When you’re already off to a career-best season, how do you top it? With a hat trick, apparently. Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato registered his first career hat trick on a kneeling one-timer during the second of Friday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Donato, 28, thrust his fist forward and let out a yell before he was quickly mobbed and hats rained down onto the United Center ice. But he didn’t get the fairy-tale ending he was hoping to pair with his achievement. The Hawks lost 5-3, and Donato’s late turnover set up Brett Howden to salt the game away on an empty-netter. “Obviously the win’s most important, right?” Donato said. “It’s nice to obviously have that milestone, it’s really cool for me. Obviously feel super blessed to have that happen, but still need to win.” Still, it was a crowning moment for the eighth-year forward, who bounced around between the Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken before landing in Chicago last season. He extended his team lead to 28 goals — a career high by 12 — and has recorded multiple points in three straight games. The night began with Donato’s opening goal in the first, which was a beauty as well. Ilya Mikheyev scooped the puck off the wall and passed across the defensive zone to Ethan Del Mastro. Hawks center Ryan Donato celebrates his first-period goal against the Golden Knights on March 28, 2025, at the United Center. (Daniel Bartel/Getty Images) Del Mastro launched a savvy stretch pass though Vegas skaters to a streaking Donato, whose first shot bounced Adin Hill’s pad before Donato batted in the rebound. “He made a nice play there,” Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen said of Del Mastro. “He played on the right side too. Sometimes on the right side it’s tough on those plays. You get handcuffed a little bit, but I thought he handled that well.” Goal No. 2 for Donato came on a sharp-angle shot during a delayed penalty, assisted by Joe Veleno and Wyatt Kaiser. It tied the game at 2. Donato’s hat-trick goal came on assists from Ilya Mikheyev and Connor Bedard. Bedard carried the puck deep into the zone with a couple of Golden Knights in hot pursuit. But he put on the brakes and passed between them to Mikheyev, who gathered the puck and had a clear lane to dish to Donato. Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato, right, celebrates his third goal of the game with Connor Bedard during the second period against the Golden Knights on March 28, 2025, at the United Center. It was Donato’s first career hat trick, but the Hawks lost 5-3. (Daniel Bartel/Getty Images) Donato’s third goal came 15 seconds after his second, giving the Hawks a 3-2 lead. Having those opportunities to score on back-to-back shift took away the nerves factor. “I didn’t even have time to really think about it, to be honest with you,” Donato said. “I’ve had two (goals) a couple times, and you have time to sit after and think about, ‘Oh, gosh.’ … You’re thinking about the third. “This time, I really didn’t have time to think about it because we were right back out there. And then once it went in, I was relieved. It was a great experience and (I) felt blessed. But like I said, (it) doesn’t matter if you don’t win.” “I didn’t even have time to think about it. … Once it went in, I was relieved, obviously. … It was a great experience and felt blessed.”—Ryan Donato on scoring on back-to-back shifts for his first career hat trick — Phil Thompson (@philthompsontrib.bsky.social) 2025-03-29T03:57:17.726Z The Golden Knights rallied in the third with goals from Victor Olofsson and Pavel Dorofeyev to retake the lead, and Howden’s empty-netter sealed the Hawks’ ninth loss in 10 games. “I liked our game,” Sorensen said. “Obviously didn’t like the ending. “Thought the call there at the end (hooking against Teuvo Teräväinen) was questionable, but I thought overall we did a lot of good things and created. They’re a team that’s really good defensively and we created a lot.” Related Articles 3 things to know about Chicago Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar, from ‘tuck’ management to skating speed Rockford-to-Chicago prospect pipeline continues with Blackhawks’ addition of Kevin Korchinski, 20 Chicago Blackhawks takeaways: Landon Slaggert defends Connor Bedard — but Anders Sorensen doesn’t defend him Coaching? TV? Pat Maroon will explore his options once he retires as a Chicago Blackhawk. Chicago Blackhawks shelve Jason Dickinson for the rest of the season with a wrist injury Meanwhile, defenseman Kevin Korchinski played in his first game since December, and he paired with Del Mastro. Korchinski was on the ice for two Hawks goals and two Knights goals. “Did some good things on retrievals,” Sorensen said. “He had more poise with the puck, so I think it was a good first step here coming back.” Korchinski did have at least one teachable moment. He took an outside position by the wall against Olofsson while trying to poke check him in the neutral zone, and as the saying goes, “You reach, I teach.” Olofsson cut inside as Korchinski stumbled, then he and William Karlsson worked a two-on-one against Del Mastro before Olofsson scored. “(Korchinski) got caught outside the dots,” Sorensen said. “Just stay patient, stay inside the dots and let them come to you a little bit.” ...read more read less