Golden Knights blank Blackhawks 4-0 as Dorofeyev scores twice again

The Vegas Golden Knights are heating up at the perfect time.

Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice for the second straight game, and Adin Hill stopped all 21 shots he faced as Vegas rolled past the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. The win, coupled with Anaheim’s loss earlier in the day, pushed the Golden Knights back into first place in the Pacific Division.

Vegas (31-22-4) has now won two straight after a difficult stretch, and the club suddenly looks more like itself as the regular season winds down.

“We’re not chasing the game,” defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “We’re off to better starts, and it feels like we’re not giving up too much.”

Hill’s 21-save performance marked his first shutout of the season and the 12th of his NHL career. More importantly, it gave Vegas another steady, clean effort behind a team game that has tightened up over the last two outings.

“Adin Hill’s found his rhythm,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’re getting good first periods, cleaning that part of our game up, and our special teams are playing well.”

Dorofeyev strikes early

Vegas seized control early and never let go.

First, Dorofeyev opened the scoring at 11:27 of the first period, blasting a power-play one-timer from the right circle after crisp puck movement from Mitch Marner and Mark Stone.

That goal, Dorofeyev’s 33rd of the season, kept his heater going after he also posted two goals and an assist in Thursday’s 6-2 win over Pittsburgh.

Chicago nearly answered minutes later when Teuvo Teravainen rang a shot off the post. However, Hill stood tall, and Vegas quickly turned the momentum the other way.

First-period avalanche

Then the Golden Knights broke the game wide open.

At 8:25 of the first, Andersson jumped into the play and wired a shot past Spencer Knight after a sharp feed from Noah Hanifin. Dorofeyev picked up the secondary assist on the play.

Just 25 seconds later, Vegas struck again.

Jeremy Lauzon fired a puck toward the net, and Keegan Kolesar got a piece of it to make it 3-0 and force a Chicago timeout.

Cassidy has emphasized getting more pucks to the net from the blue line in recent games. This time, that message showed up all over the scoresheet.

“Traffic is usually what goalies struggle with,” Andersson said. “Sometimes we’re looking off a little too much instead of shooting.”

Power play cashes in again

Vegas added the dagger in the second period and, in doing so, kept leaning into the same formula.

After sustained pressure on another power play, Dorofeyev cleaned up a rebound at the edge of the crease at 7:09, burying his second goal of the night off assists from Stone and Marner.

As a result, Dorofeyev reached 34 goals on the season and recorded his seventh multi-goal game of the year.

Meanwhile, Marner’s assist was his 50th of the season, tying David Perron for the fastest player in franchise history to hit that mark in his first season with Vegas.

Hill slams the door

Chicago thought it had finally broken through early in the third period when Artyom Levshunov blasted a shot from the point.

However, Vegas successfully challenged the play for a missed stoppage due to a hand pass, and the goal was overturned after review.

“That was our players being on top of it,” Cassidy said. “Good on them for recognizing it. I’m happy Hilly gets his shutout and they don’t get any life from it.”

From there, Hill finished the job.

He turned aside everything else Chicago threw his way, including a handful of dangerous looks from Tyler Bertuzzi and Connor Bedard. In the end, the shutout capped another composed night for a team that looked far more settled than it did a week ago.