Over and over again last season the knock on the Vegas Golden Knights was goaltending. No one outside of the team believed in what the organization had assembled in the crease.
What was once considered a weakness is a strength and may be the key ingredient to the Golden Knights' early superiority in this NHL season.
The duo of Adin Hill and Logan Thompson have combined to help Vegas collect 21 out of a possible 22 points through 11 games. The team’s save percentage of .927 ranks fourth in the NHL and its goals-against average of 2.12 is third. Vegas is first in wins and along with Boston is one of two teams without a regulation loss to date this season.
The only VGK blemish is an OT loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
The 27-year-old Hill was a Conn Smythe candidate last spring, posting an 11-4-0 mark with a 2.17 GAA and .932 save percentage in the playoffs.
Thompson, 26, was a midseason all-star before injuries prevented him from getting any playoff action.
Tandem is the key word in Vegas. Hill has played in six of the Golden Knights games and Thompson has started five.
Top Western Conference teams like Colorado and Dallas have relied heavily on their No. 1 goalies. Last year, when the Golden Knights eliminated the Stars in the Western Conference Final, their goalie Jake Oettinger had seen action in 81 games over the regular season and playoffs.
It can be argued Vegas puts a No. 1 goalie in the net every game. Not many teams can say the same.
Bruce Cassidy addressed goaltender usage earlier this week.
“It’s not necessarily and advantage right now. But it will be. We’re not over-stressing one guy,” said Cassidy. “For us, this is the plan we have in place and until one falters or there is injury we’re going to stick to it. We feel that’s the best approach for us. Come April and May, if we’ve played the way we’re supposed to play and we’re in the tournament, and playing well and winning series, we may go to one. But the argument then might be, ‘well you balanced it all year so why are you going with one in the playoffs?'
"The flipside to that is, because we balanced it all year, he’s got lots left in the tank to have a run. So there’s both sides. But that’s a long way away. We have two goalies we feel very strong about that they give us a chance to win every night. Until that changes, we don’t see any reason to change.”
Both goalies are big but athletic, and they also have huge competitive streaks.
“We’re good friends,” said Hill. “We want one another to do well. We cheer each other on. It’s a good situation for both of us.”
Goaltending coach Sean Burke is gaining the reputation of being a goalie whisperer. He’s experienced and played over 18 seasons in the NHL. He’s been working in coaching and management for various NHL teams since 2008 and joined the Golden Knights prior to last season.
Burke is a fascinating person with interests in music and film. He’s been known to jump on stage in Nashville and join the house band. He’s also working on a screenplay about a goalie-turned-bank robber. So he can talk just about anything over a drink in the hotel lobby. When the subject turns to goaltending, he can be expansive and detailed. And protective of his guys.
The combination of Burke, Thompson and Hill has Vegas on top. Cassidy is correct. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
