The Chicago Blackhawks squandered a one-goal lead late in the third period and fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.
With the loss, the Blackhawks are now 1-6 in overtime games this season. They’re also 0-2 in the shootout.
The four-game West Coast road trip was less than three minutes away from beginning with a win, but Chicago surrendered a costly goal to Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore that tied the game with just 2:28 remaining in regulation.
In one of the most chaotic overtime periods in recent memory, both goaltenders were outstanding to extend the game into a shootout. In his team debut and first game back in the NHL since being reinstated, Carter Hart came up clutch for the Golden Knights time and time again in the extra frame. Spencer Knight was equally as good in goal for the Blackhawks, but Theodore beat him for a second time in the shootout to give Vegas the extra point.
“We had a lot of chances in overtime,” head coach Jeff Blashill said after the game. “Our record once [the game] gets to overtime isn’t good enough right now… but I thought that overtime we did a great job. We had all the chances. We did everything but score.”
The Blackhawks were a little unlucky not to come out of Sin City with the win, as they led 6-2 in shots on goal and 6-2 in scoring chances during overtime. They also held the Golden Knights to 28 shots and 14 high-danger chances in 65 minutes of action. Not to mention two of the home team’s three goals were banked in off defenders’ skates.
“You’re disappointed you didn’t get two points,” Blashill said. “But with that said, I thought we did a lot of good stuff. On the road, against a team that is probably considered one of the Stanley Cup favorites… we outchanced them and certainly were in position to win the game.”
It’s another frustrating one-goal defeat for the Blackhawks, their fifth in seven games since Oct. 18. Tuesday marked the fourth time they’ve blown a third-period lead during that stretch. Earlier in the season, the Hawks were consistently finding ways to win close-contested matchups like this. Now? They’re 3-5-6 in one-goal games.
Here are the highlights from a tough 4-3 shootout loss to the Golden Knights, which dropped the Blackhawks’ record to 11-9-6 through 26 games.
FIRST PERIOD
Tuesday’s game got off to an eventful start, as both teams scored in the opening 90 seconds.
Artyom Levshunov was caught being a little overly aggressive in the neutral zone, leading to an odd-man rush for Vegas. Ivan Barbashev’s centering feed on a 2-on-1 banked in off Wyatt Kaiser’s skate to put the Golden Knights ahead 1-0 just 27 seconds in.
But the Blackhawks responded right back on the very next shift, and it was the road team’s turn to convert on an odd-man rush. Tyler Bertuzzi made an excellent crossing feed in the offensive zone, and Oliver Moore ripped a shot off the post for his third goal of the season. That was a rude welcome back gift for Mr. Hart.
Frank Nazar➡️Tyler Bertuzzi➡️Oliver Moore🚨
Moore snipes home his 3rd goal of the season to tie the game 1-1! Nazar extends his point streak to 3 games with the secondary assist. What a SNIPE from Moore!pic.twitter.com/QT3dqfCOzu
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) December 3, 2025
Moore nearly had his second goal in the opening half of the period, but his shot on a 2-on-1 with Nazar sailed high over Hart’s glove. Bertuzzi made another tremendous feed to spring Moore and Nazar for the rush.
Later on in the period, Connor Bedard made an incredible individual effort to send the Blackhawks to their second power play. Bedard skated into the offensive zone and went through four Vegas defenders to generate a scoring opportunity. While Theodore was holding Bedard, he made a ridiculous pass to set up Artyom Levshunov at the right point for a quality look.
On the ensuing power play, Bedard absolutely blistered a wrist shot from the right circle, but Hart somehow came up with a massive glove stop. Hart was sharp in his first period of NHL action in nearly two years.
After giving up a goal just 27 seconds into the contest, the Blackhawks responded rather nicely and put together a strong road period. The visitors led 15-11 in shot attempts and 6-3 in scoring chances at even strength. Vegas went the final 7:44 of the period without recording a shot on goal.
SECOND PERIOD
The Golden Knights came out of the intermission with a sturdy push, but Knight held down the fort with a few key stops to keep the game tied. His best came on Keegan Kolesar from right out in the front, as he reached out with his glove to come up with the save.
Knight also received some help from one of his defensemen to prevent Vegas from taking the lead. After having the puck bank in off his skate earlier in the game, Kaiser got his redemption by coming up with a glove save of his own to rob Pavel Dorofeyev. What an unbelievable effort from No. 44 in white.
After Sam Rinzel was whistled for holding, the Blackhawks’ penalty kill hit the ice for the first time in the game. Towards the end of the kill, Ilya Mikheyev and Jason Dickinson had a 2-on-1 shorthanded opportunity. As Mikheyev pulled the puck to his backhand off a feed from Dickinson, Hart potentially saved a goal by committing a tripping penalty. Mikheyev likely would have had a yawning cage to work with.
