The Vegas Golden Knights lost in a shootout against a very inferior opponent in the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
One promising takeaway from the loss, though, was the play of goaltender Laurent Brossoit, who was sharp in what had been his first NHL game since March of 2022.
"He was very good," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy told the media after the game. "Gave us a chance to win. The goals that beat him are good shots, made some good saves when we broke down in front of him, especially early on ... got tested there. Guys are getting behind us. We didn't play a very respectful game at all, so he was there for us when we broke down in just basic system coverages. So I liked his game."
Brossoit started in net to replace Adin Hill, who, himself, has been a replacement for All-Star goalie Logan Thompson.
"We needed it, obviously," Cassidy said. "We just weren't good enough in front of him for the full 60 minutes. We had times we were, but we'll see how Adin is when we get back. But it was encouraging for him. I mean, he's played in the league, too, though. I mean, he's been getting some work in in Henderson. So obviously didn't know what was going to happen, but I'm not surprised. He's had good games in this league."
Brossoit approached Tuesday's contest with a leveled mindset, his only intention being to play how he knows how.
"I try not to have too many expectations," Brossoit said. "Just wanted to keep it simple, play my game and for the most part, felt pretty good aside from a few jitters in the first period."
The veteran goalie saw a lot of action in his first game back with the club in almost a year. He ultimately finished with 37 saves on the night.
"I mean, it's a lot of touches," Brossoit said. "39 shots, it's nice to see the puck that many times in the first game back and yeah, it did make things a little easier."
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