How Adin Hill's Injury Impacts Golden Knights

Hill originally started in the Knights' victory over the Hurricanes, but had to leave the game in the middle of the first period after getting hurt while making a save. It was not immediately noticeable that something was wrong until Hill went down after making a save, and the play was blown dead.

One of the Golden Knights' athletic trainers came over to talk to Hill, and he exited the game and did not return. His backup goaltender, Akira Schmid, entered and earned the victory for the home team.

But with an injury to Hill, this is a recipe for disaster for the Golden Knights. Hill usually takes the bulk of the starts in goal, and now head coach Bruce Cassidy has some tough decisions to make.

The Knights will have to be patient with Akira Schmid

With Hill out due to his injury, Schmid is going to have to handle the majority of the starts in goal for the time being. The problem, though, is that Schmid has not started more than 19 regular season games in a single season.

Schmid used to be part of the New Jersey Devils' organization before coming over to the Golden Knights in 2024. Schmid started 30 games for the Henderson Silver Knights, who are the Golden Knights' AHL affiliate, in 2024 and had a 3.58 GAA with a .886 save percentage.

Those are not fantastic numbers, but Schmid is still a young goaltender who is learning on the fly. He is 25-years-old and does not have a whole ton of NHL experience. With the Devils in 2022-23, he started nine playoff games and posted a 2.35 GAA to go alongside a .911 save percentage.

It is going to take time and patience for Schmid with the Golden Knights' organization. He is going to have some growing pains as he starts more games. Yes, Hill usually got the majority of the work, but it is now Schmid's time to prove that he is a legit goaltender who can be relied upon.

The Golden Knights will have to call up a goaltender to backup Schmid as they wait for Hill to come back from his injury. But, for now, the Golden Knights are going to have to tough it out with Schmid and see what he's got.