3 takeaways from Knights’ win: Bouncing back vs. division rival
Logan Thompson snared the puck out of the air, skated out of his crease and pumped his glove.
Shootouts are the Golden Knights’ goaltender’s domain. Opponents should enter into them against him at their own peril.
Thompson stopped all three attempts he faced, center Jack Eichel scored the shootout’s lone goal on his 27th birthday, and the Knights bounced back from their first loss of the season to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
The second point seemed all but assured for the visitors as soon as it came down to Thompson’s ability to stop the Kings’ skaters one-on-one. He improved his save percentage in shootouts to .816, which would be tied for fourth-best all-time if he had enough attempts to qualify.
“Yeah he likes the show, right?” left wing William Carrier said. “I kind of knew if we were going there, I think we had a good chance of winning.”
It took two rallies for Thompson’s shootout skills to be pressed into service.
The first was by the Knights (8-0-1), as they erased a 2-0 second-period deficit by the second intermission thanks to goals from right wing Michael Amadio and left wing William Carrier.
The second came from the Kings (4-2-2). The Knights took a 3-2 lead on a power-play goal from captain Mark Stone 6:26 into the third period, snapping an 0-for-8 skid on the man advantage in the process.
The Kings didn’t quit. Defenseman Drew Doughty fired a one-timer past Thompson with 1:03 remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
The goaltender didn’t let the late goal rattle him. Thompson made the final two of his season-high 38 saves in overtime, including an incredible stop on Kings right wing Adrian Kempe.
“He made a good move,” Thompson said on the KMCC-34 postgame show. “I think that was kind of a last-minute attempt because I think he had me beat there if I didn’t stick the leg out. Luckily tonight, it just caught the toe of my pad and stayed out of the net.”
He then turned aside three straight attempts by left wing Trevor Moore, center Pierre-Luc Dubois and left wing Kevin Fiala in the shootout to seal the win.
The Knights improved to 4-0-0 on the road, and extended their point streak to nine games to begin the season. It was an impressive bounce-back after the team’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.
“I just thought we were forced to kick it up a gear,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “When we get dragged into the fight that way, we’re more on our toes right away. We’re a really good hockey team because we have skill, we have size, we have some different elements. When we don’t have that, it’s hit or miss, and that’s what happened yesterday as opposed to today.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Karlsson’s line comes through
It’s no shock center William Karlsson’s line delivered the Knights’ opening goal.
He’s been a catalyst for the team in the early going, bringing a workmanlike effort to the rink each night. Karlsson’s assist on Amadio’s goal stretched his point streak to six games, the second-longest of his career.
The 30-year-old is tied for the Knights lead in points with 10 this season. He’s also tied for fourth in the NHL in plus/minus at plus-8.
“(Karlsson’s) line has done a real good job for us no matter who’s played with him,” Cassidy said. “Got us going.”
2. Carrier gets on the board
Carrier didn’t celebrate much when he got his first point and goal of the season.
The 28-year-old high-fived a few of his teammates after beating goaltender Cam Talbot with an 81.7 mph wrist shot, but that was about it. The reaction was even more surprising considering it was Carrier’s 100th NHL point, coming in his 381st game.
“I don’t get excited no more,” Carrier said. “It tied the game there. We knew we had a lot of work to do.”
Carrier became the 22nd Knights skater to record a point this season, meaning every one that has suited up for the club so far has gotten on the scoresheet. Carrier also became the 18th player on the team to score a goal. That leads the NHL.
3. Failed challenge
The Knights, despite the result, lost a winning streak Saturday.
Cassidy, in his 600th NHL game behind the bench, lost a challenge on the Kings’ opening goal by right wing Alex Laferriere. It was the first time the Knights, under the careful eye of video coach Dave Rogowski, didn’t reverse a ruling in the regular season in their last 11 tries.
The last time they lost also came against Los Angeles on March 21, 2021.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
