3 takeaways: Knights’ ex-goalie soaks in cheers, beats old team
Logan Thompson knew it was coming. He stood in his crease at the first TV timeout, helmet off, looking at the jumbotron above.
When the one-minute, 37-second video tribute ended, the camera panned to Thompson. Tears in his eyes, he received a loud ovation from the fans who watched him grow into an NHL-caliber goaltender.
He sprayed his water bottle into his face to attempt to shield the tears. Once play resumed, he had to dial back in and stop pucks from his former team.
Thompson did that, and then some.
The goaltender made 40 saves in his return to T-Mobile Arena, frustrating his former Golden Knights teammates in a 5-2 loss to Thompson’s Washington Capitals on Sunday.
“You forget how many good memories you have here and how much I loved it here,” Thompson said. “The city meant a lot to me, and I loved playing in front of the fans.”
The Knights traded Thompson to the Capitals on June 29 during the second day of the NHL draft at Sphere. Thompson was scheduled to sign autographs that day, an obligation he fulfilled even after the trade went down.
Thompson requested a trade because he felt he could bring more to the table being a No. 1 goaltender. The Knights were not prepared to make that commitment with Adin Hill still in the fold.
The Knights sent him to Washington to compete with incumbent Charlie Lindgren for the starter’s crease. So far, the deal is faring well for the Capitals (12-4-1).
Thompson improved to 8-0-1, with two of those wins coming against his former team. He made 22 saves in a 4-2 win at Capital One Arena on Oct. 15.
Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said the one thing he’s admired about Thompson is in every single game he’s played, Thompson has made a big or timely save to give the Capitals a chance.
Thompson did that in the third period, stopping all 25 shots he faced. The Knights had nine high-danger chances.
“When he gets on the ice and you can see the competitiveness of him wanting to win, whether it’s in practice, whether it’s a small-area game or it’s a game,” Carbery said. “That’s probably the biggest compliment I can give him thus far in the season.”
Thompson would normally be the talking point after that kind of performance. Alex Ovechkin had something to say about that.
The Washington captain scored a hat trick to give him 866 career goals, moving him 29 away from surpassing Wayne Gretzky for the most all-time.
“It’s fun to be a part of,” Thompson said of Ovechkin. “I love to be his teammate. He’s the face of this franchise, he’s the face of our dressing room.”
Meanwhile, it was a rough night for Thompson’s former team.
The Knights (11-5-2) lost for the second straight game at home after winning their first eight. Both losses — also a 5-2 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday — came after the Knights completed a two-game road trip.
Left wing Brett Howden and right wing Keegan Kolesar scored, and goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 20 saves in his first start since Oct. 30 after dealing with soreness.
The Knights begin a five-game road trip in Toronto on Wednesday. They’ll play three games in four days in Canada before closing out in Philadelphia and Colorado.
Meanwhile, their former goaltender is enjoying life with his new team while remaining thankful of the time he had.
“I think, mentally, I’m happy coming to the rink everyday, and I think that’s huge,” Thompson said. “I’m always smiling, and I love it there. The group took me in when I needed a second chance and they included me, and it’s great.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. Knights fall behind
The Knights couldn’t dig themselves out of a hole after another slow start.
Washington jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Ovechkin and defenseman Jakob Chychrun.
Howden scored with 7.5 seconds left in the period to get the Knights back in it, and they controlled play early in the second before left wing Jakub Vrana pushed the lead back to two at 2:49 of the second.
“I thought we controlled play a lot more,” Howden said. “It’s just unfortunate we kind of got behind the 8-ball.”
2. Ovechkin’s save
The Knights answered at 7:24 of the second on Kolesar’s goal to cut it to 3-2.
Two minutes later, Ovechkin’s stick was used to prevent a goal. Left wing Ivan Barbashev had a wide-open net off a pass from center Jack Eichel, but Ovechkin broke up the play before the tap in.
Ovechkin restored the two-goal lead with 2:22 left in the period with his second goal.
Barbashev’s should-be goal could’ve swung the pendulum in the Knights’ favor. Instead, they spent the final half of the game running up the hill.
3. Giveaways galore
But for all the potential good that came on offense, the Knights were too casual with the puck.
The Knights committed 28 giveaways, and two of them led directly to Washington goals.
That’s where the Knights’ structure can falter. Coach Bruce Cassidy said it was due to lack of execution, especially in the first period, that they could never recover from.
“If we got to our game, we had a real good chance there,” Cassidy said.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.