In case you missed it Monday night, the Vegas Golden Knights shutout the Dallas Stars last night in a 6-0 rout, clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in their short six year existence.
Emerging from the shadows as an unexpected hero, Adin Hill of Comox, BC has stolen the spotlight. With his remarkable second shutout of the series, he propelled his team to a well-deserved 4-2 series triumph, leaving fans in awe of his extraordinary performance.
Hill has been the beacon of consistency that Vegas needed between the pipes after Laurent Brossoit—who is also from Vancouver Island—went down with an injury in the second round against the Edmonton Oilers.
Considering that Hill began the year as the 3rd string goaltender, sitting behind promising youngster Logan Thompson and Brossoit, along with the addition of two-time Cup winner Jonathan Quick at the trade deadline, the mere fact that Hill has even set foot on the ice during these playoffs is a remarkable story in itself.
But to post two shutouts against the Stars in the Western Conference final?
And to lead the playoffs in save percentage and rank 3rd in goals against average?
No one expected that.
“It’s exciting,” Hill said in a post-game interview. “You grow up dreaming of making the Stanley Cup Final as a kid and I think it still hasn’t quite set in yet.”
“We’ll have fun tonight and then refocus and get ready for the next series. We’re four wins away.”
Four wins away indeed.
The 27-year-old Hill is experiencing the opportunity of a lifetime in Vegas, as luck and circumstance have converged to place the 6’4 netminder in the spotlight for this extraordinary playoff run. Having played 112 regular season games, Hill has mostly found himself toiling away on mediocre teams.
As a 3rd round draft pick by the Arizona Coyotes in 2015, Hill embarked on a journey with the struggling franchise, playing for them intermittently over four seasons from 2017 to 2021.
Following his tenure with the Coyotes, he proceeded to start 22 games for the rebuilding San Jose Sharks last year, showcasing his skills with 10 hard-fought victories as the team transitioned into a full-blown rebuild.
He was then traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, despite a crowded crease and zero promise of consistent playing time.
But he’s been incredibly opportunistic, and this is the first year he’s played with a quality lineup in front of him, as Vegas finished first in the Western Conference with 111 points.
And after seeing the historic Boston Bruins and their record setting regular season translate to precisely zero series wins this spring, Hill isn’t taking for granted what he’s been able to be a part of.
“It’s pretty big, we’re Western Conference champions, right,” said Hill. “We did it in the regular season and now we’ve done in the post season so, I mean, it is an accomplishment but we’ve got to set that aside and focus on the bigger goal right now.”
Hill and the Golden Knights will face as unlikely an opponent as Hill being in net – the fairy tale Florida Panthers, who entered the playoffs with the least regular season points among participants.
Hill will undoubtedly face a significant challenge as he prepares to go head-to-head against two-time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky.
Despite his struggles in recent years, which even led to losing his spot in the net to journeyman Alex Lyon in the first round, Bobrovsky has managed to turn back the clock and exhibit exceptional goaltending prowess for the Panthers, establishing himself as a formidable force between the pipes.
As expected, the two teams competing in the finals boast the goaltenders with the highest save percentages in the playoffs. Hill has an impressive record of 7-3 with a remarkable .937 save percentage, while Bobrovsky shines with an outstanding 11-2 record and a scintillating .935 save percentage.
Who will it be? Will it be the unlikely Hill raising the Cup, or those relentless, pesky Panthers?
The first game is set to commence at 5 p.m. this Saturday, June 3rd.
