.png)
The Vegas Golden Knights found themselves victorious in Thursday night’s home opener of the 2022-23 season as they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0.
The 1-0 win marks the first time that Vegas shut out a team in T-Mobile Arena since April 11, 2021 when it defeated the Arizona Coyotes 1-0.
Vegas is now 2-0 with the win and have 4 points in the Pacific Division Standings. The Golden Knights hold a slim one-point lead over the Seattle Kraken.
The 2-0 Knights will hit the road to play the 1-0-1 Seattle Kraken in a battle for first place in the Pacific Division Saturday, Oct. 15. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. PST and can be seen on AT&T Sportsnet in Las Vegas and on ESPN+ nationwide.
VGK head coach Bruce Cassidy wasn’t pleased with how the team played in the first period but noted that the second period was a different story.
“We played the way we wanted to, we were able to take a lead,” Cassidy said. “Couldn’t extend it, unfortunately. If you want to be a really good team, you extend leads when you get the opportunity.”
The lone goal of the night came off the stick of center Paul Cotter who had spent the majority of his time last season with the AHL affiliate of the Golden Knights, the Henderson Silver Knights.
“It’s nice when production happens,” Cotter said. “It’s rewarding, especially now that the first [goal] is out of the way.”
Goalie Logan Thompson was as perfect as you can get for an NHL goaltender stopping all 27 shots he faced Thursday for a perfect 1.000 save percentage.
“It was a lot of fun,” Thompson said. “Getting in it early and seeing some shots early on helps with the confidence [level].”
On the other end of the rink, Chicago’s Alex Stalock made 36 saves on 37 shots faced for a final save percentage of .973.
While the Knights have played pretty well through the first two games of the season, one area of concern that may not come as too much of a surprise to fans is the power play.
Vegas is 1-for-8 on the power play to open up the 2022-23 campaign and ranked bottom third of the league last year in converting power play opportunities.
On Thursday night, neither team was able to convert on their respective power play chances. Chicago went 0-for-2 while Vegas went 0-for-3.
Vegas finished the game winning the shots on goal department 37-27. Chicago did however have 41 hits to VGK’s 20 and also won 51 percent of the faceoffs.