Taylor Raddysh, Blackhawks End Vegas’ Playoff Hopes with Shootout Win
The Vegas Golden Knights ventured into the United Center for the Blackhawks’ home finale. Unfortunately for them, it was the finale of their playoff chances.
Vegas lost in Dallas on Tuesday night and then flew to Chicago and looked like a defeated team in the first two periods. The visitors needed to win out and get some help, but Dallas sprinted to a three-goal lead early against the Coyotes and the Knights were struggling to keep up with the Blackhawks. Their loss in Chicago means their offseason begins at the same time as the Blackhawks this year. Taylor Raddysh was the show in the first period. He gave the Blackhawks a lead with a nice goal at 16:01 into the first.
Vegas tied the game at one 98 seconds later, but Raddysh gave the Blackhawks the lead in the closing seconds of the first with his second goal of the period.
Sam Lafferty had assists on both of Raddysh’s goals. He’s been a really nice addition with a physical edge since being acquired from Tampa. Chicago out-shot Vegas 16-15 in the opening 20 minutes and took a one-goal lead to the room.
Alec Martinez tied the game at two less than four minutes into the second period, but the score stayed even for just 66 seconds until Caleb Jones scored his fifth of the year.
The fact that it was Caleb’s fifth of the season is significant in the Jones family; he’s tied with Seth in the goals scored category.
Because we can’t have nice things, Max Pacioretty tied the game at three with 2:48 remaining in the second period. That’s where the score remained as the teams went to the room for the second intermission. The Blackhawks out-shot the Knights 11-9 in the middle period. Kevin Lankinen wasn’t great, but he was playing good enough to make things interesting.
Vegas didn’t show a lot of emotion early in the third period but they were controlling the scoring chances; 11 of the first 14 shots credited on net in the third period were for Vegas. Even with a couple nice chances thanks to ugly changes by the Knights that the Hawks couldn’t convert, the shot totals were heavily favoring the Knights.
Lankinen was on his game against the increased action, though. As the third period in Chicago dragged on without a goal, the Coyotes clawed their way back to a one-goal deficit against the Dallas Stars. A comeback win for Arizona would open the door for Vegas to at least make things interesting in the final day of the regular season but…
With 4:25 left in regulation, Michael Amadio went to the box for two minutes for high sticking and the Blackhawks had a power play to work with late in a tie game.
For the second time in the game, a Blackhawks advantage came and went without a goal.
The final two minutes of regulation also ticked off the clock without incident and the teams headed to overtime. As the Knights were around their bench between the third period and overtime, fans behind their bench were showing the Vegas players that the Dallas-Arizona game was suddenly tied at three.
Lankinen stopped 35 of 38 in 60 minutes, including 14 saves in the third period. Alex Vlasic (21:02) and Alec Regula (20:53) were solid in regulation in all zones and situations.
Caleb Jones made a couple really nice defensive plays in overtime, one taking the puck away from Pacioretty inside 90 seconds remaining in OT. The Hawks got a couple decent shots on net but nothing went in for either side, so the final game on the United Center ice this year went to the shootout.
Both goaltenders had 37 shots heading to the skills competition.
Jonathan Toews shot first in the shootout and went wide. Mark Stone shot first for Vegas and was denied by Lankinen.
Patrick Kane shot second for Chicago and he missed as well; he had an open cage and just popped it over the net. Lankinen shut down Jack Eichel, however.
Alex DeBrincat stepped over the boards third and was rejected with a poke check. Shea Theodore shot third for Vegas but was rejected.
Philipp Kurashev was called out fourth for Chicago and shot it right into the goaltender’s chest. Chandler Stephenson shot high for Vegas and we continued.
Dylan Strome was up next for the Hawks but he, too, was told no dice. Pacioretty was next for Vegas but he got nothing.
Raddysh shot sixth for the Hawks but was denied. Jonathan Marchessault was rejected by Lankinen.
