Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson (71) and right wing Reilly Smith (19) react after a goal by Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund (not pictured) during the third period of an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena Thursday, March 16, 2023.
Friday, March 24, 2023 | 11:50 a.m.
Injuries are hitting the Golden Knights again down the stretch.
Forward Reilly Smith (lower body) and goalie Logan Thompson (undisclosed) will not be available for Vegas in Saturday's game in Edmonton (7 p.m., ATTSN-RM), coach Bruce Cassidy said Friday.
In addition, defenseman Alec Martinez (personal) will not play. Ben Hutton will take Martinez's spot in the lineup for his first appearance since Jan. 28.
The injuries occurred in the third period of Vegas' 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday. Smith played just one shift in the third period before exiting for good, following a hit from Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov.
Thompson, who made his first start since Feb. 9 after returning from a lower-body injury, left with 6:07 remaining in the game after making what appeared to be a routine save. Thompson stayed on the ice for an extended time before skating down the tunnel.
“Hopefully they’re all short-term," Cassidy said. "Hopefully I’ll have better news for you on Monday.”
Either Paul Cotter or Keegan Kolesar will go in Smith's place. Cotter was a healthy scratch Thursday to allow Nicolas Roy to return to the lineup. Roy missed the past month due to a lower-body injury.
Nevertheless, it'll be difficult to replicate what Smith has brought to the offense over the last month.
Smith had a franchise-record nine-game point streak end Thursday, and he had 12 points through 12 games during March. His 24 goals this season are three shy of tying his career-high.
Thompson's absence isn't as difficult to replace, but it is a frustrating loss for Vegas.
The 26-year-old All-Star goalie was in the midst of a Calder Trophy-caliber season before going down on Feb. 9 in Minnesota. With his 37-save effort in his hometown Thursday, Thompson is 21-13-3 this season, with a .915 save percentage while allowing 2.65 goals per game.
But the Golden Knights went 13-3-2 without Thompson behind good goaltending from Adin Hill and Laurent Brossoit. After Hill and Brossoit were lost to injury, Jonathan Quick (5-1-0) and prospect Jiri Patera (2-0-0) stepped in over the past couple of weeks.
Cassidy said Brossoit practiced Friday and could be available against the Oilers. He's on injured reserve.
The Golden Knights have started a franchise record five different goalies this season.
"It's just one of those years it seems that you have to end up with two healthy ones at some point," Cassidy said. "Right now, we have that. It looks like LB is close, so that's the good news."
The Golden Knights enter Friday with a four-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings for first place in the Pacific Division, and six points clear of the Oilers for third place. Edmonton, four points ahead of Seattle for the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, will carry a five-game winning streak into Saturday.
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
