Adin Hill wasn’t the loudest reason the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2 on Saturday, but he was a necessary one. The goaltender turned aside 22 of 24 shots, finishing with a .917 save percentage in a performance that fits the early-season trend around him. Hill now owns a .906 save percentage and a 2.21 goals-against average, and he’s 4-0-0 this season.
That’s a pretty different picture from the one people had in mind not long ago. The numbers are starting to tilt back in his favor, and they’re part of a larger story about how Vegas has stabilized in net.
According to the latest numbers from hockeystats.com, the Golden Knights are sitting in the middle of the pack rather than buried near the bottom. JFresh posted the team goaltending data on October 18, and the group’s place on the board is a noticeable change from where things were when every goalie had a negative mark in goals saved above expected. Being 13th may not scream dominance, but it beats the alternative by a mile.
The bigger takeaway is that Vegas’ goaltending has become a real unit again, and Ryan Craig deserves a share of that credit. His name comes up because he helped shape the crease situation before this season, including during his time with the Henderson Silver Knights, where fans saw a current prospect make real strides under him.
Craig doesn’t control everything in the goalie room - Sean Burke has that job - but the comparison matters. Burke was also the goaltending coach for Vegas last season, when the Golden Knights unraveled. That makes the shift this year stand out even more.
Carl Lindbom is one of the clearest examples of Craig’s influence. Last season, the Swedish goalie finished with a 2.16 GAA, a .926 save percentage and three shutouts, a big leap for the 2021 seventh-round pick. Those kinds of results help explain why the Knights’ netminding looks much healthier now.
Hill, meanwhile, is getting the kind of runway that lets him do what he does best. He can use his size to cover the net and absorb pucks, and that’s showing up more consistently. There are still the occasional mistakes, the kind that let an easy shot sneak through, but Craig has helped him make real progress.
And with Carter Hart also giving Vegas steady play in net, the Golden Knights aren’t stuck in the basement anymore. If Hill keeps giving them solid work as a backup, this group looks a lot more like a strength than a problem.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Winning Has Fans Focused On One Strange Home Shift
The Golden Knights have opened the season playing like a club that can make the building matter again, even as the crowds at home have looked a little thinner than usual. A big part of that has been the organizations decision to cut back on tickets sold to brokers and tighten up how seats are priced and packaged, a move team president John Penhollow confirmed as the team tries to put more control back in its own hands.
For fans, it has created a strange contrast: a winning team on the ice under new coach Ryan Craig, but a less packed arena than they have grown used to seeing in Vegas. The Knights have clearly decided that managing the secondary market matters as much as the short-term optics of a few empty seats, and how that balance plays out could shape the home atmosphere for a team that otherwise looks ready to win. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Sent A Clear Message In Jack Eichels Milestone Win
Jack Eichel marked his 700th NHL game in fitting fashion, helping the Golden Knights jump on the Pittsburgh Penguins early in a 5-1 win. His assists helped set the tone right away, and Vegas looked in control from there, backing up the milestone night with the kind of complete performance the club has been looking to stack up more often.
The bigger takeaway for Vegas was how many pieces contributed to the result, with Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, Trevor Connelly and Mark Stone all helping keep the pressure on throughout. It was the sort of night that did more than just celebrate Eichels milestone, it reinforced the idea that the Golden Knights are getting useful production from across the roster when it matters. [Read more 🡒]
Mark Stone's Surge Is Changing The Feel Around Vegas
The Golden Knights kept rolling at home with a 6-2 win over the Penguins, a result that pushed them to 8-2-0 and kept them in front in the Pacific Division. This one had plenty of the usual Vegas fingerprints: the blue line chipped in, Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner stayed involved, and Adin Hill picked up his fourth straight win to open the season. Even the rookie class has been part of the early surge, with Trevor Connelly continuing to pile up goals.
What has stood out lately, though, is the way Mark Stone is changing the feel around the room. His impact has been showing up alongside the teams other top pieces, and it is giving Vegas a more complete look as the schedule settles in. When the captain is driving play at the same time the defense is contributing and Hill is steadying things in net, the Knights start to look less like a hot start and more like a group that believes this pace can last. [Read more 🡒]