Vegas Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill (33) attempts to make a save during a game against the Ottawa Senators at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 17, 2023.
Published Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023 | 7:38 p.m.
Updated Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023 | 9:24 p.m.
What was considered a precaution before may now be something more than that.
All the Golden Knights can do at this point is hope it’s not.
It was certainly a surprise to see Adin Hill lead the Golden Knights out for warmups in their 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday. The goaltender practiced the past couple of days and was in line to return during the Golden Knights’ upcoming southeastern road trip.
All signs didn’t point to Hill making his first start since Nov. 30 against an Ottawa team that’s near the bottom of the NHL standings, but coach Bruce Cassidy felt it would do Hill some good to get him a game before the Golden Knights played at Carolina on Tuesday.
It looked like Santa Claus came early for the Golden Knights, only for that present to be returned almost instantly.
Hill’s return lasted just 6:25 before leaving with what appeared to be a re-aggravation of the injury that cost him nearly three weeks. Hill saw three shots, the last one being a power-play goal from Senators forward Josh Norris that tied the game 1-1 at 6:25.
Hill was able to move laterally in the crease just fine. But as Norris aimed for Hill’s five hole, Hill couldn’t close the gap in time and couldn’t go to the ground. Hill skated to the bench, looking visibly frustrated, before exiting the game.
Logan Thompson, who started in six of the last seven games, relieved Hill with 20 saves on 22 shots.
“He’ll get more evaluation done in the morning,” Cassidy said.
Hill returned to practice Thursday for the first time since he was pulled following the second period of Vegas’ 4-1 win in Vancouver to end November. The Golden Knights called the move a precaution, given that Hill did not allow a goal through two periods.
Before returning to action, goalie coach Sean Burke worked with Hill on Wednesday to ensure he checked off the necessary boxes before getting full reps. Once Hill cleared that hurdle, Cassidy said it was then up to when did they want to play him; Sunday or Tuesday.
Cassidy didn’t want Hill to return until he was fully ready to go for game action. He didn’t want to have Hill on the bench Friday, during the Golden Knights’ 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, if he wasn’t able to get into a game if something happened to Thompson.
“He’s either cleared to play, if something happens to Logan, he’s going in and ready to go knowing if something were to happen, or we use (AHL Henderson goalie Jiri) Patera,” Cassidy said. “He said he was cleared and ready to go.”
But it wasn’t just Hill that the Golden Knights seemingly had to worry about. With about 13 minutes remaining in the game, Thompson went to make a save on a deflection and came up favoring his right leg. He talked with the trainers during a TV timeout and was seen shaking his leg.
The Golden Knights were one more injury away from having to go to the emergency backup goalie — better known as the EBUG. The EBUG is not affiliated with the team and is normally someone with not much, if any, NHL experience.
Thompson stayed in the game and it didn’t need to come to that. He helped the Golden Knights (21-6-5) win for the fifth time in six games.
Cassidy said that it looks like Thompson is going to be fine, but given the Golden Knights’ goalie situation last year — where they used five different goalies en route to the Stanley Cup — Cassidy is approaching this carefully.
“Given our goaltenders in the last year and a half, I say that optimistically, but realistically, too,” he said.
If Hill can’t make the three-game road trip, Patera will be recalled after being sent down to Henderson prior to the game. In the event Thompson is unable to go, it will be an all-AHL contingent with Isaiah Saville making the trek, as well.
“Really just disappointed for him. He worked really hard to get back. I’m sure he’ll be OK,” said captain Mark Stone. “He’ll get right back to work tomorrow to try and get back in the lineup.”
The Golden Knights bounced back after giving up at least four goals in three straight games. Jack Eichel scored to extend his point streak to a franchise record 10 games, and Stone had three assists to give himself 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in the last six games.
It was also a much-needed defensive effort from the Golden Knights. Sans losing their No. 1 goaltender, they allowed only one goal at 5-on-5 after giving up two power-play goals in the first period.
That was due to a strong effort in the second period where Vegas broke a 2-2 tie with goals from Nicolas Roy, a shorthanded tally from Chandler Stephenson, and Ivan Barbashev. The Golden Knights outshot the Senators 15-5 in the second period.
“I thought we did a pretty damn good job after the first period of having good effort, putting pucks behind, ragging the game and playing the game we wanted to play,” Stone said.
It was an effort similar to why the Golden Knights have the most points in the league through 32 games, and will try to keep a hold of that momentum in this trip that has stops in Carolina, Tampa Bay, and capping off with the first meeting this season against the Florida Panthers in a Stanley Cup Final rematch.
It’s three of the Eastern Conference’s powerhouses, and Hill may not be available for any of them. Couple that with Thompson’s scare, and all that was seemingly good for the Golden Knights has come to a halt. They did get defenseman Alec Martinez back after missing nearly a month with a lower-body injury himself. Defensively, at least, they’re getting close to full strength.
What the goaltending department looks like on Tuesday is another story.
“It’s unfortunate,” Cassidy said. “He’s put the work in. He’s worked hard. It happens. Hopefully it’s not long-term again.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
