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Adin Hill vs Dallas Part VI

On May 29, 2023

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

Over the past two series, Vegas goaltender Adin Hill has performed like a Conn Smythe candidate. Mark Stone and Jack Eichel are the headliners but the Golden Knights backstop is becoming an overnight sensation in 549 postseason minutes in net.

On the flip side, the Dallas Stars had full confidence in starting goaltender Jake Oettinger coming into the playoffs. It wasn’t a question of who would be in the net for the Stars. Through 18 postseason starts, Oettinger hasn’t been as sharp as he was for Dallas in the regular season The 24-year-old is significantly below his career averages in goals allowed per game and save percentage. Hill, however, has exceeded all expectations.

So what should we expect from the two netminders tonight in Dallas?

Every time our team’s stumbled, every time he’s had a stumble, his response has been exactly like it was tonight. I had no doubt that’s what we were going to get. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet. I think he’s starting to heat up here too. -Pete DeBoer

Stars coach Pete DeBoer has seen his share of goalie adventures in the past. In 2012, an ageless Martin Brodeur led DeBoer’s Devils to a Stanley Cup Final. As Sharks coach, he had long runs with Martin Jones, and several failed runs with Martin Jones. And, like VGK fans, I’m sure DeBoer has wiped Marc-Andre Fleury’s 2021 Conference Final blunder away from his memory.

Battle Of Depth Tilting Towards Dallas

By Ken Boehlke

On May 28, 2023

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: Ken Boehlke, SinBin.vegas)

For the first 10+ games of this playoff run one of the most consistent parts of the Golden Knights’ game has been their 4th line. No matter what has been going on with the group ahead of them, the grinders on the 4th line have gotten the job done night in and night out.

The Western Conference Final started out that way as Teddy Blueger came up with the go-ahead goal in the 3rd period. In Game 2 the 4th line was the only group that had any consistent success at 5-on-5, out-attempting the Stars 10-3, out-chancing them 3-0, and managing multiple high-danger chances without allowing one.

From there though, and especially in the past two games, it’s headed in the wrong direction for the depth players in gold.

Our 4th line didn’t do what it typically does in terms of puck possession in the O-Zone and then they were forced to play and got outworked in the D-Zone. So that’s something I expect to change. Whether Howden’s on that line, Blueger, or Nic Roy, they have to do a better job against their 4th line. Give credit to that line for Dallas, they outplayed our guys. -Cassidy

The group of Radek Faksa, Fredrik Olafsson, and Luke Glendening dominated the Golden Knights’ 4th line in Game 5 including the massive goal that tied the game. That group posted a 92% expected goals share against the VGK 4th line and did not allow William Carrier, Keegan Kolesar, and Brett Howden anything near the front of the net.

In many ways, it set the tone for the rest of the team.

That was one part of the game where that slot battle comes into play and that urgency tilts the game in their favor. When our 4th line is going well like that, our game goes better. They did some good things but they have to get back to who they are and their identity. -Cassidy

Vegas had troubles in many areas of the ice last night, including giving the puck away 24 times, but the largest area of concern is directly in front of the net. After being basically even through two games, the Golden Knights now trail 63-48 in high-danger chances in the series. Even as good as Adin Hill has been, the Stars have scored five goals from high-danger chances in the past two games, they had just three in the first three.

That’s our group, next man up. We got contributions from everyone. I mean that’s a gutsy win being down a couple of guys and coming in here. I like our group and I wouldn’t bet against them. -Pete DeBoer

To turn this around and secure that final win, the Golden Knights must get back to getting contributions up and down the lineup. Vegas’ depth has made line matching difficult for opposing coaches, especially in road games. With Game 6 taking place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Vegas is going to need everyone to get back to playing the way they were.

Adin Hill’s Outstanding Run Between The Vegas Pipes

By Ken Boehlke

On May 27, 2023

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

Outstanding. Sensational. Magnificent. Phenomenal. Exceptional.

Adin Hill has been so good this postseason I’ve actually bookmarked the thesaurus entry for outstanding on my web browser so I can keep coming up with new ways to describe him.

Marvelous. Extraordinary. Remarkable.

No matter which adjective speaks to you most, Hill has personified all of them and it is…

Incredible.

419 goalies have played at least nine games in a single playoff run. Adin Hill currently sits tied for 21st all time among them with a .938 save percentage. Two of the three goalies he’s tied with are Curtis Joseph and Dominik Hasek. Hill is ahead of Andrei Vasilevskiy’s run in 2021, ahead of Hall of Famers Jacques Plante and Glenn Hall from the late 50’s and 60’s, and even a few points ahead of Carey Price the year the Canadiens eliminated the Golden Knights.

And it’s not like he’s doing this without seeing a lot of action. The Golden Knights have allowed 33.7 shots per game in Hill’s nine appearances, also ranking top 25 all time.

The advanced numbers love Hill’s game too. He’s stopped 5.02 goals above expected in this round alone according to NaturalStatTrick.com and he’s amassed 6.4 total in his nine games for 0.78 per game. To compare, in the Golden Knights last run to the Cup Final, Marc-Andre Fleury posted 8.5 goals saved above expected in 20 games or 0.41 per game, almost half of what Hill is doing.

Per MoneyPuck.com’s wins above replacement stat, Hill has added 1.06 wins to the Golden Knights’ tally. Which, considering the fact that he’s supposed to be the “replacement” is… click here, you pick one.

Now that I know literally every word in the English language to try to describe the last three weeks the Golden Knights have experienced with Hill in the net, the word that fits best is unbelievable.

So unbelievable it’s making the thought of Vegas being the next word engraved on hockey’s holy grail very believable.

Does Dallas Have Enough Fight Left To Force A Game 5?

By Jason Pothier

On May 25, 2023

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: Ken Boehlke, SinBin.vegas)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. No team in NHL history has come back from an 0-3 conference finals deficit. The downward-spiraling Dallas Stars will try and begin a historic run tonight with a win in Game 4. Win or lose, in all likelihood the Golden Knights have done enough to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s just a matter of when.

So, what should the Golden Knights expect from a Stars team that the record books have shown they have nothing to play for?

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. That’s the approach we’re going to take with the rest of the series. We’re not going to get back in the series tomorrow night, but we’ll take a bite and see what happens. – Pete DeBoer, DAL coach

As former NHL goaltender Mike McKenna reminds us weekly; hockey players have a lot of pride. So, of course the Stars have something to play for but it’s unlikely to be for the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl. It’s hard to believe Dallas’ locker room, coaching staff and fanbase have any confidence in a four-game win streak but a victory in Game 4 would give them some sense of false hope. Even if Dallas can return home for a desperate Game 6, history is still heavily against them.

Assuming Vegas comes out as sharp as they have all series, the home team will be up against it from the opening puck drop. The Golden Knights will be hungry to sweep the series and earn as much rest as the Eastern Conference champions Florida Panthers. Dallas will be down two impact forwards but it’s not the focus around the locker room. The Stars are taking a simple approach into tomorrow’s elimination game.

We’re just worried about trying to get our first win in this series. That’s all that matters. We’re going to have to play desperate hockey now. Our lives are at stake here and I’m looking forward to it. This group has answered when our backs are against the wall. We’re going to find a way to muster up a good 60 minutes and find a way to beat a really good team. We’re going to have a hungry team tomorrow – Max Domi, DAL forward

Golden Knights’ Style The Impetus To Opposition Frustration

By Ken Boehlke

On May 24, 2023

In Game Analysis

Image from NHL on ESPN Broadcast

It’s not uncommon in the game of hockey to see someone lose their cool. It is however quite rare is to see an entire NHL team and the 18,532 people in the arena cheering for them do it all at the same time.

It started less than two minutes into the game after the Golden Knights took a quick 1-0 lead when Stars captain Jamie Benn viciously crosschecked Mark Stone in the face while he was laying on the ice. As a captain often does, Benn set the tone for what was to come with his team and his fan base for the rest of the night.

Three more Vegas goals, and about 90 minutes later, while Max Domi was being called for as blatant a boarding penalty as you’ll ever see, Stars fans began showering the ice with beers, rally towels, and whatever else they could find to hurl over the boards. It got so bad the 2nd period couldn’t even be completed as the officials sent both teams to the locker room with 21 seconds left on the clock as the ice crew cleaned up the debris.

Everyone in the building was frustrated tonight. -Pete DeBoer

Adin Hill’s popcorn shower is the visual confirmation DeBoer hit the nail on the head.

On the other side, there were the Golden Knights, who just kept playing their brand of hockey.

