Monday night marked the beginning of what the Chicago Blackhawks organization hopes will be a special era for the team moving forward. The team won their second consecutive contest in a 5-1 victory at home against the Kings after they took down the Ducks out in Anaheim 6-3 on Saturday.
Spencer Knight was the story for Chicago on Monday, as the 23-year-old netminder made his debut with the franchise. Knight was the main piece in the trade with Florida for veteran defenseman Seth Jones that went through on Saturday.
Chicago trading Jones was the biggest deal that the front office had made in quite a while, and it even came with a first-round pick along with Knight. It’s been tough for the Blackhawks to find a consistent identity in the cage since two-time Stanley Cup champion Corey Crawford was not brought back in 2020. Knight was a first round draft choice of the Panthers in 2019 and has been looking for an opportunity to be the guy somewhere. Based on Monday night’s showing, he might have found his home.
Spencer Knight makes history in his Chicago Blackhawks debut
Knight was the definition of a brick wall on Monday against Los Angeles. He stopped 41 of the 42 shots that he faced and was named the first star of the game. Chicago’s defense did Knight no favors in the first period, as he faced 17 shots to start the game. The Kings’ lone goal against the Blackhawks new man in goal came in the opening 20 minutes from veteran Anze Kopitar in a sequence that Knight couldn’t do much about.
Knight eclipsed the 40 save mark in a game for the third time in his career on Monday, but it came in a time where Chicago hasn’t seen such a performance in ages. Monday evening marked the first time a Blackhawks goaltender had over 40 saves in a game while allowing one goal or less in 1,118 days.
#Blackhawks STAT: It's been over 3 years since we've seen a Hawks goalie make 40+ saves while allowing 1 goal or fewer.
Spencer Knight , welcome to Chicago! pic.twitter.com/54fyQLCXeR
— Just Another Year Chicago: Blackhawks (@JAYChi_Hawks) March 4, 2025
The Boston College product hadn’t even been with the Blackhawks organization for 48 hours and he found a way to make team history. There were plenty of highlight reel saves from Knight that had the crowd roped into the action and he had quite the first impression upon being interviewed on the ice after the game.
The fact that Knight was able to keep a playoff team at bay while not having much support in front of him was extremely impressive. It is clear to see that the net is his moving forward and it will be interesting to see if he draws in again for Wednesday night’s home matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
The Chicago Blackhawks might have something in Spencer Knight
While one start doesn’t guarantee anything, fans and those around the Blackhawks organization can’t help but get excited about the prospect of Knight being something special. The idea of a young goaltending tandem of him and Arvid Soderblom is very fun for this team entering next year based on what has been put on display this season.
It will be up to the front office to figure out how they would like to move veteran Petr Mrazek at some point this week with the trade deadline looming on Friday. Having a three goalie system to finish out this season just does not sound feasible for the team based on it’s current state, and Mrazek having any kind of market on the trade block needs to be taken advantage of as soon as possible.
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