Golden Knights Preseason
Golden Knights Preseason Takeaways: Pornstache Power, Mayhem on the Hill
Against another one of his former teams, Adin Hill was tested frequently in net for the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday night. He faced a total of 53 shots and stopped 50 in the Golden Knights 4-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, their final home preseason game of the season.
Zack Hayes scored two and Pavel Dorofeyev and William Karlsson scored one for the Golden Knights. Matias Macceli, Barrett Hayton, and Alex Chiasson scored for the Coyotes.
Gage Quinney left the game after taking a high hit from Michael Carcone and did not return.
Outside of injuried Will Carrier, most if not all of the Golden Knights opening night depth guys were in the lineup. Nicolas Roy, William Karlsson, and Brett Howden were the standout names. A battle for a roster spot was put to the test for guys like Paul Cotter, Jake Leschyshyn, and Jonas Rondbjerg.
Here’s who stood out in the team’s third-to-last preseason matchup.
Golden Knights Takeaways
Mayhem on the Hill
After a less than stellar first impression with the Golden Knights, Adin Hill got tons of practice against the Coyotes as he faced over 50 shots. In the second period alone the Coyotes outshot the VGK 27-5.
Hill was forced to make several desperation and scrum saves. For the most part he looked good. He even had a couple of solid plays where he came out to play the puck; one of which led to a VGK goal.
But the Golden Knights sloppy defense left Hill out to dry a couple of times. Arizona’s first goal was a fluke, going off a player’s skate.
Their second goal was goof on Hill’s part as. He attempted to pass the puck through the center of the defenseive zone. It was picked off by a Coyote on the prowl and put into the back of the net.
But the only reason the Golden Knights were tied with the Coyotes after two and why they were given a chance to win all night was because of Hill. He battled all night and was easily the team’s best player.
Rockin the Pornstache
Zack Hayes was on hat trick watch after the first period at T-Mobile Arena. The 23-year old undrafted defenseman scored two goals from the point in the first period against the Coyotes. The first was a simple point shot that found its way through traffic. The second was a howitzer off the rush.
Its worth noting that Hayes changed up his look and went with a slick pornstache mustache.
With Nicolas Hague’s contract dispute raging on, theres a chance that Hayes could push for a roster spot sometime this season. He’s likely behind guys like Ben Hutton and Kaedan Korczk currently, but a two-goal effort in a preseason game certinaly doesn’t hurt his chances.
Ammos Apples
Finishing the night with three assists, Michael Amadio’s passing game was on display Tuesday night. He assisted on both of Hayes’ goals on a line with Brett Howden and William Karlsson. That line has stayed together since day one of training camp and could be Bruce Cassidy’s go-to checking line for 22-23.
Claimed off waivers last season, Amadio’s scoring instints have taken off in Vegas. He scored 11 goals last season and signed a contract extention with the VGK for two more years. Cheap and valuable depth.
Crunching Cotter
Paul Cotter once again had a standout preseason game with a couple of bone-crushing hits and some solid offensive time. He’s the frontrunner to fill Will Carrier’s spot in the lineup out of training camp.
Up Next
The Golden Knights will play their final two preseason games on the road in special venues. On Thursday, they play the Los Angeles Kings in Salt Lake City, Utah, at 6:00 pm. Then they take on the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday in Boise, Idaho, at 5:00 pm. Both games can be found on KTNV Channel 13.
Here were Tuesday night’s lines
Brett Howden- William Karlsson- Michael Amadio
Paul Cotter- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar
Jonas Rondbjerg- Jake Leschyshyn- Mason Primeau
Gage Quinney- Sakari Manninen- Pavel Dorofeyev
Jake Bischoff- Zach Whitecloud
Zack Hayes- Ben Hutton
Brayden Pachal-ย Kaedan Korczak
Adin Hill/Michael Hutchinson