How Golden Knights goalie Hill became an unlikely playoff hero

By Danny Webster

Thursday, June 1, 2023 | 2 a.m.

Officially listed at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Adin Hill moves more gracefully than many goalies a fraction of that size. His side-to-side game looks effortless as he reads pucks with the calmness of a grizzled NHL veteran.

But though the 27-year-old British Columbia native has six years of experience in the league, he has appeared in just 101 games—and most of that action has been unremarkable.

Hill spent his first five seasons as a reserve on poor Arizona Coyotes and San Jose Sharks teams that never came anywhere close to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yet somehow, he has gone from mediocre to marvelous with the Golden Knights this year, especially during the team’s current postseason run.

Beginning June 3, Hill will be in the starter’s crease for Vegas’ Stanley Cup Final series against Florida — and he won’t look out of place. The Golden Knights have reached the pinnacle of playoff hockey in large part because of what he has accomplished.

“You grow up dreaming of making the Stanley Cup Final as a kid,” Hill said in Dallas after leading the Golden Knights to a series-clinching 6-0 victory over the Stars in the Western Conference Final on May 29. “It still hasn’t quite sunk in yet.”

Hill will take center stage for the Golden Knights, looking to out-duel Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, who has drawn rave reviews for his hot play in the Panthers’ series wins over Boston, Toronto and Carolina.

Hill is scorching in his own right. He made 23 saves in Vegas’ decisive Game 6 victory over Dallas, his second shutout of the series.

“We kept them to the outside all night,” Hill said, deflecting praise to his teammates. “It was probably my easiest game of the playoffs.”

The Golden Knights went into the postseason with Laurent Brossoit as their starting goalie. He helped Vegas to a five-game series win over the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, followed by a victory in Game 1 of the second round against the Edmonton Oilers.

But Brossoit went down with a lower-body injury during the first period of Game 3, forcing Hill into action. Hill went on to stop all 24 shots he faced to help Vegas secure a win, and he hasn’t slowed from there.

Hill won two of his next three starts to eliminate the Oilers, then stymied the Stars as the Golden Knights forged a 3-0 series lead they would ultimately finish off in Dallas.

Hill’s 2023 playoff record stands at 7-3 with an NHL-best .937 save percentage and an average of 2.07 goals allowed per game. Bobrovsky, who has made 13 starts to Hill’s nine, is the only other goalie with comparable numbers.

“It’s pretty crazy, but it’s what I’ve dreamed about as a kid,” Hill said. “We have a great team here.”

The Golden Knights acquired Hill in a trade with the Sharks shortly before the season. With Robin Lehner (double hip surgery) out for the year, Vegas headed into the season with Logan Thompson and Hill as its primary goalies, while Brossoit recovered from offseason hip surgery of his own.

The unproven duo was widely considered the biggest weakness of an otherwise strong team. But Hill and Thompson proved to be a tremendous tandem, helping Vegas jump to the top of the Western Conference standings and stay there for most of the year.

Hill, who has won a grand total of 45 regular-season NHL games during his career, won 16 of those this year, including a vital 5-2-0 run after the All-Star Break, when Thompson suffered a lower-body injury to virtually end his season.

Hill then had his own setback in March, a lower-body injury that kept him out for the final month of the season. Brossoit stepped in and claimed the starting role, but Hill stayed ready once he got healthy near the start of the playoffs in case an opportunity emerged. When it did in Edmonton, he made the most of it.

He hasn’t played poorly in any postseason game, including back-to-back losses to Dallas in Games 4 and 5. And instead of dwelling on those defeats, he came back stronger for Game 6, making several key saves as the Knights built their lead.

“The thing that’s impressed me the most is [Hill’s] poise in net,” Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said. “He could have crumbled after two losses, but he realized he was playing well, so he didn’t change much.”

Hill has benefited greatly from his reunion with Vegas goalie coach Sean Burke, who coached Hill during his time in Arizona. It also helps that head coach Bruce Cassidy’s scheme has consistently kept opponents to the outside, limiting dangerous chances.

One of the only times that defensive setup failed the Golden Knights came early in Game 6 in Edmonton. The Oilers scored two goals on their first three shots on goal, but Hill turned away the next 38 attempts to preserve the victory.

The Golden Knights have relied on depth all season long, from their forwards and defensemen to their goaltenders. Hill is one of five netminders to record a win for Vegas this season, with Jonathan Quick and Jiri Patera also seeing action amid a rash of injuries.

Now Hill and his teammates stand four wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup.

“He’s given us a chance to win every game,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “At this time of year, if you don’t have a good goalie, I don’t think you get through to the finals. You look at Bobrovsky and Hilly, they’re at the top of their game. It’ll be a good battle.”

This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.