Logan Thompson posts shutout, Golden Knights top Kraken

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Shea Theodore scored in the second period just moments after stepping out of the penalty box and goalie Logan Thompson made 23 saves for his first career shutout, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-0 win over the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night.

Michael Amadio also scored for Vegas, which is trying to stay in the chase for one of the last Western Conference playoff spots. Jonathan Marchessault added an empty-net goal with 26 seconds left, 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, and that allowed us to recognize that this was going to be a hard one," Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said "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. Then Logan has come in and has done better every night out, and I thought the guys around him played great."

Seattle’s Chris Driedger had 27 stops.

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson eyes the puck after he deflected a shot by Seattle Kraken right wing Kole Lind (73) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Theodore had just come out of the box after serving two minutes for high sticking early in the second. As he was moving across the ice, Seattle’s Victor Rask turned the puck over to Vegas’ Jonas Rondbjerg, who got it ahead to Theodore, who went in one-on-one against Driedger and lifted the puck over the goalie’s glove into the right side of the net at the 7:38 mark.

Theodore’s goal was his ninth of the season.

Amodio doubled the lead to 2-0 at 7:03 of the third. On a goalmouth scramble, he reached out with his stick for a rebound as he was falling to the ice. Amodio sent the puck toward the net, and it deflected in off the skate of Kraken defender Adam Larsson.

The Kraken thought they were on the board with 2:21 left in the game when Jordan Eberle put the puck in off a rebound. But Vegas challenged, and after a video review the play was ruled offside.

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 it’s something I want to keep building off of," said Thompson, who has stepped in for the injured Robin Lehner. "The guys did a really good job today (in front of me), and that 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 blanked for the fourth time, including three times on home ice.

"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. The second period 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, the beat us back to the net and got scoring opportunities off of that."

NOTES: Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb was back in action, getting the start after missing the last 13 games because of 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 stretch of 82 minutes, 14 seconds end on Theodore’s goal. … … Theodore’s goal was his 39th point of the season, giving him the lead among the Vegas defensemen. … Golden Knights right winger Evgenii Dadonov played in his 400th NHL game.

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The Golden Knights and Kraken play the second of a two-game set in Seattle on Friday night.