The Golden Knights last night took a 2-0 lead in the best of 7 game series vs the Blackhawks. Game 1 started as a defensive battle with both teams only combining for 14 total shots in the first period. Shea Theodore opened the scoring in the second period with a beautiful wrist shot passed Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford to make it 1-0 Vegas. Minutes later William Carrier stuffed the puck into Chicago’s net for a two-goal Golden Knights lead. The Blackhawks got closer with a shorthanded goal to make it 2-1 midway through the period. Reilly Smith extended the lead with two goals in the first ten minutes of the third period. Smith scored his first and second goals of the postseason giving his team the 4-1 edge. Chicago couldn’t manage much offense down the stretch and Lehner sealed off the net to secure the 4-1 victory.
In game 2 The Golden Knights began the first period right off where they left from Game one’s 4-1 victory. Paul Stastny scored the opening goal 10:44 into the contest, and Tomas Nosek followed up with a goal of his own. Starting goaltender Robin Lehner stopped all seven Blackhawks shots holding the 2-0 Golden Knights edge. Chicago started to get going early in the second period. The Blackhawks scored their first of the game 3:17 in to cut Vegas’ lead in half. Later in the period, Chicago tied the game 2-
2 with a power play goal. The Golden Knights leader Mark Stone broke the tie with his third goal of the postseason. However, the Blackhawks got a late period goal tying the game 3-3 after two periods of action. The third period leaned the Golden Knights direction but they couldn’t solve Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford. Vegas shot 16 times in the period but couldn’t get one through. The Blackhawks shot only six times going scoreless as well. After 60 minutes the game would need an extra period to decide a winner. Not surprisingly, Reilly Smith ended the game in overtime off a beautiful pass from Paul Stastny. The Golden Knights won Game two 4-3 and need two more victories to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Vegas and Chicago continue their best-of-seven game series on Saturday evening afternoon at 5P PT. Locally the game will air on NBC Sports Network.