Hill of Golden Knights set for full-circle moment in Western 2nd Round

SUMMERLIN, Nev. -- Adin Hill doesn’t want to look back, not with the challenge looming before him.

But the past and the present -- and, to a degree, the future -- all are intertwined in this moment for the Vegas Golden Knights goalie.

He’s not facing the Edmonton Oilers in the 2025 Western Conference Second Round if not for his emergency insertion against the same team two years ago in the second round.

Game 1 of this best-of-7 series is at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

At that point, he was in his sixth NHL season, and with his third franchise, serving as a backup, in this case to Laurent Brossoit. But the Vegas starter was injured during the first period of Game 3 against the Oilers, pushing Hill into the most difficult of situations.

Hill had to play the high-flying Oilers, led by all-world forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and help the Golden Knights navigate a franchise-defining and emotionally charged series.

And, he had to do it without any previous NHL playoff experience.

He did just that, winning three of the final four games in the six-game series. A month later, Hill was a Stanley Cup champion when Vegas beat the Florida Panthers in the Final, going 11-4 with a 2.17 goals-against average, .932 save percentage and two shutouts in 16 playoff games.

It changed his career and it changed his life as the 6-foot-4, 215-pound goalie parlayed it into a six-year, $37.5 million contract ($6.25 million average annual value) he signed March 14. It’s also delivered the 28-year-old here, as the No. 1 goalie for the Golden Knights, a favorite to win the Cup again.

“Obviously if an opportunity is given, you have to take advantage of it,” Hill said Monday after practice at City National Arena. “I guess I kind of did that. I don’t know, I don’t really think about that stuff too much during the season. I’ll think about that more when my career is done.”

There have been bumps so far this postseason for Hill. He was not good in the first two games of their first-round series against the Minnesota Wild and he was pulled after two periods of a 5-2 loss in Game 3.

Coach Bruce Cassidy stayed with him and Hill delivered. He was good in Game 4, an overtime win, and a little better in Game 5, another overtime win. Then he was the difference-maker in Game 6, making 29 saves in the series-clinching 3-2 victory.

“He was excellent, he got better as the series went on,” Cassidy said earlier this week. “He’s been good in the playoffs, the big games. Hopefully that continues. It’s been his playoff resume so far.”

Said defenseman Shea Theodore: “I think he’s been kind of battling as the playoffs go on, but I think over the years, he’s shown that he steps up in big moments. It’s good to see him kind of feed off that.”

Hill will need to be better against the Oilers, who scored 27 goals during a six-game series win against the Los Angeles Kings in which Edmonton won the final four games. McDavid and Draisaitl combined for 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in that series.

Two seasons ago in the playoffs, Draisaitl scored four goals in Game 1 and another two in Game 2. McDavid had five points (two goals, three assists) in those first two games, each of which Brossoit played before being pulled after the second period of Game 2. Hill didn’t give up a goal to Draisaitl in four-plus games. McDavid had three goals against Hill but only had five points in those four-plus games.

“For me, it’s just knowing who is on the ice, keeping track of their changes and making sure I know when one of them is on or both of them are on and adjusting appropriately,” Hill said. “They are a fast team, they will get their chances, they have a couple of really good players over there. It’ll be a good series.”

Although Hill won’t ruminate on the circumstances that came his way and are back in focus because of the kismet of drawing the same opponent in the same round where it all began for him, others willingly see the karma.

“It’s wild, it really is,” Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “He came in and he just kind of took off and now it kind of makes sense. Look at his build, how big he is, how athletic he is. I think it was just a matter of time for him to take it by the reins and just take control and he’s done that.

“He’s been great for us; he was great this year and we are going to need him in this series going forward.”

That’s the thing. Hill needed an opportunity. But he had to seize it as well, not only in that moment, but going forward. For all but the most established goalies, life as an NHL starter is volatile. There are no guarantees. A slump at the wrong time and you are looking over your shoulder. A hot prospect in the minors and it’s a look over the other shoulder.

But, as McNabb said, Hill ran with it.

This season, he played in a career-high 50 games, going 32-13-5 with a 2.47 GAA, .906 save percentage and four shutouts. Hill admits the 50-game plateau was big for him, another sign that he has established himself as the go-to guy.

And it all began in the playoffs against these Oilers.

“It’s cool to kind of reflect on that, but right now it’s just business as usual,” he said.