Hill's 'unbelievable' save sparks Golden Knights in Game 1 of Cup Final

LAS VEGAS -- Adin Hill was sliding away from the net when he lunged back at the last second, getting a piece of Nick Cousin's tip attempt with the paddle of his stick.

Was it the best save of the Vegas Golden Knights goalie's career?

"Yeah, maybe timewise yes, considering Stanley Cup Final," Hill said with a laugh. "But I feel like I've made other big saves too."

Sure, but this one was huge for the Golden Knights in their 5-2 win against the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

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Hill's save on Cousins came 50 seconds into the second period and looked very reminiscent of a save Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby made on Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch in Game 2 of the Cup Final in 2018. Holtby's save, which Hill remembers watching, happened in the same end of the ice as Hill's too.

Washington went on to defeat Vegas in five games to win the Stanley Cup that year.

"That's definitely a momentum swinger for sure," Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said. "It got the bench energized. It kind of opens up your eyes a little bit too. Maybe we weren't playing that great to start the second, but that save kind of turned it around for us, got us going in that period."

Even the opposition had to give Hill his due.

"Yeah, I mean that is an unbelievable save," Florida forward Carter Verhaeghe said. "He's down and out and he comes back with the paddle. A huge save for them for sure."

And it was another reminder of how good Hill, who made 33 saves in Game 1, has been for the Golden Knights during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 27-year-old relieved Laurent Broissoit when the latter sustained a lower-body injury in the first period of a 5-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the Western Conference Second Round and hasn't looked back.

He's now 8-3 with a 2.06 goals-against average, .938 save percentage and two shutouts in 12 playoff games, including 10 starts.

"That's an unreal save, right? It's a game-changer because we come down and get one at the other end (10:04 later)," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "You need those saves at key moments. We didn't play our best game in front of him, I'm the first to admit that. Sometimes Game 1s go like that.

"Eventually, [we] found a rhythm and we were able to score some goals for him, so he didn't have to be perfect by any means. But that was a big save. The guys get excited to see that, for obvious reasons. I don't know what it does to them but for us, it picks us up."

Hill has already had a memorable postseason with some of his performances. The work isn't done yet, but thanks to saves like the one he made on Cousins, the Golden Knights are now three wins away from the Cup.

Game 2 is here Monday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS).

"Your confidence goes up a bit [after a save like that], but I also feel my confidence is in this team right now," Hill said. "We're playing great hockey and we just have to keep it rolling."