Bertuzzi completes hat trick in OT, Blackhawks defeat Golden Knights

Akira Schmid made 17 saves for the Golden Knights (17-11-12), who’re 0-3-2 of their previous 5 video games.

“You’re halfway through the year, and enough’s enough,” mentioned Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy. “That’s it. To me, it’s enough’s enough when you’re a good team. If you’re a young team working your way through processes and all that stuff, we’re not that team. If guys believe they’re a first-place team, a contender, enough’s enough. Start playing like one.”

Brandon Saad gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 10:40 of the primary interval. He scored from in entrance of the crease after outbattling Louis Crevier for the puck. The sequence started when Alexander Holtz gained the puck from Ryan Donato on the crimson line and handed it to Brett Howden within the offensive zone. Howden fed Saad with a backhand move.

“I don’t think it’s one specific thing, but just making more plays and generating more chances,” Saad mentioned. “I just feel like it’s kind of playing ping pong with it out there and not really having a lot of zone time and possession. We score a couple goals off breaks and rush chances, but we want to sustain more zone time, for sure.”

Bertuzzi tied it at 12:38 along with his twentieth purpose of the season. Defenseman Alex Vlasic handed the puck to Bertuzzi from the left level, and Bertuzzi put a wrist shot low previous Schmid’s glove.

“I’ve been feeling good,” Bertuzzi mentioned. “I’ve been sticking with the program, staying even-keel, going out and working hard every day.”

Mark Stone restored the Golden Knights’ lead 43 seconds into the second interval. Stone tapped the puck in after Jack Eichel’s move from the aspect of the crease meant for Ivan Barbashev deflected off Crevier and onto Stone’s stick. Stone has objectives in 4 straight video games.

“It’s a weird stretch, it’s a weird stretch for a lot of teams,” Stone mentioned. “We’re playing our worst hockey we’ve played in a while. We’re still right where we want to be. I think we’re right around the top of the Pacific, but we know that this type of hockey is not good enough. We’ve just got to play better as a five-man group. We’re not executing our breakouts. We’re not playing fast. We’re just not getting those opportunities. Fifteen shots. Usually we’re a 30-35 shot team with getting lots of Grade A scoring chances.”