The Golden Knights started their two-game road trip against one of the Western Conference’s best teams. They will end it with one of the worst.
The Knights wrap up their quick sojourn against the Chicago Blackhawks at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The Blackhawks have the second-fewest points in the NHL (18) and are 1-11-1 in their past 13 games.
The Knights won their only meeting, 1-0 at T-Mobile Arena on Oct. 13 in their home opener. Rookie left wing Paul Cotter scored, and goaltender Logan Thompson made 27 saves for one of his three career shutouts.
The Blackhawks should provide a contrast for the Knights, who are coming off a 6-5 win in Winnipeg on Tuesday. The short-handed team — which is without center Jack Eichel and defensemen Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore and Zach Whitecloud — lit up the NHL’s fifth-best defensive team and 2020 Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck.
Chicago is much less imposing. The Blackhawks rank 30th in goals per game (2.41) and 27th in goals against (3.67). They are expected to start goaltender Arvid Soderblom, who is 2-8-2 with a 3.18 goals-against average and .906 save percentage this season.
The Knights, who lead the NHL in road wins (13), are expected to keep the same lineup from Tuesday except for the goaltender. Thompson will get his fourth career start against the Blackhawks after Adin Hill played against Winnipeg. Thompson is 2-0-1 with seven goals allowed and a .931 save percentage vs. Chicago.
Knights at Blackhawks (5:30 p.m.)
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KKGK (98.9 FM, 1340 AM)
Line: Knights -200; total 6
Knights record: 21-9-1
Blackhawks record: 7-16-4
Head-to-head: Knights 1-0-0
Knights’ projected lineup:
Paul Cotter — Chandler Stephenson — Mark Stone
Reilly Smith — William Karlsson — Jonathan Marchessault
Michael Amadio — Jake Leschyshyn — Phil Kessel
William Carrier — Nicolas Roy — Keegan Kolesar
Alec Martinez — Nic Hague
Brayden McNabb — Daniil Miromanov
Ben Hutton — Braden Pachal
Logan Thompson
Contact Ben Gotz at [email protected]. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
