Andy Clayton-King / AP
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) is congratulated by center Jack Eichel (9) and defenseman Zach Whitecloud (2) after the team’s win over the Minnesota Wild Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in St. Paul, Minn.
Published Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023 | 7:44 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023 | 8:27 p.m.
Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson suffered a noncontact injury early in the third period and had to be helped off the ice in Vegas' 5-1 win over the Minnesota Wild in Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.
Thompson tried to make a save by pushing off his left leg, but went down awkwardly and was unable to put any weight on that leg. He had to be escorted off the ice by teammates and medical staff.
The injury occurred 59 seconds into the third. Thompson finished with 23 saves before being relieved by Adin Hill for the rest of the game.
Coach Bruce Cassidy said there was no update postgame, but Thompson was "moving around" in the locker room. Thompson will have an MRI Friday morning.
"We'll get an MRI and have a much better idea, and hopefully we'll have good news," Cassidy said. "Hopefully this is a quick one, but we won't know until tomorrow."
Losing Thompson put a major damper on what was a dominant effort for the Golden Knights (31-18-4), who have won their first two games coming out of the all-star break.
Jack Eichel scored to end a nine-game drought, and Reilly Smith scored on a penalty shot to end a 13-game drought to cap off a four-goal second period.
"I think it's important. Eventually, you've got to get out of it," Cassidy said. "I thought in Jack's case in Nashville he had some good looks, so you know he's getting closer. So good for him."
Paul Cotter scored his ninth goal of the season, which was also assisted by Eichel, for his first multipoint game since Jan. 5.
"I thought we broke the puck out really well," Eichel said. "It starts there. Our D did a great job going back, communicating with the goalie and getting us out of the zone. It was just a good all-around effort by our group."
The Golden Knights scored five goals for the second consecutive game, 48 hours after scoring five in a 5-1 win Tuesday in Nashville.
It's the first win for the Golden Knights against their former goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The former face of the franchise, Fleury allowed five goals on 23 shots in his second-ever meeting against the team that selected him in the 2017 expansion draft.
But while Vegas has to feel good about two wins off the break, the immediate attention turns to the status of their All-Star goalie.
Thompson was in the midst of his best stretch of goaltending before the break. Despite losing his last two starts in overtime against New Jersey and the New York Islanders, Thompson's play kept his team in those games. Thursday was no different, with a power-play goal from Minnesota forward Kirill Kaprizov in the second period the only time Minnesota got the puck past Thompson.
The Golden Knights aren't expected to practice Friday with the conclusion of their Fathers Trip and don't play again until Sunday, so an update on Thompson's condition may not come immediately.
After losing Mark Stone indefinitely to back surgery, losing their No. 1 goalie would present another big dilemma for the Golden Knights.
"He’s been the backbone of our group all year," Eichel said. "He’s done a lot of heavy lifting and made a lot of big saves. It’s really hard to see him go down. Hopefully, he’s OK and it’s nothing serious."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
