Except for 12 seconds, the Chicago Blackhawks had a good game Thursday night in Vegas.
But in those 12 seconds, Jonathan Marchessault and Alex Tuch struck for goals to give the Golden Knights a 4-3 lead.
“Every win is important. Every game is important,” Tuch said. “We have to come in and play 60 minutes every single night.”
Deryk Engelland and Reilly Smith scored in the fist period to give the Knights a 2-0 lead.
Vegas improved to 16-13-1.
“I think every game is huge right now,” Engelland said. “It seems like everyone in our division is winning, and we’ve got to keep pace.”
Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves to get the win and held the Blackhawks off the board protecting the one-goal lead.
“I didn’t think it was a good third period,” Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant said. “We scored two goals and won the game, and I thought it was a pretty even third period. I don’t think we were happy with our game tonight. I thought Chicago played a great game.
“I just don’t think we were at the level we were supposed to be. We got a win, and that’s always great to get the two points, but I thought Chicago came in here and deserved a little better.”
Jonathan Toews, Dylan Strome and Artem Anisimov were Chicago’s goal scorers.
“We had the lead in the third and found a way to give it up again,” Toews said. “Whatever happens early on, we’re finding ways to stay in games and give ourselves a chance to win. Just [stinks] we couldn’t hang on to it.”
Chicago dropped 9-16-5.
[WATCH: All Blackhawks vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Corey Crawford made 32 saves in the loss.
“Any time you’re in a slump, whether it’s as a player or as a team, it’s hard to get out of it. It’s a mental thing. You just got to find a way to relax and stay with your process when things are going well and when you’re in control of the game,” Toews said.
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