Las Vegas, N.V.–When a team is on a three-game losing streak, they often need a big moment to swing momentum and turn things around. It could be anything: a fight, a herculean individual effort that leads to a goal, or even a big blocked shot.
For the Vegas Golden Knights , it was when starting goaltender Adin Hill left the net to play the puck to prevent a shorthanded breakaway and bowled over Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig in the process. Twelve seconds later, Braeden Bowman finally broke through and scored the first goal of the game on the power play.
"It wasn't the best power play for us," said Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig following the 4-1 win . "[Hill's play] probably gave us a little bit of juice. Our bench got going after the goal ended up going in, they were all pointing down at him. Those kinds of things can get you going. It was a real grind of a victory."
The Golden Knights started well and recorded the first two shots of the game before the Senators tilted the ice. There was a stretch of nearly 10 minutes between their second and third shot. And halfway through the second, shots were 14-4 in favor of Ottawa.
Being outplayed and outshot by such a thorough margin usually isn't a winning recipe. But tonight, the Golden Knights managed to make it work, and that was due in no small part to Adin Hill's spectacular play in net.
"We had to stay with it and grind," Ryan Craig said. "In the second half [of the game], we got better. Some things bounced our way, but Hilly's play… was one of those things that energized us, for sure."
"He was unreal," added forward Raphael Lavoie. "You know he's got a hit, too, tonight? Hillsy played amazing. It's really nice to see."
Although the Golden Knights scored the game's first goal, they didn't have the lead for very long. The Senators responded with their own power-play goal just 34 seconds into the third, tying the game at one. A tying goal that early in the period could have deflated a team on a three-game losing streak. Instead, the Golden Knights did what they do best: they kept rolling four lines and trusted their depth.
That decision paid off at 8:01 in the third when the fourth line scored a big go-ahead goal.
Marc Gatcomb started the play in the defensive zone with a big hit on Senators forward Andre Burakovsky, and Raphael Lavoie ended up with the puck. Lavoie carried it through center ice and dropped a pass for Nic Dowd, who slapped it ahead to Ville Heinola. Jonas Johansson made the save on Heinola's wrister, but after Dowd crashed the net, the puck came loose, and Lavoie slammed it home.
That go-ahead goal was a milestone triple threat. It was Raphael Lavoie's first NHL goal, Nic Dowd's 200th NHL point, and Ville Heinola's first point as a Golden Knight.
"It means a lot," Lavoie smiled postgame. "It's been a long time coming, I think, and it feels really good."
Here's a fun fact: Raphael Lavoie, who scored his first NHL goal and recorded the game-winner tonight, wasn't originally supposed to play. In this morning's line rushes, Jonas Røndbjerg skated in Lavoie's spot on the fourth line.
However, Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart left morning skate early with an apparent injury , forcing the Golden Knights to recall a goaltender from AHL Henderson. In a corresponding transaction, they had to send Røndbjerg down to become cap compliant.
"I wasn't thinking of playing tonight," Lavoie said after the 4-1 win. "I wasn't in the lineup, and then suddenly, just before I left the rink, they told me I was playing. That's how it was supposed to happen, I guess.
"We're always ready to play," Lavoie finished. "I did a lot of extra work in the morning because I didn't think I was playing, but I just had to nap a little longer."
Adin Hill made headlines tonight for his quick decision to play the puck, and it's for good reason. That could've gone south very easily. It takes quite a bit of confidence for a goaltender to venture that far from their crease and brave that kind of contact.
"I think I've maybe been further from my net," joked Hill following the 4-1 win, "But that's the first flying butterfly I've done."
However, the best part of Hill's game tonight wasn't the extreme "flying butterfly"; it was his steady play between the pipes. He kept the Golden Knights in a game that they had no business being in. He made 25 saves in total, none better than the one he made on Tim Stützle early in the second period.
"Kind of a little breakdown there," Hill said postgame. "They had a mini 3-on-2. They made a double back-door play, and at that point, it's just desperation to do whatever you can and try and keep the puck out of the net."