Tyler Johnson was seventh for the Blackhawks and he was able to score. Amadio was denied by Lankinen and the Blackhawks won their home ice finale — two straight in Chicago — and Vegas’ playoff dreams were officially dead.
Sweet for Hawks to knock Vegas out although Dallas picked up a point so that eliminated Vegas as well
Reasons to look forward to next year – Regula Vlasic Raddysh Lafferty
Lank let that softie in from Martinez but otherwise was strong
Kurashev a better game but his defense needs considerable improvement
I’m thinking Murphy and Kub won’t be part of team next year – add Mitchell to defense and rotate in Caleb and Stillman in as your 6 th
Move Raddysh up with Toews – Dach on 3rd line maybe with Kurashev and Lafferty or put Dach up with Toews
Hire a new coaching staff – win the lottery – moving on
Hawks played 2 decent games and won both – I’m not excited but it’s better than losing
Possibly the fans behind Vegas’s bench were showing them the score but Chief Knucklehead Colby the Clown was letting one Vegas player look at his cellphone. There really weren’t many fans there from what I saw. Besides Lafferty, I thought Reese Johnson had a good game. Hopefully KD will bring in some more physicality to the team unlike his predecessor who I forgot what his name was.
Good send off for final home game. Raddysh monster 1st period 2g 3 tkwy and 7 shots, still noticeable but 1 shot and a block last 2 periods for stats. Regula sent to Rfd. after the game, decisions on Vlassic and R Johnson after Fri. game it looks like. I wonder if Murphy not moved with the way Regula has played down the stretch if Mitchell could be shopped. Not that i want to see him moved but if the rightside has 4,5 & 75 penciled in don’t see him playing in Rfd. another year. Del Mastro played all season in junior as top pair right side so if they really believe he will can be nhl player he could fit in Murphys spot in 2 or 3 years.
T. Johnson saying everybody has to buy into a system and talking about expecting a quick rebuild, even threw KDs name out there. The teams in the last decade who have had most success with their rebuilding process did it without trying to lose. Just saying.
ian
the teams that successfully rebuilt without playing to lose ….. were they as void of talent on their varsity and virtually bankrupt of talent on their ahl teams as the blackhawks are? were they teams without even one experienced backup goalie much less a quality starter?
fortunately we have the brilliant and experienced gm material in toews, kane, t. johnson, and s. jones to show kd the way.
if toews and kane are sincere about the shortest rebuild path for the hawks their best contributions would be to waive their nmcs and help the hawks build their prospect pool and draft capital.
@Wrap- I’ll be very surprised if Murphy isn’t on the Hawks roster to start next season. I think he’s a decent 2nd pair dman, but with his contract and injury history I don’t see many takers unless the Hawks want just a mid-round pick in return. Not saying he’ll last the entire next season in Chicago, just can’t envision a scenario where he doesn’t at least start the season as part of the roster.
Hawks29 do they need to rebuild, obviously, nobody is saying tbey don’t. Do they have to sit at tbe bottom of the league trying to win the draft lotto for years is what is being said. There is alot more to rebuilding than sucking and trying to get best draft picks each year, look around the league not hard to see that.
Okie – something’s gotta give I think with the number of D men the Hawks have
I think Murph would have good value in a trade (especially given his contract) but if not then maybe they find a taker for McCabe who has played better (at least he’s skating better) or as Ian said maybe Mitchell gets traded although that would be the least preferred on the 3 options
Ideally I think you want 4, Regula and Mitchell on the right side
Vlasic, McCabe and Stillman on the left
Caleb/Roos as 7th or pushing the others for minutes
It’s easy to get on the bandwagon when the announcers are mentioning him frequently, but Lafferty does look excellent. It is interesting that some on this site have called him “hands of stone” and during a recent broadcast, Vosters said he needs to work on his hands. He has been a disrupter lately, like Hagel.
The young defensemen have been good too. It gives some hope. Caleb is frustrating. So good at times and so bad at times. To have the same number of goals as his brother with half the playing time is interesting.
