You know, I was actually looking forward to seeing the Vegas Golden Knights play against the Ottawa Senators today. I didn't want to watch the NFC Championship (for fandom reasons) and was hoping that the ol' hockey team would soothe my nerves a bit.
Well, how did that work out today?
If there was ever a bad time to lay a goose egg of a game, it was Sunday against a last-place team in the Atlantic Division, it was Sunday. The Ottawa Senators pulled down the Golden Knights' pants, punched them in the mouth, and stole their lunch money. The final score? 7-1.
I mean, the Senators scored as many points as the Denver Broncos did! An NFL team! Mind you, Bo Nix wasn't around to give them a chance. But geez, the Golden Knights were beyond awful on Sunday afternoon.
We're talking about the Senators getting scoring from all sorts of places, whether it was Stephen Halliday's two goals or Dylan Cozens's two goals. Mind you, Vegas had opportunities in front of them to score. They even had a penalty shot from Mitch Marner! Alas, it was an all-time stinker that left Golden Knights to watch... football in Seattle.
Perfectly describes me on a fateful Sunday afternoon. But hey, the new guy got a goal!
It's time to have a talk about Adin Hill's role with the Vegas Golden Knights
Look, I know that the Golden Knights were also abysmal offensively, generating 20 shots on goal (more on that in a bit). There was nothing from the big stars on Sunday, leaving Vegas as dry as the Mojave Desert. The defense was also non-existent and some weird bounces led to Ottawa goals (see the game's first goal).
However, that doesn't excuse Hill from blame. The netminder stopped 24 of 31 shots and looked out of position at times. Sure, the Senators have a wide array of offensive options that make them an absolute threat. Countless shots blew past him and rang off the pipes and Hill looked a bit... slower.
Bruce Cassidy will have a serious discussion about the Golden Knights' goaltending position, even without Carter Hart around. What is the team going to do for the rest of the trip? Will they lean on Akira Schmid more? Will there be a call-up that happens in the next game or two?
Nothing's certain except for one thing. Vegas desperately needs a pick-me-up in net, whether it's Hill or someone else. Otherwise, things will get ugly in Las Vegas quickly.
Did the Golden Knights spend all their energy on the Toronto Maple Leafs game?
Obviously, Adin Hill isn't exempt from all of this. There were no points from the Golden Knights' big guns (or anybody, for that matter), whether it was Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, or Mark Stone. What's more, the Senators were starting an AHL goalie in Mads Sogaard.
Yet, the Golden Knights made him look like Connor Hellebuyck from last season. Some people might not think about it too much. But there's a possibility that they spent all their energy on Marner's emotional return to Toronto.
Think about it. When you do whatever it takes to win against your teammate's former club after a messy divorce, it can drain your energy. You can even say that some of that attention was focused on that particular game, even when you head into Sunday's game against Ottawa. As a result, the Golden Knights lost both games of the regular season series between the two teams, getting blown out in the second game.