The Vegas Golden Knights couldn't afford a slip-up against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks were dead-last in the Central Division with 51 points entering Friday's game. One would think it'd be a piece of cake where Vegas would grab two simple points.
However, it wasn't.
On a night where Ryan Donato exploded for a hat trick, Chicago gave the Golden Knights all sorts of trouble. For example, they took a 1-0 lead thanks to... Ryan Donato. He hopped on a breakaway from an Ethan Del Mastro stretch pass and put his own rebound past Adin Hill for the game's first goal.
Incredible stretch pass by Ethan Del Mastro to Ryan Donato, who scores his 26th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/PpWHiTZROw
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 29, 2025
In fact, that was the story throughout the game. The first period alone saw Chicago have a 6-1 advantage in odd-man rushes. That won't cut it if the Golden Knights want to win the Stanley Cup. They must do better against lowly competition and stop playing with their food. Otherwise, they're setting themselves up for the biggest catastrophe known to man.
Believe it or not, giveaways were also a problem here. Through two periods, Vegas had 15 giveaways while Chicago had 10. The Blackhawks also had five takeaways through two periods compared to the Golden Knights having two. Sure, the Golden Knights are two points closer to winning the Pacific Division. But that performance can't happen again.
The Vegas Golden Knights have done this before
Looking at March 15 against the Buffalo Sabres, the Vegas Golden Knights had the perfect chance to put away Buffalo. Tomas Hertl came in on an odd-man rush with an empty net in front of him. Fans know what happened after he passed it to Jack Eichel for a "FU" goal. The result? One point instead of two. Ditto for the next day, only they got no points.
Games like these have occurred often during the 2024-25 season. The Golden Knights don't take their opponent seriously or simply coast through a game. That was the narrative through January and February, where they rested on their laurels before the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Tonight's game was a perfect example of such lazy play. The Blackhawks had better forechecking and were more aggressive towards the net. In turn, it led to a Ryan Donato hat trick and a narrow victory. That's not Vegas hockey and Bruce Cassidy knows it. In fact, the team knows it.
The Golden Knights better bring their A-Game against the Nashville Predators
If you were given a gift like the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers losing, what would you do? Would you play hard and put the foot on their throats? Or would you coast through the game and edge the Blackhawks? That's what happened on Friday with a back-to-back looming.
Sure, the Nashville Predators are also eliminated from playoff contention. Sure, Vegas won by a score of 5-3. However, Friday's performance won't inspire much confidence that the Golden Knights will take care of business here. You can rest assured Ilya Samsonov is getting the start on Saturday, and he hasn't been the steadiest hand around.
The good news is the Golden Knights have an iron grip on the Pacific Division. They're seven points up on the Kings and nine up on the Oilers. However, they're must be a sense of urgency in the locker room. Otherwise, they're golfing sooner than they realize.