Golden Knights’ Adin Hill makes save of the playoffs as Vegas wins Gam…
A question heading into the Stanley Cup Final was whether the Vegas Golden Knights’ Adin Hill could continue his strong play and keep pace with red-hot Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
The answer was yes in Game 1 as the Golden Knights beat the Panthers 5-2 on Saturday night with Hill making the save of the playoffs on Florida’s Nick Cousins. He had 33 saves to 29 for Bobrovsky, who had been on an 11-1 run.
The Golden Knights, who reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural 2017-18 season, are three wins from their first championship. Game 2 is Monday night in Las Vegas (8 p.m. ET, TNT).
The Golden Knights got goals from Jonathan Marchessault, Shea Theodore and Reilly Smith, members of that 2017-18 team, plus Zach Whitecloud and Mark Stone to offset goals by Florida’s Eric Staal and Anthony Duclair.
A look at Game 1:
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Brilliant save by Golden Knights’ Adin Hill
Hill was busy in the first period, making eight saves, getting beat on Staal’s short-handed wraparound goal and even being involved in a scrum.
But he saved his best for the second period. Cousins had a wide-open net to put the puck in after a tic-tac-toe passing play, but Hill stretched out and got the heel of his stick on the shot. Cousins had another chance, but Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo broke up the play.
“I guess that’s the kind of stuff you dream of when you’re growing up, making that big save,” Hill told TNT. “It was nice. I was just kind of desperation. I just reached out with my stick and got a piece of it.”
Hill and Cousins had been involved in the first-period scrum, though Cousins picked up the only penalty in the exchange.
Hill also stopped Sam Reinhart on a shorthanded breakaway with 2:07 left in the third period as the Panthers tried to get back into the game.
Panthers’ Eric Staal opens scoring, but Golden Knights rally
Cousins was in the penalty box when the Panthers got…
