3 takeaways from Knights’ OT win: Thompson sharp, stars avoid injury
The Golden Knights weren’t sure if Logan Thompson was going to be healthy enough to start Thursday after he didn’t travel with the team for Wednesday’s loss at Colorado due to illness.
Maybe the rest did him some good.
Thompson was as sharp as he has been in weeks, making some of his 32 saves in spectacular fashion and keeping the Knights in the game long enough to capture a 2-1 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins at T-Mobile Arena.
“Logan did a terrific job all night,” coach Bruce Cassidy said.
Once it got to overtime, the team’s stars made sure the Knights (24-13-5) would get the extra point.
Jack Eichel gathered the puck behind his own net and allowed the play to develop in front of him before feeding it to Mark Stone, who weaved his way down the ice and created a two-on-one chance for himself and Alex Pietrangelo.
Stone made Hampus Lindholm commit and got Jeremy Swayman off balance before feeding Pietragelo for an easy tap-in goal 46 seconds into the extra session.
“I liked the way we won,” Cassidy said. “This was a playoff-type game, and we didn’t buckle.”
Boston (24-8-9) tied the game at 1-1 with 7:42 remaining in regulation when Matt Grzelcyk’s shot from the blue line found its way through traffic and appeared to take a deflection before skipping by Thompson.
The Knights had taken the lead minutes earlier when Eichel tipped Jonathan Marchessault’s shot between Swayman’s pads for a power-play goal at 7:01 of the third period.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Sigh of relief
Star forwards Eichel and Stone left the game in the second period, but they were on the ice and recorded assists on the game-winning goal in overtime.
Eichel was able to return for two brief shifts late in the second period, though he still appeared to be in a great deal of discomfort with a lower-body injury.
He was getting around the ice better in the third, when he tallied the first goal of the game on the power play.
Stone left after he appeared to take a puck to the hand area. He missed the final 10:35 of the second period, but was out there to start the third.
“I think part of what goes through everyone’s mind is, ‘What’s next?’ ” Cassidy said. “But those guys came back. It’s been a funky year with injuries. We have an off day (Friday). I’m assuming they will be good to go on Saturday, but we’ll see.”
2. Recalled
The Knights recalled defenseman Kaedan Korczak and forward Jonas Rondbjerg from their American Hockey League affiliate in Henderson before the game.
Both were in the lineup Thursday.
Korczak was paired with Brayden McNabb, who was playing in his 700th career game.
The 22-year-old Korczak was placed in Henderson on Wednesday when he returned from the injured list, but wasn’t there long.
He had a shot and three hits in 17:00 of ice time Thursday.
Rondbjerg played on the fourth line with Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar, finishing with a shot and a takeaway in his 12:46 of ice time.
Lukas Cormier and Grigori Denisenko were sent down to Henderson in corresponding moves.
Michael Amadio was also back in the lineup on the third line after missing the trip to Denver due to illness.
3. Saville dresses again
There was a great deal of mystery about the goaltending situation entering Thursday’s game. Fortunately for the Knights, Thompson had recovered enough from the illness that kept him off the flight to Denver to make the start Thursday.
It wasn’t all good news behind him, though.
Jiri Patera, who played well in a late-notice start against Colorado, did not dress as the backup.
Cassidy said Patera was just sore from a tough game, so he didn’t dress Thursday.
Adin Hill, who was announced as the starter in what was supposed to be his return from injury Wednesday only to be scratched shortly before puck drop, didn’t dress either.
“He got on the ice (Wednesday) and did not feel 100 percent,” Cassidy said. “It’s a quick decision. The medical team examined him again. He’s not ready to play, he’s not playing. He won’t play until he says to us that he’s better and he feels he can get through the rigors of a game. That was that.”
That left Isaiah Saville as the only other healthy option for Cassidy. Saville was in uniform on the bench and would have been the choice had Thompson needed to come out of the contest.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
