Tyler Johnson's late heroics lift Blackhawks past Knights

[February 22, 2023]  Tyler Johnson scored the tying goal on a six-on-four power play with 55 seconds left and then scored the game-winner in a shootout to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to their third straight win, 3-2 over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

Feb 21, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson (90) celebrates his goal with Connor Murphy (5) to win the game against Vegas Golden Knights in a shootout at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Johnson fired a wrist shot through the pads of Vegas goalie Laurent Brossoit at the end of the third round with the only goal of the shootout.

Trailing 2-1, the Blackhawks took advantage of a delay-of-game penalty on defenseman Alex Pietrangelo for firing the puck into the stands, leveling the game in the last minute.

Patrick Kane fed Johnson at the top of the slot, and Johnson one-timed a shot over Brossoit's glove for his seventh goal of the season. It snapped a 0-for-22 drought on the power play for Chicago.

Cole Guttman also scored a goal for Chicago off an assist from Johnson, and Petr Mrazek made 34 saves for the win.

Jack Eichel and Keegan Kolesar scored for Vegas, which had a five-game winning streak snapped but moved one point ahead of the Dallas Stars for the best mark in the Western Conference. Brossoit, making his first NHL start since March 15, 2022, finished with 37 saves.

Vegas took a 1-0 lead at the 3:26 mark of the first period when Kane, the subject of strong trade talks and playing perhaps his final home game for the Blackhawks, lost the puck near the low slot. Kolesar scooped it up and then fired a shot into the top right corner of the net for his sixth goal of the season.

Chicago tied it 1-1 midway through the opening period. Guttman, playing just his fourth career NHL game, broke down the left wing, cut inside defenseman Shea Theodore and fired a shot through Brossoit's pads for his second goal of the season.

Eichel gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead at 11:32 of the second period. He finished a three-on-one rush with a wrist shot from the right circle under Mrazek's blocker for his 18th goal of the season.

Kane nearly won it in dramatic fashion at the end of overtime when he fired a slap shot from above the circles past Brossoit's blocker as the buzzer sounded. However, replays showed the goal came after time expired.

--Field Level Media

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