Brad Hunt, Reilly Smith and David Perron scored on consecutive shots early in the third period to rally the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

Ryan Carpenter and Tomas Nosek also scored for the Western Conference-leading Golden Knights, who snapped a two-game home losing streak and won for the 20th time in 26 games at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas' Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves to improve to 17-6-2 this season.

Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist and Tommy Wingels also scored for Chicago, which saw lost for the seventh straight game (0-6-1). The Blackhawks are riding their longest losing streak since 2012, when they dropped nine in a row.

Chicago goalie Jeff Glass finished with 32 saves.

The Blackhawks, coming in off their most lopsided loss of the season, 6-1 on Monday night at Arizona, jumped out to a 1-0 lead after just 2:10 on Wingels' power-play goal. With his seventh of the season, Wingels snapped a 20-game goalless drought.

Vegas tied it three minutes later when Carpenter took control of the puck behind the Blackhawks' net and then snuck it inside the post and just under Glass' glove.

The first penalty shot ever awarded against the expansion Golden Knights occurred at the 2:59 of the second period when Fleury took a loose stick in front of the goal and hurled it toward Patrick Sharp coming in from the right side of the net, sending Sharp sliding into the boards. However, Fleury made amends by stopping Sharp's penalty shot with his left shoulder.

 

Blackhawks center Nick Schmaltz (8) battles for the puck with Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson (71) in the first period of an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead 3 1/2 minutes later when DeBrincat, stopped by Fleury on his first attempt, one-timed a pass from Sharp, who had picked up the rebound, through Fleury's pads.

Vegas answered with three goals over a 3:40 span early in the third period. The sequence started at 1:14 with a power-play goal by Hunt, who wristed a shot from the left point that got past Glass. The goalie appeared by be screened by defenseman Connor Murphy.

Smith then gave Vegas a 3-2 lead at 3:07 when he slapped in a William Karlsson pass from the slot over the glove of Glass. Perron followed 1:47 later with a wrist shot from the slot through Glass' pads.

Nosek added an empty-netter with 1:16 left. It was the 17th time this season that Chicago allowed four or more goals in a game.

--Field Level Media

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