Paul Cotter scored the lone goal, and Logan Thompson made 27 saves as the Vegas Golden Knights edged out the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0 on Thursday night.
This win marked the fourth time in the Golden Knights’ six-year history that they’ve started a season 2-0-0. Meanwhile, Chicago (0-2-0) has begun its season with two losses for the fourth consecutive year.
In just his 22nd NHL appearance, Thompson secured his second career shutout. It was his third game against the Blackhawks, improving his record to 2-0-1 against them.
“It was good, it was a lot of fun,” Thompson said. “You know, good to see Paul get the game-winner, and overall, I’m just happy with the two points.”
Alex Stalock was impressive in his goal for Chicago, making 36 saves at the start of his first season.
Both goalies excelled on the penalty kill, making six saves in power-play situations. Chicago scored 0 for 2 with the man advantage, while Vegas scored 0 for 3.
“Both goalies were the show’s stars tonight,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said.
Despite playing the second of back-to-back games after opening their season in Denver on Wednesday, the Blackhawks came out strong. Their aggressive forechecking disrupted Vegas’ attempts to transition, leading to a fairly even first period where Chicago outshot Vegas 10-9.
Vegas, coming off a season-opening win in Los Angeles, relied on timely saves from Thompson during a late first-period penalty kill to keep the game scoreless.
“It was good to get it in early,” Thompson said of Chicago’s early surge. “Seeing a couple of shots early on helps the confidence and helps you feel the game. They had some weird bounces that led to scoring chances for them, but luckily, they could keep the puck out tonight.”
Vegas took the lead when Cotter, fresh out of the penalty box, broke into the zone on a 2-on-1 and chose to wrist a shot past Stalock on the short side at 8:44 of the second period.
This was the fourth 2-on-1 opportunity for Vegas in the period, with Cotter finally converting for his first goal of the season. He had scored two goals in seven games last season.
“It’s rewarding, great, a good feeling, especially the first one’s out of the way,” Cotter said.
Vegas outshot Chicago 18-8 in the second period and had a 10-9 advantage in the third.
“The compete level was really high tonight from everybody, the goaltender out, and we’re pretty happy with many things we saw on the ice. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t cross that line,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “Thought their goalie played well really early, and at the end, we had a couple of chances. I think in the middle part of the game, we didn’t get a lot to the net, but we still competed and played much better, so it was a step forward for us.”
Game Notes
Both coaches — Cassidy and Richardson — are in their first season with their respective teams. Vegas veteran Phil Kessel continued his journey toward the league’s Iron Man mark, appearing in 984 consecutive games, the longest active streak, and just five games away from tying Keith Yandle’s career record of 989. Vegas D Zach Whitecloud earned his first assist of the season on Cotter’s goal.
UP NEXT
- Blackhawks: At San Jose on Saturday.
- Golden Knights: At Seattle on Saturday.