Logan Thompson made 23 saves for his first career shutout. Shea Theodore scored a pivotal second-period goal right after leaving the penalty box, helping the Vegas Golden Knights secure a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night.
Michael Amadio also scored for Vegas, which remains in the hunt for one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference. Jonathan Marchessault added an empty-net goal with 26 seconds remaining, marking his team-high 26th goal of the season.
“They came out with a little more fire, and Logan made some big saves in the first period, which allowed us to recognize that this was going to be a tough one,” said Vegas coach Pete DeBoer. “It starts with getting some veteran defensemen back, like (Brayden) McNabb and (Alec) Martinez, and all of a sudden, it’s harder to get to our net. Logan has come in and has improved every night out, and I thought the guys around him played great.”
Seattle’s Chris Driedger made 27 saves in a strong effort.
Theodore’s goal, his ninth of the season, came just after he finished serving a two-minute penalty for high sticking early in the second period. As Theodore moved across the ice, Seattle’s Victor Rask turned the puck over to Vegas’ Jonas Rondbjerg, who passed it to Theodore. The defenseman went one-on-one against Driedger and lifted the puck over the goalie’s glove at 7:38, giving Vegas a 1-0 lead.
During a goalmouth scramble, Amadio doubled the lead to 2-0 at 7:03 of the third period. As he fell to the ice, Amadio reached out with his stick and sent the puck toward the net, which deflected off the skate of Seattle defender Adam Larsson and into the goal.
The Kraken appeared to score with 2:21 remaining when Jordan Eberle found the net on a rebound, but the goal was overturned after a successful offside challenge by Vegas.
The shutout was the third of the season for the Golden Knights.
“It’s getting better every day. I feel really confident in the net, and I want to keep building on it,” said Thompson, who has stepped in for the injured Robin Lehner. “The guys did a really good job today (in front of me), which made it easy. It’s really exciting. We’re in must-win games, and I’m really thankful for the opportunity. I’m just soaking it all in.”
Seattle was shut out for the fourth time this season, including three times at home.
“We didn’t generate very much, especially in the second half of the game,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “The second period was the difference in this hockey game. Against a good team, we didn’t take care of the puck, and turnovers led to transition offense for them. It also led to a lot of O-zone time for some of their good players. They got inside of us in the second period, beat us back to the net, and got scoring opportunities off of that.”
Game Notes
- Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb returned to action after missing 13 games with an upper body injury. His last game was March 3 against Boston.
- Chris Driedger made his second straight start in goal for Seattle, just the third time this season he has started consecutive games. He had a shutout streak of 82 minutes and 14 seconds, which ended on Theodore’s goal.
- Theodore’s goal was his 39th point of the season, making him the leading scorer among Vegas defensemen.
- Golden Knights right winger Evgenii Dadonov played in his 400th NHL game.
UP NEXT
- The Golden Knights and Kraken will face off again in Seattle on Friday night.
