Logan Thompson leads Golden Knights to victory with shut out
By Jim Lynch
The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night to improve to 7-2-0 on the season, one big reason for that win has to be goaltender Logan Thompson who pitched a shut out on the day.
The Vegas Golden Knights were supposed to be in a bad spot entering the year without goaltender Robin Lehner, who will miss the season with a hip injury. Goaltending was supposed to be the main issue for the team without Lehner, but they have been doing just fine so far.
Goaltender Logan Thompson saved all 29 shots he faced against the Anaheim Ducks, a team with offensive stars like Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras, who combined for five shots during the game. The Golden Knights have been playing very good hockey to start the year, and that has to do with how they approach play in their own end.
In nine games this season, Alec Martinez has nine 39 blocked shots, Brayden McNabb has 24, Zach Whitecloud has 20, and Alex Pietrangelo has blocked 18. This team has been doing everything they can to get in front of shots, and it is not just the defensemen.
Jack Eichel blocked two shots during the Golden Knights’ game against the Ducks, and William Karlsson leads the forwards in blocked shots with eight.
Logan Thompson leads Golden Knights to victory with shut out
This is Thompson’s second shut out on the season. His first came against the Chicago Blackhawks when he stopped all 27 shots at home on Oct. 13. This team was not supposed to get that good of goaltending yet here we are with Logan Thompson having a save percentage of .943 and Adin Hill having a save percentage of .935. Both goaltenders are playing great for the team, and while that might be due to how the rest of the lineup is playing in front of them, at least these goalies are making the saves when they need to.
The Golden Knights do not need the best goaltending in the world. So far this season, they have scored 30 goals, that is 3.33 goals on average per game. They don’t need their goalies to win them games, they just need them not to lose the team games either. Though nine games, the Golden Knights have looked like the real deal leading the entire Western Conference. As the season goes on, it will be interesting to see if they continue to improve or if their goaltending will come down to earth a little.