The crowd and atmosphere at the United Center understood the assignment on Friday night. Everyone was fired up for a matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vegas Golden Knights. The Hawks’ marketing department had Eddie the Eagle, Ed Belfour, sound the horn before the game. The front office had just recalled Kevin Korchinski to rejoin the Hawks. The stage was set for a big night.
Once again, Ryan Donato rose to the moment, recording his first career hat trick. Sadly, the Donato heroics were not enough to overcome the white-hot Golden Knights.
First period
In the first period, the Hawks’ forwards were buzzing on offense. Pat Maroon had a dangle in the offensive zone. The score remained knotted at 0–0 until Donato broke it open. Donato got a great pass from Ethan Del Mastro to set up the goal.
OH MY GOODNESS RYAN DONATO 🤯 pic.twitter.com/CN5V8hMY19
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) March 29, 2025
The Hawks ended the first period up 1–0.
Second period
Vegas responded in the second period. Mark Stone got Vegas on the board with his 19th goal this season. While Spencer Knight has been good, this game was not his best. Stone caught Knight napping for the goal. Vegas scored their second goal on a blown play by Korchinski. The young defenseman was burned at the blue line on a 2-on-1. Victor Olofsson potted the goal.
Later in the period, Chicago responded with a pair of goals from Donato.
the second goal from Ryan Donato… pic.twitter.com/NzfsKD5dyN
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) March 29, 2025
Donato did not waste time on the hat trick, scoring his third goal of the night off the ensuing faceoff.
…AND THE THIRD!!!
HATTY FOR DONO ‼️ pic.twitter.com/PrXhJOXIcg
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) March 29, 2025
At the end of two period, the Hawks led 3–2.
Third period
While the Hawks were playing well on offense, their defense and goaltending had a rough game. Vegas scored three goals to bury the Hawks. Olofsson added his second to tied the game. Pavel Dorofeyev scored on a Vegas power play to seal the game up. Brett Howden added an empty-netter to make the final 5–3 Vegas.
Analysis
Despite the outcome, there should be genuine excitement around the Hawks. The Hawks had Korchinski, Connor Bedard, Ethan Del Mastro, Artyom Levshunov, Frank Nazar and Landon Slaggert in their lineup. All of these guys are under the age of 23. The fans are finally starting to see the fruit of Kyle Davidson’s labor and more are on the way.
To the game itself, Knight had another tough game. This was third stinker in a row since his hot start. Knight could not be used to seeing this many shots on a nightly basis. Hopefully he will adjust before this season ends.
Donato continued his breakout year. Donato has 28 goals on the season, which is 12 more than his previous career high. He recorded his first NHL hat trick in the game, accounting for all of Chicago’s goals.
Korchinski’s return signaled that the kids are starting to force their way up from Rockford. Despite his relatively poor game, it was great to see him back in the NHL.
The Hawks’ next game is Sunday against the Utah Hockey Club. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m. CDT.
