Earlier this November, in a game against the Edmonton Oilers, Mark Stone was awarded a penalty shot on Stuart Skinner. Vegas Golden Knights’ goalie Logan Thompson knew Skinner from playing against each other in junior hockey and gave Stone advice. Thompson told Stone to go between Skinner’s pads, and he listened and scored. Stone thanked Thompson by pointing at him, and now, Thompson has yet again shown he’s got some real coaching abilities.
The shootout between the Vegas Golden Knights and Columbus Blue Jackets was in the seventh round when Logan Thompson saved Trey Fix-Wolanski’s attempt.
The Golden Knights had a huge opportunity to decide the game, and as soon as Thompson had made the save, he took off his blocker, turned towards the Golden Knight’s bench, and put up four, then three fingers.
As it turned out, he was signaling to the bench that he wanted Nr. 43, Paul Cotter, as the team’s next shooter.
Paul Cotter’s only played in 14 NHL games and has two goals and two assists.
Still, coach Bruce Cassidy listened to his goalie and sent Cotter out on the ice. And he didn’t disappoint.
Cotter beat Blue Jackets goalie Daniil Tarasov to give the Golden Knight’s a 3-2 win.
And, of course, they’ve got to thank Logan Thompson for it. Not only did he make the decisive shootout save, but he also demanded that Cotter shoot what would be the decisive shootout.
So how did Thompson know how great Cotter is in shootouts? The two have played together for the last three seasons, both in the AHL och NHL. After practicing together for so long, he knew what he was doing when he started pointing towards the bench.
“We’ve been with each other for a while. Obviously, he knows I’m pretty good, and he’s pretty good himself. It’s good having a lot of support; it helps a lot,” said Cotter, per Vegas Hockey Now.
Cotter has been in and out of the Vegas lineup this autumn, but now he’s proven to be a shootout specialist; more chances are sure to come.
“It’s something I take pride in, it might be a little bit silly, but it’s a big part of the game once it comes down to it,” said Cotter.