Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — It was quite the noche for Los VGK and Vegas goaltender Adin Hill against the Ottawa Senators Tuesday night.
The 2023 Stanley Cup-winning goalie now relegated as Carter Hart’s backup, Hill stopped 25 of 26 Ottawa shots and won his fifth game in six starts for the 9-4-1 Vegas Golden Knights.
Hill stepped up for an injured Hart, who could not play after today’s ice workout. Hill led the VGK to the Cup in 2023, but he has been plagued by injuries and spotty play as he tries to regain his top form from the 2023 NHL playoffs.
Hill made the save of the VGK season on Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle in the first period. He then ventured out of the net at the end of the second period when he was in a collision with a Senators player before the wild sequence ended with the Golden Knights’ Braeden Bowman scoring from a few inches with only 11 seconds left in the middle stanza.
In the third period, Ottawa’s Shane Pinto scored 34 seconds into the stanza to tie the game at one each.
But the VGK countered with Raphael Lavoie’s first NHL goal for a 2-1 lead at 8:01 of the period. And VGK veterans William Karlsson and Jack Eichel scored empty-netters for the Vegas 4-1 win. The win snapped a three-game VGK losing streak, 6-2 losses to both Tampa Bay and St. Louis a 2-1 OT loss to Columbus. The Knights lead their division, a point ahead of Edmonton.
Attendance was announced at 16,663.
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