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Adin Hill was a rock for the Vegas Golden Knights throughout the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading the club to its inaugural championship just a year ago. But the 27-year-old will be watching from the bench for Game 1 of the team’s Western Conference first-round series against the Dallas Stars on Monday night.
Logan Thompson, who has been lights out for the Knights down the stretch, will start his first-ever postseason contest in the opener at American Airlines Center in Texas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Danny Webster.
The sophomore was excellent for most of last year, even being named an All-Star as a rookie. But after a couple of lower-body injuries, he played just two games down the stretch and never saw the crease in the 2023 playoffs.
That’s going to change immediately in 2024, as the Knights meet another powerhouse team with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations. It’s a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Final, which Vegas led 3-0 and ended up winning in six games.
They would go on to beat the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 — in front of a hysterical crowd at T-Mobile Arena — to capture their first championship in just Year 6 of existence.
And in Year 7, it looks like it’s Thompson’s net as the defending champions look to be the first team to go back-to-back since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
“Last year, for me personally, sucked,” Thompson admitted ahead of Game 1, per Webster. “For the team, obviously, you couldn’t be happier.”
Thompson was great for his squad down the stretch this time around, and deserves to be between the pipes for the postseason. He’s 8-3 since the beginning of March and allowed one goal or less in seven of those. Over 46 appearances in 2023-24, he finished with a .908 save percentage and 2.70 goals-against average. Those are good numbers.
But going away from Hill, who was 11-4 last postseason, is certainly an interesting choice.
Knights have two excellent goaltending options in quest for back-to-back titles
Still, Hill didn’t begin the postseason as Vegas’ starter in 2023; it was Laurent Brossoit, now the Jets’ backup, who began the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thus, there’s a great chance Hill will get some action — probably as soon as a bit later in Round 1.
But Thompson has the full confidence of his head coach right now.
“He’s engaged mentally in the game. You see it in his puck play,” Bruce Cassidy explained, per Webster.
“It’s probably because Logan wants to play some playoff hockey. He saw what [Hill] and Brossoit did last year and he’d like to be that guy, too. I think that’s as simple as that. I think he’s under control maybe more than the start of the year. I think the team is playing better in front of him so he’s not forced to have extended periods of time in his own end.”
The Stars and Golden Knights are two of the best teams in the NHL, and really have no business meeting in the opening round. But the series should be electric, and Logan Thompson has earned the opportunity the way he’s performed down the stretch.
Of course, Mark Stone, Anthony Mantha and Alex Pietrangelo — who have all been out, and in true Vegas Golden Knights fashion — will be ready to roll as the title defense begins on Monday.
More must-reads:
- Maple Leafs force Game 7 with 2-1 win over Bruins
- Bruins HC calls out All-Star for lack of playoff production
- The 'AP First-Team All-Pro tight ends' quiz
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