LAS VEGAS– Adin Hill just slipped off the net when he jumped back at the last second and paddled his racquet to intercept part of Nick Cousin’s top effort.
Was it the best save of the Vegas Golden Knights goalie’s career?
“Yeah, maybe in time, considering the Stanley Cup finals,” Hill said, laughing. “But I feel like I’ve made other big saves as well.”
Sure, but that win was great for the Golden Knights in their 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.
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Hill’s save against Cousins came 50 seconds into the second period and was very reminiscent of a save made by Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby against Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch in the second game of the Cup Final in 2018. Holtby’s save , which Hill recalls seeing, happened into the same end of the ice as Hill’s.
Washington defeated Vegas in five games to win the Stanley Cup that year.
“This is definitely a momentum swinger,” said Mark Stone, captain of the Golden Knights. “It got the bank going. It also opens your eyes a bit. Maybe we didn’t play that well early in the second round, but that save turned the tide for us and got us going at that stage.”
Video: Adin Hill and Braden Holtby have almost identical saves
Even the opposition had to agree with Hill.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s an incredible save,” said Florida forward Carter Verhaeghe. “He’s on the ground and comes back with the paddle. Definitely a huge save for them.”
And it was another reminder of just how good Hill was, making 33 saves in Game 1 during the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Golden Knights. The 27-year-old replaced Laurent Broissoit when he sustained a lower-body injury in the first period of a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the second round of the Western Conference and has had no regrets.
He’s now 8-3 with a 2.06 clean sheet average, a .938 save percentage and two shutouts in 12 playoff games, including 10 starts.
“It’s an unreal parade, isn’t it? It’s a game changer because we get a hit on the other end (10:04 later),” said Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy. “You need these saves at key moments. We didn’t play our best game in front of him, I’ll be the first to admit that. Sometimes Game 1 goes like this.”
“Ultimately, [we] We found a rhythm and we managed to score some goals for him, so he didn’t have to be perfect at all. But that was a great rescue. The boys are excited to see this for obvious reasons. I don’t know what it’s doing to them, but for us it’s catching up.”
Hill has already had a memorable postseason with some of his performances. The work isn’t done yet, but thanks to saves like the one he made against Cousins, the Golden Knights are now three wins away from the Cup.
Game 2 is here Monday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS).
“Your confidence has increased a little [after a save like that]but I also feel like I have confidence in this team at the moment,” Hill said. “We’re playing great hockey and we just have to keep going.”