While the Stanley Cup could be hoisted as early as Tuesday, after the Vegas Golden Knights came within just one victory of the title, the brainstorming will inevitably begin to pick a winner for the Conn-Smythe Trophy.
If the Knights win, Jonathan Marchessault will be impossible to ignore. He’s the league’s leading scorer in the playoffs, and his 13 goals put him close to the 25-year high for a single spring (15). We will also look, logically, to his center player Jack Eichel as well as to captain Mark Stone, superb in the final.
However, in the light of another splendid performance, can we really look up to Adin Hill? In his team’s 3-2 victory on Saturday, he was not perfect, but close.
If it had been soccer, the Panthers’ first goal would have been scored “own” after the puck deflected off two Vegas players and landed in the back of the net.
PHOTO REBECCA BLACKWELL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Goalkeeper Adin Hill (33) makes the save in front of Colin White (6) of the Florida Panthers.
On the second goal, Hill’s long lateral move might have looked a bit sluggish, but Aleksander Barkov served it to perfection with a shot just inside the post.
For the rest, the goalkeeper gave nothing, and above all seemed perfectly in control of the situation – once again, one might say. He multiplied the stops while the opposing attackers were very close to him, even on him. In the final minutes of the third period, at a time when the players in red monopolized control of the disc and the center players in white were unable to win a face-off, Hill kept watch.
The question, therefore: why not Adin Hill for the Conn-Smythe? If it weren’t for his number of games played – only 15 so far, he would certainly be among the favorite candidates.
Among the best
The 27-year-old goaltender, remember, was Laurent Brossoit’s auxiliary when the playoffs began. The latter was injured very early in the second game against the Edmonton Oilers, in the second round. Hill answered the call and has since become known to all NHL hockey fans.
The veteran was not exactly a stranger, however. He had just had a nice campaign in Vegas, his first in the desert. But without Logan Thompson’s major injury during the season and Brossoit’s in the playoffs, we wouldn’t be talking about him.
Stéphane Waite, former goaltending coach with the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Blackhawks, recently said in the prestigious podcast Area exit that the injury suffered by the very wobbly Brossoit seemed like a gift for the Knights. Harsh words, but fair.
After 15 playoff games, Hill has a .934 save percentage and a 2.11 goals-against average. Should those numbers remain unchanged and the Knights win the Stanley Cup, Hill would find himself, respectively, at 4e and at 9e rank in these two statistical categories among the goaltenders of a champion team since the 2004-2005 lockout. Ahead of him, in terms of efficiency rate, Jonathan Quick (.946 in 2012), Tim Thomas (.940 in 2011) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (.937 in 2021) all received the Conn-Smythe.
The problem, we mentioned above, is that Adin Hill only appeared in 15 meetings, including 13 starts, nevertheless signing 10 victories. That’s not sexy for a job application.
Note, if we judge the late starts, we could also talk about that of Marchessault who, after seven games, had collected only two points, including no goals. The result is however striking: 22 points in 14 games.
That one or the other is named most valuable player of the series – still it is necessary that the Knights win! –, the story will be similar. It will be that of a late bloomer, who ate his black bread in the minor circuits before touching the big league and who was abandoned by two or three teams to better explode elsewhere.
Last March, in an interview with some members of the Montreal media, Marchessault spoke of the many gamers Golden Knights. These players who stand out on big occasions. He had notably cited his teammate Reilly Smith as an example.
It is clear that his name comes very high in the list of gamers of this locker room. Next to that of Adin Hill, certainly.
Rising
Chandler Stephenson
He reacted well after a game noh 3 ordinary. He scored the first two goals of his side, bringing his total to 10 in 21 games during this playoffs.
Falling
Nick Cousins
His ice time is melting away – not even 10 minutes this time. Barely two appearances in the third period. This career plumber seems to have reached the end of his resources on an attacking trio.
The number of the game
2
No less than 57 penalties had been imposed in the first three games of the series. However, the referees had raised their arms only twice on Saturday, before the rififi caused some sanctions at the final whistle.