Knights goaltender earns honor from NHL before playoffs

Laurent Brossoit appeared to have the inside track to be the Golden Knights’ playoff starter before the team’s final home-and-home series with Seattle.

Just to be safe, he made sure to remove all doubt. Brossoit stopped 50 of the 52 shots he faced in the two games, both wins, to lock up the Pacific Division title and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the Knights.

As a reward, he was named the NHL’s third star of the week Saturday. He is the first and only player on the team this season to be named one of the league’s stars of the week or month.

Brossoit also has the starting job in his sights. He got his own net at Saturday’s practice while goaltenders Jonathan Quick and Adin Hill took turns in the other, indicating the Knights are getting him ready to play in Game 1 against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

”I think it’s going to be really fun for me, obviously, if I get the nod,” Brossoit said. “I’m excited for it.”

Brossoit earned his opportunity.

He spent much of the season in the American Hockey League, biding his time while recovering from offseason hip surgery. When a lower-body injury to goaltender Logan Thompson opened up a spot, Brossoit took advantage.

He finished 7-0-3 with a 2.17 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. That should have him line to face against his old team in Winnipeg, and his former goalie partner in Connor Hellebuyck.

It’ll be Brossoit’s first playoff start if he is given the net. He said he believes he’ll adapt quickly.

“There’s going to be a higher intensity, but I think that’s when I feel best, is when there’s a lot on the line and there’s a lot of intensity in the game,” Brossoit said.

Karlsson remembers 2018

The Knights have played the Jets in the playoffs once before in the 2018 Western Conference Final.

They won 4-1, but it wasn’t easy. The Knights fell behind 3-0 in Game 1 and lost 4-2. They won the next four games 3-1, 4-2, 3-2 and 2-1. The Jets trailed by only a single goal at some point in all four third periods.

“I just remember it being a very tough series,” center William Karlsson said. “I thought they had a great team. Game 1 of that series, we weren’t really on our toes, and it showed what they can do. That’s what I remember. I expect a tough one here, too.”

Manitoba men

The Knights have a lot of Manitoba connections on their roster.

Captain Mark Stone is a Winnipeg native. Left wing Brett Howden grew up a Jets fan less than 20 miles away in Oakbank. Right wing Keegan Kolesar and defenseman Zach Whitecloud are from nearby Brandon, where general manager Kelly McCrimmon was the longtime owner, coach and general manager of the Western Hockey League’s Wheat Kings.

“I think that gives us a little more fire in our stomach,” Howden said. “We really want to beat them. It’s going to be a really cool experience for all of us.”

Howden returns

Howden didn’t travel with the Knights for their regular-season finale in Seattle, but for a good reason: He and his wife welcomed a baby boy to their family.

“It was a pretty unreal moment,” said Howden, who added mom and baby are doing well. “I’m super excited.”

The Knights welcomed Howden back to practice Saturday with a round of congratulatory stick taps.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.