Blackhawks still haven't hit the jackpot against Vegas

Seven attempts. Seven failures.

Those are the cold, hard facts when it comes to how the Blackhawks have fared against the Vegas Golden Knights since the expansion team entered the league in 2017-18.

It's a pretty incredible fact when you consider the Hawks' long, rich history.

On the other hand, Vegas was never a typical expansion team. The Golden Knights - stacked with talented players who were finally put in positions to thrive - stunned the sports world and reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first season.

They impressed again last season and were barely eliminated by San Jose in the first round.

This season, however, coach Gerard Gallant's squad is scuffling along a bit, having lost seven of its last 10 games.

So no better time than Wednesday for the Hawks to get off the schneid and hand Vegas a loss when the teams meet at T-Mobile Arena.

Asked if the Hawks' dismal record against the Golden Knights has ever been a topic of conversation, captain Jonathan Toews said: "It is now. And it will be tomorrow. We've had 'em in pretty good spots and we've found ways to blow the games."

The first of those bad beats came in January when the Hawks squandered a 3-1 lead by allowing goals to Ryan Carpenter and Paul Stastny. Then on Oct. 22, the Hawks were clinging to a 1-0 lead, but yielded a Nick Holden goal with just 93 seconds remaining. They'd go on to lose in a shootout.

"For some reason they have our number," said Carpenter, who signed a three-year deal with the Hawks in the off-season. "It'd be nice to do it in Vegas, be nice to win there.

"It's a loud building and they play hard there and fast. Once they get the crowd behind them they're a hard team to play."

Said Patrick Kane: "It's probably one of the best places to play in the league now. A lot of excitement going into that building. It's almost like you're playing a hockey game in the middle of a Vegas show."

Vegas was almost impossible to beat at home in its first season, going 29-10-2 for an amazing .731 points percentage. In 2018-19, Gallant's team was 24-12-5 at T-Mobile for a more-than-respectable .646 points percentage.

This season, the Golden Knights are just 4-3-2 (.556).

That first year, it wasn't unheard of for teams to suffer from the Vegas Flu after getting a bit too carried away in Sin City.

"I mean I think it's fun to stay on the strip," Toews said. "It's always exciting to go there. Obviously if you spend a few too many days it could turn into a vacation pretty quick. You could rationalize hanging out in a casino a little bit too long.

"But we're all business. We know what we've got to do."

Kane agreed, and also noted that Joel Quenneville would often treat the players to a couple of days in Vegas during the now-defunct Circus Trip.

So while Kane and Toews may still try their luck a bit at the tables, more than anything they'd just like to see the Hawks hit the jackpot on the ice.

"I think we're all professionals to the point where we're there to play a hockey game, we're there to do our job and hopefully get a win," Kane said.