Blackhawks Shut Out 4-0 in Vegas as Dorofeyev Torches League's Best Penalty Kill

Game Summary

This one was over before the first period was halfway done. The Vegas Golden Knights scored three goals in a 3½-minute span midway through the opening frame and cruised to a 4-0 shutout of the Blackhawks on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Chicago's two-game winning streak — both of which required overtime — ends here. The Blackhawks fall to 25-30-11.

Pavel Dorofeyev got it started at 8:33 of the first, burying a power-play one-timer off a tic-tac-toe feed from Mark Stone and Mitch Marner after Louis Crevier went to the box for cross-checking. Rasmus Andersson made it 2-0 at 11:35, finishing a Hanifin feed from the goal line into the circle. Just 25 seconds later, Jeremy Lauzon fired from the blue line and Keegan Kolesar tipped it past Spencer Knight to make it 3-0. Chicago called timeout. It didn't matter. Dorofeyev scored again on the power play at 12:51 of the second — his 18th man-advantage goal of the season, a franchise record — into a wide-open net off a Stone-to-Dorofeyev connection. That made it 4-0, and the game was long since decided.

The Blackhawks nearly got on the board early in the third when Artyom Levshunov appeared to score from the right point, but Vegas successfully challenged the play — a Ryan Greene hand pass negated the goal and preserved Adin Hill's shutout. Tomas Hertl also made a critical defensive play in the second, knocking away a Greene shot with Hill caught out of position. Hill finished with 21 saves on 21 shots for his first shutout since March 13, 2025 — almost exactly a year to the day. Knight stopped 28 of 32 (.875).

Three Stars

The New-Look Roster

Not much to sugarcoat here. The Blackhawks were thoroughly outplayed in a game where the opponent's power play carved up a penalty kill unit that came in ranked first in the NHL. Chicago's PK had not allowed two power-play goals in a single game since October 11 against Montreal. Dorofeyev got both — his 17th and 18th of the season — and the Blackhawks didn't have an answer for the Stone-Marner-Dorofeyev combination at any point in the game.

Chicago actually won the faceoff battle 56.4% to 43.6%, with Frank Nazar continuing to be one of the team's most reliable centers down the middle — he won 10 of his draws and logged 19:20 of ice time. But the 17 giveaways told the real story. The Blackhawks couldn't hold onto the puck in the offensive zone for long enough to generate anything sustained, mustering just 21 shots on goal. Bedard had two shots and went 8-for-13 in the faceoff circle, but the game was out of reach before he had a chance to make a dent. The third period got chippy — Ethan Del Mastro and Vegas' Jeremy Lauzon were both ejected after a roughing and misconduct sequence at 10:06 — which was about all this game had to offer by that point.

Spencer Knight, back in net after his strong return Thursday in Salt Lake City, was left hung out to dry by three goals in 3½ minutes and never had a real chance. His .875 save percentage doesn't tell the full story — the first three Vegas goals were all high-quality chances that would have beaten most goaltenders. It was a tough road spot against a team fighting for first in the Pacific, and it showed.

Looking Ahead

The Blackhawks return home to host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT on TNT and HBO Max. The consecutive wins are hard to come by right now, but the bigger picture hasn't changed — Chicago has still won three of their last seven and the young core is getting meaningful late-season reps. At 25-30-11 and 61 points, they remain last in the Central Division. Vegas, meanwhile, reclaimed first place in the Pacific with 76 points after Anaheim lost to Ottawa on the same night. The season series goes to Vegas 2-1, with Chicago's lone win coming back on January 4 at the United Center.