After starting the season with five consecutive road games, the Chicago Blackhawks returned home to host the defending Stanley Cup champs, the Vegas Golden Knights, on Saturday night.
After walking the red carpet, the Blackhawks, led by Connor Bedard, got to take the United Center ice for the first time in the regular season.
Blackhawks lineup in warmups
Hall-Bedard-Raddysh
T. Johnson-Reichel-Athanasiou
Foligno-Dickinson-Perry
Katchouk-Donato-R. JohnsonKorchinski-Jones
Vlasic-Murphy
Tinordi-KaiserSoderblom
Mrazek— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) October 21, 2023
In the first home game, Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson made some tweaks to line combinations and defensive pairs. He moved Taylor Raddysh to the top line and moved Andreas Athanasiou to the second line. On defense, Richardson split up the top two pairs, moving Kevin Korchinski with Seth Jones while pairing Alex Vlasic with Connor Murphy.
Early in the first period, Vegas were caught with too many men on the ice. After losing the face-off, the Hawks were able to recover the puck. Taylor Hall fed Bedard, who was lurking wide open in the middle of the ice. Bedard wired a shot past Adin Hill for the first goal of the game.
CONNOR BEDARD PUTS THE HAWKS ON THE BOARD FIRST pic.twitter.com/nGec4IyKnq
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) October 22, 2023
Sadly, the Blackhawks’ lead would not last long. Lukas Reichel was called for high sticking against Kaedan Korczak. While on the power play, Vegas able to get the equalizer from William Karlsson.
The Blackhawks’ penalty kill was put to the test in the first period, as they committed two additional penalties in the first period. Despite giving up four penalties, the Blackhawks only surrendered one goal in the period.
The first period ended with the Blackhawks taking four penalties and Vegas committing two of their own. Despite all the penalties, the first period ended with the scored tied at 1–1.
The second period began with Vegas still on the power play from the first period. After killing off the penalty, the Blackhawks got some momentum in the period. Seth Jones made a pass to Hall, who fed Raddysh for a near miss. After Raddysh was denied, the Knights went down the ice and scored the go-ahead goal. Jonathan Marchessault fired a shot that squeaked through Arvid Soderblom.
Vegas’ first lead of the game was short-lived as the Blackhawks’ fourth line responded with a goal of their own to the tie the game. The hardworking Reese Johnson tied the game at 2–2 with a nifty deflection off a point shot.
REESE JOHNSON TIES IT UP ‼ pic.twitter.com/4KUaEmvi8Z
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) October 22, 2023
The second period ended with the score knotted at 2–2.
The third period started with a flash from the Knights. Vegas’ fourth line center Nicolas Roy potted his first goal of the game and Knights’ third goal of the game off the opening face-off. After the Knights’ goal, the Blackhawks struggled to generate any chances 5-on-5 against Vegas.
After the Blackhawks failed to score on their second consecutive power play late in the third period, Michael Amadio drove the net hard with a wraparound attempt that was saved, but Mark Stone put in the rebound for the goal. After the Stone goal, the Knights led 4–2.
With under four minutes left in the third period, the Knights scored their fifth goal of the game, as Paul Cotter beat Soderblom with a great shot. Corey Perry scored a late goal to make it a 5–3 final. It was Perry’s second goal of the season.
Analysis
The Blackhawks rode the energy of the crowd and the goals of Bedard and Johnson to a 2–2 tie for two periods. In the third period, the Knights’ talent and positioning shut the young Hawks team down. With the win, Vegas becomes the first defending champ to win their first six games in regulation in the following season.
Bedard got the scoring starting early with a laser past Hill. It was his first goal at home this season and the best look he has had all season. In addition to Bedard having an electric night, Kevin Korchinski turned in a solid performance. His skating and passing ability was on full display. While not a flashy player, Alex Vlasic is starting to recognized for becoming a solid defenseman.
Sadly, not everyone had a solid night. Wyatt Kaiser turned in another rough performance with several mental mistakes. While Kaiser is still a solid prospect, he would very likely benefit from seasoning at the AHL level, much like Vlasic did. Kaiser was not the only Hawk to have a tough night. Soderblom surrendered three goals in the third period to give up five total on 24 shots.
The Blackhawks are young team but they battled hard. The Hawks will be in a lot of games because of their effort. The Hawks’ next game is Tuesday against the Boston Bruins. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CDT.