Let's be honest. Adin Hill is never going to be Marc-Andre Fleury. The latter has won a Vezina Trophy with the Vegas Golden Knights and carried his team on various deep playoff runs. On top of that, the comparisons tell the story during their respective tenures.
Goaltender | GAA | Save percentage | Shutouts | Adjusted GAA | Goalie point shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adin Hill | 2.55 | .910 | 6 | 2.66 | 19.1 |
Marc-Andre Fleury | 2.41 | .917 | 23 | 2.59 | 35.4 |
It's easy to see why fans would pick the legendary netminder over their current starter every day. It's a testament to the 40-year-old's excellent play during his Golden Knights career. He even got them to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.
However, Saturday showed Hill can be just as reliable in the net as Fleury. He stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators, sweeping the road trip. Mind you, he wasn't supposed to get the start on Saturday: That was reserved for Ilya Samsonov before he was out of commission.
Still, playoff mode is kicking in for the starting goaltender. Saturday's impromptu start shows the Calgary native is willing to come in when needed (sans a William Karlsson penalty). When the backup goaltender goes down, the head honcho will step in and carry the team to victory. That's what the 28-year-old did, playing a near-flawless game to close out the road trip.
Get ready for "Playoff" Adin Hill
Adin Hill has shown he can handle the upcoming playoff pressure in March. He has a career GAA of 2.57 and a save percentage of .914 in the month. It's no wonder he's become one of the better postseason netminders with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Postseason player | Games started | GAA | Save percentage | Shutouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Adin Hill | 17 | 2.09 | .932 | 3 |
Marc-Andre Fleury | 47 | 2.25 | .920 | 6 |
Sure, one can say that Fleury started more games during the playoffs for Vegas. After all, making three semifinal appearances and a Stanley Cup Final is a noteworthy run. However, the Calgary native has done terrific work with the aforementioned stats as proof.
Those stats are extremely impressive given that not many people would think of Hill as such. He kept the Golden Knights in last season's first-round matchup against the Dallas Stars, getting a shutout in the process. That's part of why Vegas won the Stanley Cup in 2023. Making a breathtaking save to swing the momentum will do wonders.
That included controlling his rebounds and making smart plays. It's an underrated aspect of the goaltender that fans don't see. Some still wish for Logan Thompson to be around instead. But that's not the present reality, for the former Sharks netminder is holding his own.
Hill's run is giving 2023 vibes all over again
Remember when the Golden Knights were tortured by the injury bug in 2023? The goaltending room was a fiasco, with Hill and Logan Thompson going down. It got to where Jonathan Quick was called upon to step in as a goaltender.
That didn't matter after Laurent Brossoit fell to--you guessed it--another injury. The 28-year-old took the reins and never let go, leading Vegas to its first Stanley Cup in franchise history. That season, he had an incredible statline. He had a GAA of 2.17, a save percentage of .932, and two shutouts. Marc-Andre Fleury would blush at those stats.
Well, it proved that Hill is an absolute workhorse, doing whatever it takes to win a game. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final proved it when he stopped Nick Cousins from getting a goal.
He proved it on Saturday by taking down the Nashville Predators, too. Fans can point to Jonathan Marchessault (pre-Predators days) and Jack Eichel as the main catalysts. However, they wouldn't win their first championship without their hard-working netminder.