Golden Knights Postgame: Kessels Score at Same Time, Dave Goucher Pulls Through

I can barely hold a conversation with another person for over a minute, let alone 20. But Vegas Golden Knights broadcaster Dave Goucher managed to Ironman a full period Thursday night in the team's 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. 

Due to there being few whistles, there were no commercial breaks throughout the entire third period, so Goucher and color analyst Shane Hnidy had no water breaks. Props to them; I don't think I have ever seen this happen.

It was one of those games, as the Golden Knights were simply the better team in their 4-1 win over the Blackhawks. They will return home for four games before Christmas, starting on Saturday against the New York Islanders at 7:00 p.m. Shea Theodore, Jack Eichel, and Brett Howden could all return then.

Golden Knights Takeaways

Taking Care of Business

The Golden Knights collected two points against a not-so-good team Thursday night. That pretty much sums up a great chunk of my analysis. The Blackhawks had a few chances and even snapped Logan Thompson's shutout bid, but they proved why they are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL against the VGK.

Road games continue to be the sweet spot for the Golden Knights as they improve to 14-2-1 away from T-Mobile Arena.

The VGK were able to score four goals in four different ways with a powerplay goal (Chandler Stephenson), a shorthanded and empty net goal (Reilly Smith), and a five-on-five goal (Phil Kessel). If you missed this one, you didn't miss much, as the VGK knocked off the second-worst team in the West.

Cotter Update

Paul Cotter left the Golden Knights at the end of the second period after taking a bone-crushing hit from Jared Tinordi. It was a clean hit, but one of those hits that could still injure, similar to Ryan Reaves the other night. Cotter left the game with an apparent left arm injury and did not return.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy did not have an update on the status of Cotter postgame and says that the team "will see" when they get back to Vegas.

The Golden Knights are already down Jack Eichel and Brett Howden on the forward end; however, Jonas Rondbjerg has been recalled.

Shorty Smith

Another shorthanded goal from Reilly Smith has put him back on top of the NHL's shorthanded goal leaders this season. He was left all alone in the Blackhawk's own zone as William Karlsson worked to get him the puck. 

"I didn't do anything; Karl (William Karlsson) did everything by himself. He picked off a pass, created a semi-breakaway for himself and won a puck battle against three guys, and was able to find me in the slot," Smith humbly said.

The Blackhawks' first powerplay unit consisted of five forwards, and the Golden Knights took advantage.

"I don't think it depends whether it was a forward or defenseman; he (William Karlsson) just wanted to win a puck battle more than them, and it showed," added Smith.

Smith now has four shorthanded goals on the season, which puts him ahead of Connor Dewar of the Minnesota Wild, who has three. Only two NHL teams have more shorthanded goals in total than Smith (VGK, MIN). His two goals Thursday also move him for the tied team lead in goals with Jonathan Marchessault (14).

Kessel Connection

As the Golden Knights were playing their game against the Blackhawks in the Windy City Thursday, back home in Henderson, Team Canada and Team USA were playing in the Women's Hockey Rivalry Series at the Dollar Loan Center.

Phil's sister Amanda fittingly scored right around the same time her brother scored in the Golden Knight's game.

Canada went on to win the Rivalry Series game 3-2. 

Miromanalysis

I had my eye on Daniil Miromanov most of the night because the more I watch him, the more I think he could be a stable NHL player.

The offensive upside is there, as the defenseman now has four points in his last two games. He made a nice pass to Phil Kessel for his goal, as well as some other crisp passes out of the zone to hit guys like the Misfits on the rush.

There were some moments where he made some defensive mistakes, such as a turnover to Max Domi, but he recovered and broke up the play with the assistance of Brayden McNabb. He also had a couple of simple turnovers on breakout passes.

But for the most part, the upside from Miromanov is showing, especially on offense. I think he has passed Ben Hutton as the team's seventh defenseman on the depth chart, and he can only work to continue his game even more with Theodore, Whitecloud, and Alex Pietrangelo out of the lineup.