The Chicago Blackhawks lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 on Friday night. It was a night that had some pros and cons but they ultimately fell short. There is a lot of work to be done but there are glimpses of what’s to come.
One of the pros is the play of Ryan Donato. He scored all three of Chicago’s goals in the loss for his first career hat-trick. It was one of the best games he’s had as an NHL player.
Donato's second and third goals of the game came on consecutive shifts, 15 seconds of game clock apart.
"I didn't even really have time to think about it, to be honest with you," Donato said on scoring two goals quickly.
He went on to speak about how, usually when he gets a second goal in a game, he has time to think about that third, and it never comes. This time, he went right back out there and completed the hat trick quickly.
Before this season, Donato’s career high in goals was 16. These three goals were his 26th, 27th, and 28th of the year. He needs two more to reach the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career. That would be remarkable at 28 years old.
“I'm a guy that sometimes has too much anxiety around the rink because I think about the negative things, and that's something I've worked on,” Donato said after his big night. “[Scoring 28 goals] definitely feels surreal a little bit, but it'd be a lot more surreal if we won."
Donato is a humble man who doesn’t like to make it all about himself. That is usually what makes hockey players special compared to other athletes. He knows that his milestone is special, but it would have been better for him if they had won the hockey game.
Donato is in line for a massive pay upgrade this off-season. Reaching 30 goals is potential for even more, as teams would love to add a guy like that to their middle six.
What gave Donato the ability to make this sort of jump in production? Well, he worked hard on his goal scoring during the summer. He wanted to come in this year and be a key contributor to this rebuilding Blackhawks team.
He's not under 23 like half of the roster, but he isn't over 30 yet either. There is a lot of good hockey left for Ryan Donato beyond this year. When you play the right way in all situations, you have years like this if you are as talented as he is.
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