Golden Knights rally in third to defeat Blackhawks

Reilly Smith scored a breakaway goal with 6:07 remaining in the third period to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 5-4 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Friday.

WATCH: [All Golden Knights vs. Blackhawks highlights]
Alex Tuch, Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Cody Eakin scored for the Golden Knights (28-10-2), who won for the 13th time in 15 games.
Chicago forward Nick Schmaltz attempted a pass to defenseman Connor Murphy, but Smith poke-checked the puck and scored unassisted.
"I think we were waiting for an opportunity and we were lucky that we found one with a couple minutes left," Smith said.
Vegas had its eight-game winning streak end Thursday with a 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues. It was its first regulation loss since Dec. 1.
"You come into each game wanting to win, but you don't want to lose two in a row," Eakin said. "We did a good job of managing the effort tonight, and at the end of the day, a split's better after coming off that loss."

Vinnie Hinostroza and Patrick Sharp each scored for the second straight game, and Schmaltz and Jonathan Toews scored for the Blackhawks (19-15-6). Jeff Glass made 38 saves.
Toews scored 30 seconds into the third period to give Chicago a 4-3 lead. Eakin tied it 4-4 at 5:33 with his second goal since Dec. 1.
The Golden Knights took a 1-0 lead at 4:44 of the first period after a shot from Marchessault deflected off Tuch's skate. Marchessault scored at 15:49 to make it 2-0. Vegas is 18-1-0 when scoring first.
Chicago made it 2-1 at 18:01 when Brandon Saad's shot was deflected by Hinostroza.
Vegas made it 3-1 on Karlsson's 21st goal of the season at 5:54 of the second period.
"It wasn't a great night for our [defense]," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "That was probably as tough a period with how we played with our gap. We gave them the puck and possession on almost every entry, not denying them what we wanted to do."
Chicago tied it 3-3 on goals by Sharp at 7:53 and Schmaltz at 19:07 off Vegas turnovers.
Vegas goalie Malcolm Subban made 28 saves and is 11-2-0.
"In games like these, if you can make that one more save … sometimes you let in goals at the wrong times, but we're happy to get the two points," Subban said.

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Goal of the game

Smith's goal at 13:53 of the third period.

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Save of the game

Subban's save on Tommy Wingels' shorthanded breakaway at 3:02 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Eakin's goal at 5:33 of the third period.

They said it

"We can obviously fix stuff. Ultimately, the two points is the most important part." -- Golden Knights goalie Malcolm Subban
"The way things are going in games, there are really good stretches and tough stretches, but the tough stretches tonight were elongated or to a different extreme." -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville

Need to know

Golden Knights forward Ryan Carpenter played 12:33, had two shots and was minus-1 in his Vegas debut. Carpenter was claimed off waivers Dec. 13 from the San Jose Sharks. He played in place of Oscar Lindberg, who was a healthy scratch. Defenseman Luca Sbisa, who was activated from injured reserve prior to the game, left in the second period. … Hinostroza has a four-game point streak (two goals, four assists).

What's next

Golden Knights: Host the New York Rangers on Sunday (9:30 p.m. ET; SN360, ATTSN-RM, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVA Sports, WGN, SNW, NHL.TV)