ST. PAUL, Minn. — Talk about some serious pressure now assigned to Adin Hill.
Whether it was waving the white flag or a small sense of panic — most likely more of the former — the Golden Knights put more than enough heat on their starting goaltender Thursday.
Hill was benched to begin the third period of the Knights’ 5-2 loss in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with the Minnesota Wild. Backup Akira Schmid took over the rest of the way. The win gave the Wild a 2-1 edge in the series heading into Saturday’s Game 4 at Xcel Energy Center.
It will be on Hill to get the Knights even. To do so, he’ll have to play much better than he did in Game 3.
“We feel comfortable with either (Hill or Schmid),” coach Bruce Cassidy said.
Not good news
It’s fair to say three of the four goals Hill allowed Thursday could have been played better. That he wasn’t all that sharp.
The Knights are now 1-16 when Hill has allowed at least three goals.
“There’s no panic,” center William Karlsson said. “It’s one game at a time. All we can focus on is the next one, right? You know, get to status quo and go back to Vegas. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
It was obvious the Knights were going to come out swinging Thursday. They hit almost everything that moved.
A team that’s not all that physical — the Knights had the sixth-fewest hits in the NHL this season with 18.1 per game — had 24 hits in the first period alone.
They were trying to wake themselves up. Trying to set a tone on the road. They finished with 42 hits, including 11 from left wing Ivan Barbashev.
“Overall, I think we had a really good game,” Barbashev said. “I feel like we found some more offensive zone movement like we used to have. Just couldn’t make the last play.
“I think we have to be harder on them. To us it’s a little wake-up call and we have to be harder on them as a team.”
The Knights dug themselves a deep hole Thursday for the second consecutive game. They trailed 2-0 after less than seven minutes. But defenseman Alex Pietrangelo got them within one with 9:12 left in the first period.
It was all Knights the rest of the frame. They applied constant pressure. They were all over the Wild and yet couldn’t finish.
That has to be the most frustrating part for the team. The Knights dictated the pace for much of the last two games, but lost both because Minnesota’s best players buried their chances.
The Wild led 4-1 after two periods for the second consecutive game because its top line continued to dominate. Left wing Kirill Kaprizov and right wing Matt Boldy can’t be stopped this series.
Boldy forced a turnover from defenseman Noah Hanifin and scored to put Minnesota up 3-1 with 8:55 left in the second period. Kaprizov then scored his second goal of the game with two seconds left until the second intermission.
The horn sounded soon after and that was it for Hill.
Cassidy said he wanted to get Schmid some work. That even Hill would admit it wasn’t his best night.
But now the pressure – as if it wasn’t there before – shifts directly onto Hill’s broad shoulders come Saturday.
No rebound
“It’s important to respond,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said prior to puck drop. “We weren’t at our best in Game 2 but you’re in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter how much you lose by or how you lose, it’s important to rebound.
“You learn from (a loss) and go through the process and get ready for the next game. It’s pretty simple — learn from what went wrong and go fix it.”
The Knights might have learned a few things but the result didn’t change. They didn’t rebound. Whatever was fixed wasn’t enough.
It’s not panic time. But it’s within earshot.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
