Kirby Dach scores first NHL goal in Blackhawks’ loss to Golden Knights

The third overall pick found a soft spot in the Vegas defense and potted the goal in the first period of a 2-1 shootout defeat.

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Kirby Dach celebrates after scoring his first NHL goal Tuesday.

Kirby Dach celebrates after scoring his first NHL goal Tuesday.

/Charles Rex ArbogastAP

Kirby Dach’s game isn’t perfect yet, and his first NHL goal wasn’t perfect, either.

But in his first two games with the Blackhawks, he has demonstrated an impressive array of promising skills. And his first-period tally Tuesday — even though the Blackhawks’ eventually crumbled late in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Golden Knights — exemplified those traits perfectly.

While Olli Maatta skated out to the faceoff dot, Dach smartly and quietly found a soft spot in the Vegas defense on the far side of the crease. Maatta didn’t appear to be trying to pass to him, and Dach had to awkwardly knee the puck into the net.

But it did go in, and Dach celebrated madly, and the home crowd erupted, and just maybe, the kid tabbed as the future face of the franchise officially began his permanent lease on the United Center.

“It was a pretty cool moment,” Dach said. “Grew up dreaming of playing in the NHL, and two games in, you’ve got your first goal. That’s pretty special, but at the same time, pretty disappointed that we lost.”

The Hawks nearly preserved Dach’s tally all the way to the finish line, but instead allowed a tying goal with 1:33 left and two more goals in the shootout to suffer another heartbreaking, objectively undeserved loss.

Robin Lehner was truly spectacular throughout the night, making 33 saves — including a miraculous two-pad stack on a Vegas overtime power play — and stopped his postgame interview to deliver a passionate statement of optimism moving forward.

“When I chose to sign with this team, it’s because I really believe in this team,” the goalie said. “The last few games have been really really good. ... Washington is a good team, Vegas is a good team, and at times we were totally dominating. It should have been 4-0 after two (tonight). Couple of posts were in the way, couple of missed bounces. That’s hockey sometimes.”

“If we just keep playing like we’re going, we’re going to get good results.”

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