I did not realize when Dach and Murphy went out that it would be for the rest of the year. It does not matter, except maybe to Dach who is still trying to find himself and could have used the games. It is probably better to let him come back next year completely fresh and healthy and try this thing again. Any guesses on his contract? $2.5 mil per year for two years?
Did anyone pick up on Caley saying, “If DeBrincat is back”? Maybe I misheard.
ESPN+ showed double the commercials at one of the TV timeouts and caused viewers to miss the first Raddysh goal. They did the same thing the other night, but did not cause us to miss a goal, but did cause us to miss the first minute of a power play. Do the people at ESPN not know how long hockey TV timeouts are?
Hopefully, the playoffs are exciting and lots of games go to OT. Who is going to beat Florida? Probably nobody.
The trapezoid IS NOT what dreams are made of ;)
@ROBS – hey, thanks for remembering that I called Lafferty the next Roberto Duran – Hands of Stone!
I love the way Lafferty plays! I just wish he had a touch! I still rather have him here over the OG-Nylander a thousand times over!
Raddysh was outstanding last night, and almost had a hatty, but the Vegas keeper barely saved it. Great passing all-around last night. Tyler Johnson was a beast last night too! Man, he was everywhere, getting to pucks, forcing turnovers, and great passing!
I am so impressed with the skating, poise, physicality, and presence of Regula and Vlasic. There is hope in Mudville!
Hawks29 you are totally correct. Using common sense is a good thing not a bad thing.
@Ian, I am not sure which teams you are referring to that didn’t need a tanking effort to rebuild, can you cite your examples? Not disagreeing with you but it would be nice to compare the situations of the teams you are referring to with the Hawks.
The Hawks were built to make or at least compete for a playoff spot this season and yet they will finish closer to a lottery pick than a playoff spot. That is a pretty good indication of how well their talent stands up to the rest of the NHL.
The teams that do a better job of developing their own talent seem to be the teams that are successful and that starts with drafting players well. The Hawks have done a decent job of drafting, but a poor job of developing and retaining that talent. The result is a roster of players who can’t hold a candle to the best of the NHL.
You may be right that not every team needs to tank for a few years to get back to be competitive, but I find it really hard to believe that the Hawks in their current situation are one of them…
Yess everybody is right to say Lank was very good last night and got the belt .
Raddysh was really good also and maybe he will become the best player in that trade .Lafferty is really playing hard every time he is on the ice .
Lank in en will be the number one goalie next year iff MAF doesn’t come back .
Raddysh has 6 goals for the Hawks in 20 games. That’s a pace of 24 in a season and without playing regularly with Kane. I like it.
Miroslav, the Blackhawks are obviously going to get a very high pick this year or next that’s pretty much a given, have good number of picks in next 3 drafts already that are good start to putting some more forward prospects in system plus other areas too. Teams that have had success turning over their roster obviously Bolts and Pens stick out. We all know there a million reasons that can be put forward how the sky is falling that makes the Blackhawks different. The point i raised is why not continue to try and improve each year rather than trying lose as much as possible for next 3, 5 years whatever getting lotto picks and flip a switch and think we cab be instant dynasty, not realistic, look around, lots of examples.
Agree 100% with the drafting and developing, have stressed that point on many occasions, exactly how Pens and Bolts turned their rosters over, a proven method, where teams that just tried to suck and get lotto picks haven’t been very successful.
The Hawks need to TRY to develop a #1 goalie. MAF is not what we need – he gets in the way. We might actually have a possibility of having a couple of young goaltenders right now. Lankinen isn’t the problem, may be part of the solution.
If we had a real goalie in 2012, we wouldn’t have lost to Arizona/Phoenix and Mike Smith. Anyone remember the name of the guy in net for us that sucked bigly in the playoffs, continually letting in short-side shots from the goal line (particularly in those overtime losses) and whiffing on the glove side? “Shoot glove side” was the book on him. Or throw it at him from the goal line.