Games have gotten like that and we’re right there with each other. I’ve never seen it phase us really. -Nic Hague

Yes, many games this postseason “have gotten like that” and no longer can it just be chalked up to the competitiveness of playoff hockey, instead, tonight, we learned the real catalyst of the frustration experienced by the Stars, Oilers, and the Jets before them. That catalyst is the Golden Knights themselves.

They bring this side out of teams. Not because they are cocky or loud or try to rile the other team up (to be fair, they do indeed do some of this, but not any more than any other team) but instead because of the way they have chosen to play the game.

Comeback Kings Of The Postseason

By Ken Boehlke

On May 23, 2023

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

13 games into this postseason, we’ve learned a lot about the Vegas Golden Knights. Nothing has become more apparent though than the fact that this year’s team is never out of a game. Game 2 against the Stars was the fourth consecutive game in which the Golden Knights fell behind only to erase the deficit and go on to win the game.

Game 2 was also the seventh time in the last eight games Vegas has allowed the opening goal, and they’ve gone on to win five of them.

We’ve got a thick skin. It’s veteran guys that know one goal is not going to dictate the rest of the game. Usually your goaltender has to make some saves to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand and that’s certainly happened as well. -Bruce Cassidy

The Golden Knights have amassed eight come from behind wins this postseason, the most of any team. Florida is right behind with seven, but no other team has done it more than four times.

This isn’t new for Vegas either. In the 2020-21 season, when VGK also made it to the Conference Final, they posted seven comeback wins of their 10 total playoff victories. So, in the 20 playoff wins VGK have had in the past two postseasons they’ve participated in, 15 have seen them trail at some point.

The most comeback victories in a single playoff run in NHL history is 10 by last year’s Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.

We weren’t on top of our game in Game 2 but we were good enough to find a way to win. That’s been our team this year a little bit. I’ve used the word imperfect a lot because we are, but we find ways to stay in the game and win. That’s a credit to the guys and that’s what’s made us who we are this year. -Cassidy

The Golden Knights have clearly become comfortable in every type of game state. Of the 16 playoff teams, only Edmonton saw a smaller portion of their games with the score tied. VGK’s games have had an average of just 16:50 with the score even. Vegas has trailed for more than a full period per game, 20:26, and yet still have posted a 10-3 record so far.

(Our players) like to win and they know how to win when the game gets close and when it’s winning time. We don’t always look great doing it and I’ll be the first to admit that and we’re working on that every day but there’s an inner confidence in the group. I don’t consider us this cocky arrogant group. They are respectful of the game and the opposition, they just have an inner confidence in each other and that’s come out this year. -Cassidy

They now sit just two wins away from raising a Conference Champions banner for the second time in franchise history, and as they head to Dallas that inner confidence is only growing. Ahead, behind, or even in the rare times when the game is tied, this Golden Knights team always backs itself to come away with the win.

The Golden Knights Forecheck Went After Dallas In Game 1 And They’re Coming Again In Game 2

By Ken Boehlke

On May 19, 2023

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: Ken Boehlke, SinBin.vegas)

In Game 1, the game plan for the Golden Knights was simple, literally the age old hockey cliche.

Get it in deep.

From the very first shift of the game the Golden Knights consistently sent puck after puck after puck deep into the Dallas zone and then hounded their defensemen until they’d unwillingly give it back.

Vegas’ forecheck was buzzing from puck drop to the final shift a few minutes into overtime. It’s become the hallmark of the Golden Knights’ offensive system, and the head coach was not shy in making a declaration about it moving forward in the series.

That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to do it Sunday, so you can put that in print or whatever it is these days. That’s our game and we’re not trying to hide from it. -Bruce Cassidy

Just as it won’t be news to the Stars on Sunday, Vegas’ forecheck didn’t surprise Dallas in Game 1. They knew it was coming, they knew how effective it can be, they just didn’t handle it well at all.

Part of it was execution on us and part of it was them coming at us hard early. You’ve got to give them credit, they were ready to play and they played well. -Pete DeBoer

The dominance of the forecheck was why the ice was tilted so heavily in Vegas’ favor most of the night. The Golden Knights generated 11 takeaways as they denied every exit route out of the Stars end. It looked like they came into the game knowing exactly what Dallas was going to do with the puck, and that’s because, they did.

