The Vegas Golden Knights won their fifth home opener in six seasons with a 1-0 shutout win against the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The win improved Vegas’ record to 2-0-0 on the season.
Logan Thompson made 27 saves for his second win and first shutout of the year; it was the second shutout of his career.
Paul Cotter scored the lone goal in the second period.
Thompson was the best player on the ice all night, but he was particularly clutch in the first period when Chicago had its best stretch of the game (and Vegas had its worst). The Golden Knights committed numerous turnovers, but Thompson shut down all 10 shots he faced — including two grade-A chances late in the period on a Chicago power play — to keep it scoreless through 20 minutes.
One of those was a sensational save on Tyler Johnson.
It’s one thing for Thompson to react to the rebound, dig his left skate in and push across.
But the reaction time to lift his glove up after tracking the puck going high is just incredible.
What a save. pic.twitter.com/HfMqYEfVMl
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) October 14, 2022
It was clear his confidence had carried over from Tuesday night’s win in Los Angeles.
Logan Thompson stacking the pads and making it look good! 😎
CHI 0 | VGK 0, 1st period pic.twitter.com/orrlU0Ja7o
— AT&T SportsNet™ | RM West (@ATTSportsNetRMW) October 14, 2022
He continued to come up with key saves in the second period, though Vegas played a much more consistent and structured game. In fact, the Golden Knights didn’t surrender a high-danger chance at 5-on-5 in the second period and outshot the Blackhawks 16-8.
Cotter gave Vegas a 1-0 lead when he scored on a 2-on-1, holding onto the puck and ripping one short-side past Alex Stalock for his third career NHL goal.
Paul Cotter with his first of the year!! 🚨
CHI 0 | VGK 1, 2nd pd pic.twitter.com/39GM0aq5Xz
— AT&T SportsNet™ | RM West (@ATTSportsNetRMW) October 14, 2022
The goal, assisted by Zach Whitecloud, came at the 8:44 mark of the second.
Chicago caught the turnover bug in the minutes following the goal, though Stalock kept several of Vegas’ prime scoring chances out of the net to keep the deficit at one.
The Golden Knights continued to play well in the third period but were unable to extend their lead despite having an additional two power-play opportunities. Chicago made a late push, and Vegas missed the empty net twice, but Thompson closed out the victory with two late saves in the final minute of regulation.
Vegas gave up five high-danger chances at 5-on-5 in the first period but just one total in the final 40 minutes of action.
In the end, the Golden Knights outshot Chicago 37-27; they held a 28-15 edge in scoring chances at 5-on-5 (35-19 at all strengths) and finished with a 67.91 percent expected goal share.
Every player on the roster recorded at least one shot on goal.
Even so, it was a somewhat disjointed offensive performance by the Golden Knights, who failed to capitalize on a lot of opportunities, especially odd-man rushes. Stalock played well, but the Golden Knights were somewhat out of sync. The power play generated chances but was unable to convert, going 0-for-3 on the night; Vegas was 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Phil Kessel played just 12:37 in his second game with the Golden Knights; only the fourth-line forwards and Cotter (12:19) saw less ice time. Kessel took fewer shifts than everyone on the team, though that was partly due to the fact that Bruce Cassidy benched him after a mistake led to a Vegas penalty.
William Carrier and Nicolas Hague made their season debuts and finished tied for second on the team with four shot attempts. Carrier played a team-low 9:52, while Hague saw just 13:51 after missing training camp.
The Golden Knights will be back in action Saturday in Seattle.