Tyler Bertuzzi completed a hat trick with the overtime winner at 3:42 Sunday night at the United Center as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2, extending Vegas’ skid and spoiling a night where the Golden Knights led twice. The Golden Knights went home with no points after Mark Stone’s early second-period goal and Akira Schmid’s late saves had them in position to close it out.
Bruce Cassidy said after practice Saturday, Jan. 3, that when Vegas is stuck on the wrong side of tight games, he usually points to puck management.” The Golden Knights led twice Sunday night but coughed up the tying goal in the third and fell 3-2 in overtime.
Saad strikes, Chicago answers
Vegas carried play early Sunday at the United Center and still had only a 1-1 tie to show for it after 20 minutes. Chicago produced just four shots in the first period and did not register its first shot on goal until later in the frame. Still, the Blackhawks capitalized once, and the game was even heading into the second.
Brandon Saad, facing his former team, opened the scoring at 10:40 at even strength. Brett Howden drove the puck to the net, and Saad cleaned up the loose puck in front, sliding it five-hole on Arvid Soderblom for a 1-0 Vegas lead. Chicago answered at 12:38 when Bertuzzi tied it 1-1 on a wrist shot with assists from Alex Vlasic and Andre Burakovsky.
Schmid stopped 3 of 4 for Vegas in the period, while Soderblom turned aside 7 of 8. Vegas also set a physical tone with 14 first-period hits, but the game stayed tight heading into the second.
Stone cleans up in a hurry
Vegas reclaimed the lead 43 seconds into the second when Stone stayed with a broken play at the net. Jack Eichel drove the puck toward the crease, the initial look was stopped, and Stone followed it to the loose puck and snapped it past Arvid Soderblom to make it 2-1, with Eichel and Noah Hanifin earning the assists.
Chicago pushed the pace after that and outshot Vegas 8-6 in the period. The Golden Knights killed off Jeremy Lauzon’s delay-of-game penalty at 9:55, then came up empty on their own power play after Ryan Greene was called for holding Eichel at 14:44. Schmid helped Vegas get to the break still in front, and the Golden Knights carried a 22-8 hits advantage into the third.
Bertuzzi pulls it even, Schmid forces extra time
Chicago finally broke through in the third, and it came at the cost of Vegas’ cushion. Bertuzzi tied it 2-2 at 11:36 on a wrist shot off feeds from Greene and Burakovsky, and the period tilted hard after that with the Blackhawks holding a 7-2 edge in shots.
Vegas had to survive a tense stretch late when Jaycob Megna went off for hooking Greene at 13:35. Schmid delivered the biggest moment at 14:08, kicking out Greene’s look in what stood as the save of the game, then came up with another key stop with 4:45 left to keep it level. The Golden Knights killed the penalty, but they could not find a winner in regulation, sending it to overtime tied 2-2.
Post first, winner next
Vegas got to overtime, but the finish still wasn’t there.
Bertuzzi nearly ended it at 4:01 when his wrist shot rang off the left post. He did not miss the second time. Bertuzzi completed the hat trick at 3:42, taking a feed from Ilya Mikheyev and beating Schmid with a backhand for the winner with Artyom Levshunov also earning an assist as Chicago took it 3-2 in overtime.
Vegas challenged the play for offside, but the call stood after review. The Golden Knights entered the night 4 of 6 on coach’s challenges this season, and this one went the other way.
Up next for the Golden Knights:
The Vegas Golden Knights (17-11-11) wrap up their road trip Tuesday, Jan. 6, visiting the Winnipeg Jets (15-18-4) at 5 p.m. PT.
Vegas then returns home Thursday, Jan. 8, to host the Columbus Blue Jackets (17-16-6) at 7 p.m. PT, opening their home schedule for 2026.
The Golden Knights remain at home Saturday, Jan. 10, welcoming the St. Louis Blues (17-18-8) at 7 p.m. PT in a rematch of last week’s 4-3 loss at Enterprise Center.
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