Moments after the penalty expired, Tyler Bertuzzi cashed in off a brutal giveaway from Hart to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 advantage. Bertuzzi knocked down the puck and chipped it over the Knights’ goaltender for his 14th goal of the season and 11th in the past 11 games. He remains red hot.
Tyler Bertuzzi🚨
Bertuzzi capitalizes off a brutal turnover by Carter Hart for his 14th goal of the season to give the #Blackhawks a 2-1 lead. Bertuzzi now has 11 goals over the past 11 games.pic.twitter.com/g54lyGhMtn
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) December 3, 2025
The Blackhawks’ lead wouldn’t last for long, however, as the Golden Knights tied the game 2-2 with under three minutes remaining in the period. For the second time on the night, the puck trickled into Chicago’s net off a defenseman’s skate. This time, Matt Grzelcyk was the culprit. Ben Hutton’s shot from the blue line banked in off Grzlecyk, who was positioned near the left post. Another unfortunate break for the visitors.
THIRD PERIOD
The third period started with a bang, and who else but Bedard to put the Blackhawks back ahead by one. On a one-on-one rush against Theodore, Bedard cut across the middle and launched a wrist shot against the grain for his 17th goal of the season. Add it to the highlight reel. An absolute jaw-dropper from Bedard.
Ryan Greene➡️Andre Burakovsky➡️Connor Bedard🚨
ADD ANOTHER TO THE HIGHLIGHT REEL! Bedard makes an unreal play for his 17th goal of the season to give the #Blackhawks a 3-2 lead. NASTY🔥pic.twitter.com/zQcN7wWMDx
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) December 3, 2025
Lost in the shuffle were the remarkable defensive plays by Grzelcyk and Ryan Greene to make it all happen. Grzelcyk did an excellent job of tying up a stick to prevent Vegas from getting a scoring chance just before the rush. Greene blocked a shot from the point and chipped the puck up the wall to get the clear. With the secondary assist, Greene also extended his career-long point streak to three games.
The Blackhawks had a chance to further extend their lead late in the game, as Frank Nazar drew a penalty on Zach Whitecloud. Nazar raced into the offensive zone to generate a breakaway, but Whitecloud slashed his hands to prevent a threatening shot from getting off. That turned out to be a smart decision from Whitecloud, as the Golden Knights successfully killed off the penalty. Sidenote: This easily could have been called a penalty shot.
Much has been made about Bedard’s offensive production so far this season, and rightfully so. But he’s also made significant strides defensively, and this play was a perfect example. Bedard outhustled gritty veteran Mark Stone to a loose puck and won a 50/50 battle, leading to a clear out of the d-zone.
With just under three minutes on the clock, the Blackhawks picked a dreadful time for a defensive breakdown. After Hart made a marvelous stop on Nazar on one end, the Golden Knights came racing down in transition and tied the game 3-3. Knight made two or three stops initially, but Braeden Bowen wouldn’t be denied on the follow-up. Alex Vlasic, Louis Crevier, Nazar, and Bertuzzi were all in the area but were caught puck watching.
Overtime
The back-and-forth contest needed more than 60 minutes to determine a winner. Like Chicago, overtime hadn’t treated Vegas too kindly this season. They were 1-8 in extra time heading into Tuesday.
The Blackhawks did everything in their power to move the Golden Knights’ OT record to 1-9, but Hart was sensational to keep his team alive. Greene, Mikheyev, Bedard, and Ryan Donato each had point-blank chances to end the game, but Hart stopped them all.
Knight was a spectator for the first four minutes of overtime, but he made some spectacular stops of his own in the final moments to send the game to a shootout.
Shootout
A shootout was required on Tuesday for only the second time in the Blackhawks’ first 26 games. They lost their previous shootout appearance to the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 17.
Round 1: Teuvo Teravainen went first for Chicago and had his backhand shot stopped by Hart. Pavel Dorofeyev went first for Vegas and scored on his backhanded bid. Vegas leads 1-0 after round 1.
Round 2: Bedard stickhandles several times and sneaks a shot through Hart’s wickets to tie the shootout 1-1. My goodness, what a move. Add another clip to Bedard’s highlight reel. That was wicked. Jack Eichel went second for Vegas and had his shot stopped by Knight’s glove. The shootout was tied 1-1 after two rounds.
Round 3: Donato tried to out-wait Hart, but he ran out of room and put his shot wide of the net. Mitch Marner had the game on his stick for Vegas, but Knight made the save with his left pad to extend the shootout into a fourth round.
Round 4: Nazar slowly skated into the offensive zone, but his backhanded shot went wide. Theodore stepped onto the ice for the Golden Knights and pulled off a wicked finish with his backhand. 4-3 Vegas FINAL.
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