Vegas goalie Logan Thompson a standout in his hometown as Knights down Flames 6-1
CALGARY — In his first profession begin in his hometown, goaltender Logan Thompson helped the Vegas Golden Knights get a win they actually wanted over the host Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Thompson, a 25-year-old from Calgary, made 35 saves in a 6-1 victory that saved the Golden Knights within the playoff hunt with seven regular-season video games remaining of their season.
“It is one thing I’ll bear in mind for the remainder of my life,” Thompson mentioned. “Actually excited and could not be happier.
“I had my brother and my sister right here and a pair mates from rising up. Completely satisfied they might make it tonight.”
The Golden Knights (41-29-5) have been two factors again of the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators holding down the Western Convention’s wild-card berths with 89 factors apiece.
The Stars eked some extent out of a 3-2 extra time loss to the Minnesota Wild, whereas the Preds have been blanked 4-0 by the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson every had a objective and two assists for Vegas. Jack Eichel, Evgeni Dadonov, Michal Amadio and Nicolas Roy have been the Knights’ different objective scorers and Mattias Janmark had two assists.
The Flames (45-20-9) on the high of the Pacific Division wanted a single level to clinch an NHL playoff spot and be the second membership within the West to take action following the Colorado Avalanche on April 6.
However the Golden Knights rattled off six unanswered objectives, together with 4 within the second interval on the Saddledome.
“We’re clearly a extra determined workforce than they’re so far as the standings go,” Knights head coach Peter DeBoer mentioned.
Flames starter Jacob Markstrom was pulled at 9:04 of the second interval for Dan Vladar after permitting 4 objectives on 17 pictures. Vladar turned away six of eight pictures in reduction.
It was the second straight abbreviated sport for Markstrom, who was changed by Vladar after giving up three objectives within the first two durations of Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the Seattle Kraken.
“I do not like doing that,” mentioned Flames head coach Darryl Sutter. “I am not a man who pulls goalies. I believe tonight was totally different. The opposite night time was attempting to get some momentum out of our workforce as a result of it was after the second interval.
“Tonight, I believed the gamers actually let him down. I did not need to depart him in there.”
Dillon Dube scored Calgary’s lone objective in entrance of an introduced 17,070 on the Saddledome.
Thompson’s eleventh profession begin was additionally simply his thirteenth look in an NHL sport. He went 6-3 over a stretch in late March when each Robin Lehner and Laurent Brossoit have been injured.
“I believe he received 4 in a row previous to Lenny coming again after which we ran with Lenny to attempt to get him again in control as a result of he is missed a while,” DeBoer mentioned. “L.T. got here in and did an incredible job in a tricky constructing.
“We’ve not had a whole lot of success on this constructing and he was actual stable for us.”
The Flames have been in search of a sixth straight win Thursday. Dube’s power-play objective halfway by the primary interval gave the hosts an early lead, however they did not rating once more.
A pair of Flames’ turnovers 40 seconds aside led to a 4-1 Vegas lead by the midpoint of the second interval, and the swap of Markstrom for Vladar.
“They seem to be a very, very determined workforce combating for his or her lives,” Flames ahead Matthew Tkachuk mentioned. “The season they’ve had, we all know they seem to be a means higher workforce than what the standings present.
“If you wish to go far this yr, it is going to must undergo them. It is unlucky we dropped the ball in opposition to them tonight, however hopefully we get one other crack at them.”
Knights defenceman Brayden McNabb blew a skate blade blocking a shot and could not get on his toes within the first interval.
After he dove to dam one other shot, teammate Chandler Stephenson grabbed McNabb’s stick and towed him to inside vary of the bench for McNabb to scramble by the gate.
Keegan Kolesar‘s unlawful hit to the top of Flames defenceman Chris Tanev garnered a minor, however a coincidental Blake Coleman hooking penalty adopted by a Rasmus Andersson holding penalty gave the Knights a four-on-three they did not money right into a late first-period objective.
Calgary’s Milan Lucic took a holding minor early within the second interval attempting to take Kolesar on. Dadonov scored the go-ahead objective a second after that penalty expired.
“We clearly did not actually just like the hit and liked what Looch did attempting to go after him,” Tkachuk mentioned. “(Kolesar) wished no a part of that and wished no a part of type of something after that.”
The Flames are at residence to the Arizona Coyotes and the Knights face the Oilers in Edmonton on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed April 15, 2022.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
