The Vegas Golden Knights re-routed themselves back to their winning ways as they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2, in a shootout Monday, Nov. 28.
“I think it’s just about getting a win,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Now we can start building a streak the other way. There’s a lot of things I think we can fix in that game where we could’ve helped ourselves, but at the end of the day, it’s very hard to win in this league. It doesn’t matter who you play or where you play. You have to enjoy wins and go back to work the next day.”
This win improves the VGK record to 17-6-1 in the Pacific Division. Vegas currently has 35 points, giving them a six-point lead over Seattle in the division. New Jersey leads the league with 38 points, Boston has the second most at 36, and Vegas holds the third most points in the league at 35.
This game marked the first of a four-game road trip for the team that features stops in Columbus, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Boston.
Up next for Vegas, it will be a matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday as this four-game, east coast swing continues for the Golden Knights. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m. and can be seen on AT&T SportsNet in Las Vegas along with ESPN+ nationwide.
Vegas started strong by jumping out to a two-goal lead in the first period on goals from “The Williams” in William Karlsson and William Carrier.
“Two points are two points in the standings,” Carrier said. “This sets us up for a good road trip.”
Columbus found their sea legs in the second and third periods when they scored a goal in each period to tie the game at two and send it into overtime and eventually a shootout.
In the shootout, Vegas got top-tier goaltending from a former top prospect of the Henderson Silver Knights in Logan Thompson. Thompson finished his night with 26 saves on 28 shots faced. He then followed that up by saving six of the seven shots he faced in the shootout. Thompson’s final save percentage for the game was .929.
“I like shootouts,” Thompson said. “I was just staying dialed in and was determined to not let another goal in.”
In that shootout, it was center Paul Cotter who saved the day for the Golden Knights. Cotter scored in the seventh round of the shootout after getting Blue Jacket rookie goaltender Danil Tarasov off balance to open the net for the game-winning goal.
“Paul can finish some plays,” Cassidy said. “We saw a similar move in Buffalo where he scored on a breakaway in regulation. I thought he was competing harder today all around.”
Right before the Cotter goal, Thompson flashed to the bench, 4-3, after he made a save on right-wing Trey Fix-Wolansky. Forty-three happens to be Cotter’s number.
Thompson is also the person who gave advice to captain Mark Stone before a penalty shot against Edmonton. That penalty shot from Stone found the back of the net moments later.
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