He backstopped our next 2 cups.
Goalies take time and patience, even more than defensemen, and too many people here insist that anyone over the age of 21 has already obtained his top talent level.
Too many people think XBox and PS5 is real hockey.
SS excellent post, i thought often about bringing up the 2012 fiasco and no chance of winning another cup until goalie situation addressed as an example.
DCat Strome Kane
Dach PLD Raddysh
Katchouk Toews TJohnson
Entwistle Lafferty Johnson
$ Jones Stillman/Kalynuk
Regula McCabe/Vlasic/Beaudin
Murphy/Mitchell Galvas/CJones
Lanks /Fluery
Sorry meant Soder, Fluery out of habit.
ian
willing to accept losing as part of a rebuilding plan is VERY different than planning to lose. i would never advocate losing as a plan and goal, but the band aid approach to sliding into the playoffs and getting crushed in the first round to placate the fans is asinine.
bowman has done that twice recently with disastrous results. the summer of 2019 produced shaw, maatta, and de haan tying up $12.5 million in cap space for three years. three middle of the road guys (two with a history of injuries) on the backside of their careers who added virtually nothing (when they were healthy) . last summer mc cabe, seth, extending murphy, fleury, gustafsson. mc cabe coming off a significant injury. murphy just a guy. gustaffson not even a guy. this team was not ready for the investment in seth to make a difference and won’t be for several years. when your defense is entirely bankrupt you don’t break the bank on a long term contract for a #1 dman when you don’t have a bonafide #2, #3, or #4 prospect in the system. fleury produced a draft choice, which is nice, but benched a year of development for lankinen.
so what do i want? a gm with a plan and the balls to stay the course. it might not produce immediate results at first, but at least with a plan in place there is something of substance to adjust from as you go. bowman was playing for a playoff position in 2019-2020, rebuilding in 2020-2021, and playing for a playoff position again in 2021-2022. than isn’t a plan. that is idiocy and desperation. blow it up, which means so long #19 and #88 and thanks for everything, and start over with the understanding there will be no quick fix. don’t plan to lose, but don’t veer from the plan because it begins with losing.
this isn’t a team that is a few key moves from competing. there isn’t a goalie in the system who will be crawford’s equal in at least three, four years, likely longer. there is one top four dman. there are three proven top six forwards (if you include strome and if he stays) and not one of them is a 200 foot player. so my suggestion to the rocket scientist quartet of gms in training (toews, kane, jones, and johnson) stop playing the press and do what you do best ….. play hockey and leave the general managing to the front office.
Hawks29 – I love your second paragraph. You wrote what I have felt since the Jones/Fleury/McCabe moves were made.
Bowman was reaching for the stars and got hit with some serious chunks of blue ice…
I don’t know how he could have survived being in charge through the entire season.
And the rest of the post was pretty good too!
Hawks29, agree stay with the plan, Bowman made a bad attempt to get back to playoffs but in 2020-21 had Toews, Dach and Nylander who he thought would play big part go down for the year, then couldn’t resign Crawford and attempted to unsuccessfully to acquire Murray, then Kuemperer. That is not rebuild mode, that is having your hand forced which if you listen to his interviews at the time, he said not a rebuild the way everybody is thinking. I posted that and the fact he said after last season that his job was to plug holes in roster, that he might do what he did. However the full rebuild rhetoric got out there and thats what people heard.
KD has actually only said he considers it more of a rebuild because the system needs to be restocked from bottom up. He has never really given any indication of what his vision of the roster on the ice is yet. Although the full rebuild rhetoric has taken on a meaning of years of sucking , playing the lotto draft game. I accepted he likely would, starting have some doubts now. What’s right, what’s wrong, obviously success or failure determines that, i’m just trying have an open mind, not locked into its only right if they agree with me. They are the professionals, not myself or any of the other keyboard warriors here, are better equipped to make those decisions. Guessing right some times doesn’t make us experts.
Ian: I resemble being a keyboard warrior ;)