Ivan Barbashev delivered a dominant performance with two goals and two assists as the Vegas Golden Knights erupted for five first-period goals and held off the Chicago Blackhawks 7-5 on Thursday night.
With the win, Vegas extended its lead in the Pacific Division to four points over Edmonton and has now won four of its last five games.
Despite losing its fourth consecutive game, Chicago showed resilience by cutting a four-goal deficit to just one midway through the third period after trailing 5-1 in the opening frame.
Keegan Kolesar also netted two goals for Vegas, while Tomas Hertl contributed a goal and an assist. Nicolas Hague and Pavel Dorofeyev each found the back of the net, with Brett Howden registering three assists and Noah Hanifin adding two. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov stopped 17 shots.
For the Blackhawks, Nick Foligno, Colton Dach, Ethan Del Mastro, Ilya Mikheyev, and Philipp Kurashev all scored. Connor Murphy recorded three assists, and Frank Nazar added two. Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek was pulled after conceding five goals in the first period, with Arvid Soderblom stepping in and making 16 saves in relief.
Jack Eichel made history as the first Golden Knights player to reach 50 assists in a season and became just the third player in franchise history to record 70 points in a single campaign.
Vegas’ five-goal first period matched a franchise record, which had been achieved three previous times.
Golden Knights forward Tanner Pearson celebrated a milestone by appearing in his 700th NHL game.
Takeaways
Blackhawks: Chicago showed resilience, nearly mounting what would have been the second-largest comeback in franchise history.
Golden Knights: Ilya Samsonov has struggled in net recently, conceding nine goals on 29 shots over the past four periods.
Key Moment
Barbashev’s goal from the slot with 4:15 remaining secured the Golden Knights’ 7-5 victory, preventing a full Blackhawks comeback.
Key Stat
Hertl’s 11th power-play goal of the season tied a franchise record, matching marks previously set by Eichel in 2023-24 and Erik Haula in 2017-18.
Up Next
Chicago continues its road trip with a visit to Anaheim on Saturday, while Vegas will host the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.
