LAS VEGAS (AP) — Adin Hill made perhaps the save of the playoffs in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.
The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender reached back and extended his stick to keep Florida’s Nick Cousin from scoring. Hill got his blade in front of the puck just in time early in the second period to keep the score tied.
The save by the journeyman goalie-turned-starter was reminiscent of the stop made by Washington’s Braden Holtby in Game 2 of the 2018 final in Vegas. It became known as “the save” in Capitals lore after they won the Cup for the first time in franchise history.
Hill’s save even happened at the same end of the ice. The crowd serenaded him with chants of “Adin! Adin!” and the Golden Knights scored on two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky minutes later to take the lead.
Hill is the second Vegas goalie to start in this playoffs, taking over when Laurent Brossoit was injured during the second round. The 27-year-old entered the final 7-3 with a 2.07 goals-against average and a playoff-best .937 save percentage.
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Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports