Final
CHI at VGK game report
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 · 7:30 p.m. PT · T-Mobile Arena
Golden Knights beat the Blackhawks 5–2 and earned it, out-chancing them 4.1–2.1 in expected goals and 14–13 in high-danger chances.
Team comparison
- 5Goals2
- 4.12Expected goals2.12
- 2.465-on-5 expected goals1.77
- 14High-danger chances13
- 37Shots on goal26
- 62Shot attempts48
- 535-on-5 shot attempts42
- 5:24Power-play time4:30
5-on-5 shares for VGK: 55.8% of shot attempts, 58.2% of expected goals.
Expected goals through the game
Each step is a shot; the bigger the step, the better the chance. A goal on a small step was a low-percentage finish.
Shot map
By strength
| VGK at… | Time | Attempts | xG | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 on 5 | 50:02 | 53–42 | 2.46–1.77 | 3–2 |
| Power play | 5:24 | 6–4 | 0.82–0.26 | 1–0 |
| Shorthanded | 4:30 | 2–2 | 0.10–0.09 | 0–0 |
| Other (4 on 4, 3 on 3, empty net) | 0:04 | 1–0 | 0.74–0.00 | 1–0 |
Read pairs as VGK–CHI. “Power play” means VGK had the extra skater.
Goaltending
| Goalie | Saves | SV% | xGA | GSAx |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Hart VGK | 24/26 | .923 | 2.12 | +0.12 |
| Spencer Knight CHI | 32/36 | .889 | 3.39 | -0.61 |
GSAx above zero means the goalie stopped more than an average goalie would have, given the shots faced.
Player ratings
Out of 10, from each player's Game Score (goals, assists, shots, blocks, penalties, faceoffs and 5-on-5 shot and goal differential while on the ice) compared with every NHL game of the last two seasons. 6 is above average, 7 very good, 8 excellent. Goalies are rated on goals saved above expected. ★ = top three of the night. How ratings work
Average ratingGolden Knights6.6Blackhawks5.4
| ★Top three of the night: Jack EichelFVGK | 8.8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 18:00 | 57.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★Top three of the night: Brayden McNabbDVGK | 8.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 18:45 | 65.5 |
| ★Top three of the night: Shea TheodoreDVGK | 7.7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 21:22 | 60.0 |
| Ivan BarbashevFVGK | 7.6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14:27 | 53.3 |
| Jordan GreenwayFCHI | 7.4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 14:08 | 60.0 |
| Noah HanifinDVGK | 7.4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 18:51 | 55.3 |
| Mark StoneFVGK | 7.2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17:11 | 60.7 |
| Victor OlofssonFVGK | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13:57 | 59.3 |
| Patrick KaneFCHI | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 21:36 | 51.5 |
| Trevor ConnellyFVGK | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11:22 | 58.3 |
| Ryan GreeneFCHI | 6.8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14:43 | 54.2 |
| Marc GatcombFVGK | 6.5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10:31 | 42.1 |
| Brett HowdenFVGK | 6.4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17:16 | 63.0 |
| Nic DowdFVGK | 6.4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12:37 | 50.0 |
| Jeremy LauzonDVGK | 6.4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17:20 | 54.3 |
| Tomas HertlFVGK | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15:45 | 57.7 |
| Wyatt KaiserDCHI | 6.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20:37 | 44.7 |
| Mitch MarnerFVGK | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 21:21 | 57.1 |
| Carter HartGVGK | 5.9 | 0 | 0 | — | 59:57 | — |
| William KarlssonFVGK | 5.8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17:26 | 57.1 |
| Tyler BertuzziFCHI | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16:51 | 60.0 |
| Sam RinzelDCHI | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18:16 | 50.0 |
| Cole SmithFCHI | 5.6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15:16 | 47.6 |
| Frank NazarFCHI | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18:01 | 50.0 |
| Spencer KnightGCHI | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | — | 59:47 | — |
| Parker WotherspoonDVGK | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20:08 | 53.3 |
| Oliver MooreFCHI | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13:57 | 42.9 |
| Rasmus AnderssonDVGK | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18:46 | 46.4 |
| Bowen ByramDCHI | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25:08 | 50.0 |
| Roman KantserovFCHI | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17:07 | 45.0 |
| Artyom LevshunovDCHI | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19:14 | 45.2 |
| Braeden BowmanFVGK | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10:58 | 42.9 |
| Andrew MangiapaneFCHI | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5:23 | 37.5 |
| Ian ColeDCHI | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12:40 | 35.3 |
| Alex VlasicDCHI | 4.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20:01 | 30.0 |
| Nick LardisFCHI | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11:44 | 20.0 |
| Ryan DonatoFCHI | 4.4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12:50 | 29.6 |
| Anton FrondellFCHI | 4.3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17:40 | 29.0 |
Lines used
Each team's most-used forward lines and defence pairs at 5 on 5, from the NHL's shift charts · time together · shot attempts for–against · expected goals for–against
Golden Knights
Forward lines
- Karlsson – Marner – Howden12:21 · 11–8 · xG 0.5–0.0
- Stone – Barbashev – Eichel11:10 · 16–10 · xG 0.5–0.6
- Hertl – Olofsson – Connelly8:37 · 14–8 · xG 1.0–0.2
- Dowd – Gatcomb – Bowman6:34 · 5–5 · xG 0.1–0.5
Defence pairs
- Andersson – Wotherspoon15:22 · 13–12 · xG 0.6–0.9
- Hanifin – Lauzon15:04 · 19–16 · xG 1.1–0.4
- McNabb – Theodore14:24 · 18–9 · xG 0.6–0.3
Blackhawks
Forward lines
- Greenway – Smith – Greene10:27 · 10–8 · xG 0.4–0.7
- Kane – Moore – Kantserov9:03 · 8–11 · xG 0.1–0.5
- Donato – Nazar – Lardis7:12 · 4–9 · xG 0.1–0.5
- Bertuzzi – Mangiapane – Frondell3:43 · 2–5 · xG 0.1–0.2
Defence pairs
- Kaiser – Levshunov15:10 · 16–23 · xG 0.5–1.1
- Byram – Vlasic13:55 · 3–13 · xG 0.1–0.5
- Cole – Rinzel8:34 · 4–11 · xG 0.2–0.5
Three stars
- ★T. ConnellyVGK · 1G 0A
- ★★J. EichelVGK · 1G 2A
- ★★★N. HanifinVGK · 1G 0A
Scoring
Period 1
- 10:30VGK V. Olofsson pp (from J. Eichel, S. Theodore)0–1
- 15:22VGK T. Connelly (from B. McNabb, S. Theodore)0–2
Period 2
- 12:23CHI J. Greenway (from R. Greene, W. Kaiser)1–2
- 15:12VGK J. Eichel (from I. Barbashev, B. McNabb)1–3
Period 3
- 04:04CHI P. Kane2–3
- 04:43VGK N. Hanifin (from N. Dowd, M. Gatcomb)2–4
- 17:27VGK M. Stone (from J. Eichel, I. Barbashev)2–5