3 takeaways: Knights suffer 5th straight loss, fall in OT to Blackhawks

The Golden Knights were doubled up in shots in the second half of a game Sunday against a team playing the second leg of a back-to-back.

They didn’t have possession for the entirety of overtime. It ended with hats being thrown down on the ice at United Center in Chicago.

The Knights lost their fifth straight game, 3-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks to continue a downward spiral that hasn’t been felt in the Bruce Cassidy coaching era.

It’s the first such losing streak since Cassidy was hired before the 2022-23 season. It’s only happened three other times in team history.

“You’ve got to kind of freaking hate losing at some point,” Cassidy said.

Blackhawks winger Tyler Bertuzzi completed a hat trick 1:18 into the extra frame when he poked a loose puck home off transition.

The Knights took a 2-1 lead into the third period thanks to captain Mark Stone’s goal 43 seconds into the second frame.

But that was the last notable push the Knights had the rest of the game. They were outshot 17-7 over the final two periods and overtime, including a 7-2 edge in the third.

“We didn’t generate anything. We had no push,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy prefaced that by saying what needs to change is a “love of the game. We could start with that. We sure didn’t show a lot of emotion. There’s not an urgency level in the course of these games that could tilt them either way.”

Bertuzzi tied it with 8:24 remaining in regulation off a defensive-zone breakdown where Bertuzzi was alone on the backdoor.

Stone scored for the fourth straight game, and Brandon Saad scored for the Knights (17-11-12), who lost for the eighth time in nine games.

Akira Schmid finished with 17 saves.

“We know this type of hockey is not good enough,” Stone said.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

1. Schmid stood tall

Despite the Knights allowing 33 goals in their last eight games, goaltending wasn’t the issue Sunday.

Schmid did his part when the Blackhawks started to push. His two biggest saves came in the third — a kick save on Chicago center Ryan Greene, and a glove stop on defenseman Artyom Levshunov on a late power play in the third.

Schmid bounced back compared with his last two starts when he gave up five against Calgary on Dec. 20 and four on 19 shots against Nashville on New Year’s Eve.

But the end result was Schmid was tagged with his third straight loss.

On the flip side, Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom saw just 15 shots.

2. Overtime woes continue

Games requiring extra time remain the Knights’ downfall. The played their 16th overtime game this season and dropped to 4-12.

Problems were much of the same as they’ve been most of the year. The Knights didn’t secure possession once and were on their heels.

Center Jack Eichel made an aggressive pinch in the offensive zone to try to gain possession, but that sprung Chicago’s transition that led to Bertuzzi’s winning goal.

The goal was reviewed to see if it crossed the goal line, then later for offsides, but the review was upheld.

“We need to be better in overtime,” Stone said. “You win half of those games, you’re sitting a lot better.”

3. Can’t lose that one

The Blackhawks (17-18-7) played for the second night in a row after winning 3-2 in a shootout at the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

The Knights have been down players throughout the season. They’re now down their top defensive pairing in Shea Theodore (upper body) and Brayden McNabb (upper body) for the foreseeable future.

Chicago was without its top two forwards, Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, and had to travel back home while the Knights practiced Saturday after losing 4-3 in St. Louis on Friday.

Yet the Knights couldn’t generate a push against a tired team, even if the numbers didn’t feel out of place in Stone’s eyes.

“We didn’t really give up a ton (in the third),” Stone said. “It was a pretty bland game for the next 10 minutes, and then we give up a goal.”

It’s a game the Knights shouldn’t have lost. That much can be said for many of the eight losses they’ve seen in nine games.

“You’re halfway through the year, and enough’s enough,” Cassidy said. “Enough’s enough when you’re a good team.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.