In Chicago, Tyler Johnson scored with 55 seconds left in regulation on Tuesday night to get the Blackhawks even with the Golden Knights, 2-2, to force extra time.
“Tyler plays so hard and does all the right things for us,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “It was great to see him get that opportunity to tie it up and have that chance in [the shootout]. We tried a couple of shots from a little further out, and I think he went in, looked like he was going to deke, and he just slid it in there.”
The extra session solved nothing, and Johnson was credited with the deciding goal on the last shot on penalties for the 3-2 win.
Johnson’s tying goal was off a power play after the Knights were called for delay of game, shooting the puck over the glass.
“We did that the other night,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s on us a little bit, right? You’ve got to manage it a little better with time and score. Situational hockey. Maybe it’s just more of a lower rim (around the boards). Veteran guys, you’ve just got to manage it better in those situations.”
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak of the Golden Knights.
Petr Mrazek made 34 saves in the Chicago win.
The Blackhawks moved to 1-32-5.
“It would’ve been cooler if Kane would’ve scored that goal,” Johnson said. “I think that would’ve made it a lot more fun. Yeah, I was chuckling a little bit. He went back to the slap shot for it (in the shootout). It’s kind of funny. Just happened we were able to get another point there.”
Vegas took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal from Keegan Kolesar.
“[Laurent Brossoit] stood on his head for us a few times,” Kolesar said. “We had a lot of lows in our game, and he stood on his head for us. Given that outcome, it’s pretty sad for us.”
Cole Guttman scored at 12:39 of the first to tie it, 1-1, headed to the middle frame.
Vegas dropped to 34-18-5).
Jack Eichel scored just past the midway point of the second period for a 2-1 lead to the Golden Knights.
Brossoit made 37 saves in the Vegas loss.
“He was very good, he gave us a chance to win,” Cassidy said. “The goals that beat him were good shots. He made some good saves when we broke down in front of him, especially early on, getting tested there.
“Guys were getting behind us. We didn’t play a very respectful game at all. He was there for us when we broke down in basic system coverages. I liked his game.”
Brossoit had not iced a game in nearly a year.
“I try not to have too many expectations,” Brossoit said. “I just wanted to keep it simple, play my game. For the most part, I felt pretty good. A few jitters in the first period, but I think overall it was a net positive for how I felt. There are plenty of things I can sharpen up.
“It’s a lot of touches, 39 shots. It’s nice to see the puck that many times the first game back. Yeah, it did make things a little easier. It was huge. Having a lot of shot volume is big for the confidence, just getting used to the pace of play again. But at the end of the day, we didn’t get the result we wanted, so I’m still looking to get better.”
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