Hockey Greaseboard: Western Conference Final vs. DAL

By Ken Boehlke

On May 18, 2023

In Game Analysis

In our first edition of the hockey greaseboard we illustrated some X’s and O’s you can expect to see in the Golden Knights’ upcoming Western Conference Final series with the Dallas Stars. We examine four different situations including Dallas’ swarm defense and how VGK can beat it, the difference between how the Stars defend puck carriers heading away from the net and how Edmonton did, VGK’s zone D against the 3-high offense, and and the soft spot in VGK’s zone where we can expect the Stars to operate from.

Vegas Won As A Team By Dominating Every Important Individual Matchup

By Ken Boehlke

On May 15, 2023

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: Ken Boehlke, SinBin.vegas)

In a series highlighted by individuals, both head coaches kept using the term “team” in the postgame press conferences directly after Game 6.

Nobody on our team is asked to carry the team on their back. That’s part of the story here is the team that plays the best usually wins. We feel our team outplayed their team. It wasn’t about this player outplayed this player or this goalie against this goalie. -Bruce Cassidy

We win as a team and we don’t win as a team and we stick together. -Jay Woodcroft

While both coaches are absolutely correct, the reason the Golden Knights won as a team was they won all of the key individual matchups in the series. From front to back to on the ice and off, Vegas dominated in all the places necessary to beat the Edmonton Oilers and now they’re headed to the Western Conference Final for the fourth time in six years.

Here are five specific matchups the Golden Knights got the better of on their way to dispatching the world’s greatest player in the second round.

Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault vs Cody Ceci and Darnell Nurse

You don’t have to look further than the scoring numbers when breaking down this matchup. Eichel was 5-1 against Ceci and 4-1 against Nurse while Marchessault was 6-1 against Ceci and 4-1 against Nurse.

Beyond the scoring though, the Golden Knights’ forwards were consistently able to hold the puck in the offensive zone against Ceci and Nurse. Eichel in particular was excellent in gaining controlled entry over the course of the series which relieved pressure on the VGK defense and forced whichever forward line was against them to defend. Marchessault’s forechecking caused havoc and he scored four times from directly in front of the goal.

In a series where puck possession was always going to be paramount for the Golden Knights, Eichel and Marchessault delivered in as big a way as they could over the six games. The Oilers only had one pair that should have been able to handle these two, and they weren’t able to do it.

VGK Put Forth “Best All Around Defensive Game” In Game 5

By Ken Boehlke

On May 13, 2023

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: Ken Boehlke, SinBin.vegas)

Since Game 1, the Golden Knights and Oilers series hadn’t seen a game within three goals in the final 10 minutes. So, while much has been learned about the matchup between the two teams, close defensive hockey was still a question mark.

That was until last night.

Following the kill of a major penalty that brought the score from 4-2 to 4-3, the Golden Knights put on a clinic in how to defend the most potent offense in the NHL this season.

I thought it was our best all around defensive game. Our team has responded well to situational hockey in the playoffs when we’ve had the lead. We understand the value of easy chances against so we’re making the other team work. We did a really good job of that last night and I think we are good 5-on-5 with the lead. -Bruce Cassidy

Vegas became an entry denial machine that stifled the Oilers for the entire 3rd period, not allowing them to erase the one goal deficit. Edmonton generated a measly four shots on goal in nearly 10 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey. And, the Oilers mustered up just 0.21 expected goals in the 3rd period with all ten skaters on the ice, less than half of what they accumulated in each of the first two periods.

Good gaps, check with our feet, staying tight and defending as five as we have all year. I thought we executed plays really well and we won those battles and got the clears when we needed to and got a couple big stops which you need. There’s a lot to build off of there and I thought we executed well. -Nic Hague

It was all highlighted by one shift though, a shift that wasn’t even played in the defensive end of the ice.

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Praise Be To Foley, Vegas Golden Knights Hockey Website

Category: Game Analysis Page 1 of 46

Adin Hill vs Dallas Part VI

Battle Of Depth Tilting Towards Dallas

Adin Hill’s Outstanding Run Between The Vegas Pipes

Does Dallas Have Enough Fight Left To Force A Game 5?

Golden Knights’ Style The Impetus To Opposition Frustration

Comeback Kings Of The Postseason

The Golden Knights Forecheck Went After Dallas In Game 1 And They’re Coming Again In Game 2

Hockey Greaseboard: Western Conference Final vs. DAL

Vegas Won As A Team By Dominating Every Important Individual Matchup

VGK Put Forth “Best All Around Defensive Game” In Game 5

Points To Elimination

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