Golden Knights deal Blackhawks first lopsided loss since Olympic break

LAS VEGAS — On Saturday morning, multiple Blackhawks talked about how proud they were of the team keeping every game close since the Olympic break.

Seven of eight had been decided by just one goal (excluding empty-netters), and they had won the lone blowout.

"It feels like we're in every game," Wyatt Kaiser said. "Good teams win those games, so we have to learn how to win those games, obviously. But it's positive."

That trend meant the Hawks were probably due for a blowout loss, considering the usual rhythms of the NHL, and that turned out to be the case. The Golden Knights jumped on the Hawks early Saturday and cruised to a 4-0 win.

It was the Hawks' fifth time shut out this season; they've also shut out their opponents five times.

"I don't think we started well enough, pretty evidently," Alex Vlasic said, referencing the Knights' 3-0 lead after just 12 minutes. "They jumped on us quick. [Against] a good team like that, they're hard to compete with once they get a lead."

The Hawks' NHL-best penalty kill allowed two goals — both by Vegas power-play savant Pavol Dorofeyev — for the first time since Dec. 7.

"I know [the Knights have] been grinding out a little bit here, but they played a really, really good game," coach Jeff Blashill said. "They were on top of it, and I didn't think we were quite on top of our game.

"[Our] execution certainly wasn't there, so then you don't have the puck enough and you have to defend, and...then you lose the special teams battle. All those things add up. It's a hard way to win on the road."

The Hawks thought they scored once in the third period — an Artyom Levshunov slap-shot bomb, showing off his improved shot — but it was overturned upon review for a missed hand-pass (which occurred much earlier, was accidental, gave the Hawks no advantage and never would've been noticed in the pre-challenge era).

They also should have scored once in the third period when Andrew Mangiapane somehow hit the crossbar on an empty-net tap in from mere feet away. Neither goal would've affected the outcome, but it was nonetheless that kind of night for the Hawks.

"It's always hard when you can't put those on the board, because it just gets your energy levels back up," Blashill said.

Kaiser actually didn't play due to a left shoulder injury, although the decision to hold him out seemed precautionary. Blashill said Kaiser will return for a home-and-home set against the Wild on Tuesday and Thursday.