3 takeaways from Knights’ win: Goalie leaves injured against Wild

It took one simple play for a dream game for the Golden Knights to turn into a potential nightmare.

The Knights were rolling on the road against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, scoring five goals before the second period was out. The team’s offensive woes before the All-Star break appeared in the past.

Then rookie goaltender Logan Thompson got hurt moving in his crease 1:19 into the third. The All-Star had to be helped off the ice and to the locker room.

The Knights still won 5-1 at Xcel Energy Center to sweep their annual fathers’ trip. The players’ guests were in the locker room to celebrate afterward. But the status of the team’s No. 1 goaltender hung over the proceedings.

Coach Bruce Cassidy said Thompson will have an MRI on Friday.

“He’s moving around,” Cassidy said. “Hopefully, we get good news.”

The first two periods were filled with smiles from the Knights (31-18-4) and their suite of guests.

They scored five goals for the second straight game, after scoring five total in a four-game road trip before the All-Star break. Left wing Reilly Smith snapped a 13-game goal drought with a penalty shot against old teammate Marc-Andre Fleury with 7:07 left in the second period. Center Jack Eichel ended his own nine-game drought 20 seconds later.

Eichel’s tally made the score 5-1, putting the Knights well in control. They were only a simple 20 minutes from returning home happy with a three-point lead in the Pacific Division.

Then Thompson hit the ice while trying to move to his left. He reached for his left leg before a trainer attended to him, and he was relieved by Adin Hill.

Thompson, despite being in his first full NHL season, has earned plenty of admiration and respect in the Knights’ locker room while going 20-13-3 with a .914 save percentage. He and Hill have played every game for the team this season.

“He’s been the backbone of our group all year,” Eichel said. “He’s done a lot of heavy lifting. He’s made some great saves. He made some great saves tonight in big moments in the game. It’s really hard to see him go down. Hopefully, he’s OK and it’s nothing too serious.”

Thompson’s injury provided a sour end to an otherwise impressive two games for the Knights, who improved to 7-0-1 on fathers’ trips. They were so dominant that the Wild (27-20-4) were booed off the ice.

“We played really good in the last two games,” center Nicolas Roy said. “That’s obviously because of (the dads). It’s nice to have them on the road cheering for us and celebrating with us.”

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Depth keeps contributing

The Knights’ other three goals came from Roy, left wing Paul Cotter and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.

Roy’s goal was his 10th, making him the ninth player on the team to hit double digits. That moved the Knights into a tie with Boston for the most 10-goal scorers in the NHL.

Cotter isn’t far behind. The rookie’s goal was his ninth.

2. Fleury’s night

Fleury’s game wasn’t as tough as Thompson’s, but it wasn’t good.

The 2021 Vezina Trophy winner with the Knights was pulled after two periods. He gave up five goals on 23 shots, and endured a Bronx cheer from the home fans after one save in the second.

Fleury, who was playing in his 972nd game, tied for fourth-most all-time among goalies, fell to 1-1 against the Knights. He beat his old team with 30 saves at T-Mobile Arena when he was with the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 8, 2022.

3. Tough building

The win was only the Knights’ third in Xcel Energy Center in 10 tries.

Their 2-7 record in the rink entering Thursday was their third-worst in any active NHL building, behind only Arizona’s Mullett Arena (0-1) and Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena (1-4).

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.