3 takeaways from Knights’ win: Goaltender leaves early with injury

The Golden Knights seemed to solve some of their problems generating offense at five-on-five Tuesday against Calgary.

Now they have a potentially much larger issue to confront.

Goaltender Akira Schmid replaced an injured Adin Hill after the first period and helped the Knights to a come-from-behind 4-2 win over the Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta.

Schmid stopped all 19 shots he faced in relief of Hill, who allowed two goals on 10 shots before departing with what the team said was a lower-body injury.

“Sometimes those games are almost easier where you just get thrown in,” Schmid said on the Vegas 34 broadcast. “I think after the first goal, we just started rolling from there. And then the third period, I think we were pretty much the better team the whole period.”

Center Jack Eichel scored twice, including the go-ahead goal 6:38 into the third period. He cut the deficit to 2-1 midway through the second period when he jammed his own rebound past Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf.

Defenseman Kaeden Korczak tallied the tying goal 4:11 into the third. Center Tomas Hertl added an empty-net goal as the Knights (2-0-2) scored four straight goals to earn their first win in regulation this season.

“I liked a lot of things in our third period,” Eichel said. “Obviously we continued to attack and were able to tie it up and then get the lead. A lot of credit to the guys, a lot of resiliency tonight.”

Hill appeared to be injured less than eight minutes into the first period. He took a shot up high from Calgary right wing Matt Coronato and lost his mask in the process. Play continued and the rebound came out to Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who unloaded a slap shot that hit Hill.

Hill dropped awkwardly to the ice and was in obvious discomfort. After taking a few moments to gather himself, Hill was checked out by the Knights trainer and stayed in the game. But when the second period started, Hill was not on the Knights’ bench and Schmid was in the crease.

“I don’t know where Adin will end up right now in terms of, obviously he’s got a lower-body injury. I don’t know how serious it will be,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “But Akira has done a good job. … I think our guys are comfortable in front of him.”

Schmid had 11 saves in the second, including two key stops on Flames center Nazem Kadri, and kept the puck out during a scramble late in the period.

He also was fortunate when a drive by former Knights defenseman Daniil Miromanov deflected off defenseman Shea Theodore and hit the post with just over five minutes remaining in the third period.

“He was unbelievable, coming in cold,” Korczak said of Schmid. “He made some huge saves there for us, especially in the second.”

The Knights were without defenseman Noah Hanifin for the third straight game due to an undisclosed injury.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Goalie situation

The backup role behind Hill was the Knights’ biggest question mark entering the season. The front office chose to go with Schmid as the No. 2 rather than a more experienced goaltender.

Schmid was once a well-regarded prospect and beat out Ilya Samsonov for the backup job at the end of the last season despite struggling for the Silver Knights. He won a playoff series with the Devils in 2023 and improved to 4-0-1 in a Golden Knights uniform Tuesday.

Schmid, who has 50 career NHL appearances, will now have a chance to prove he can be a full-time NHL goalie. He already was scheduled to start Thursday against the Boston Bruins when the Knights open a three-game homestand and will have to carry the load if Hill is out for an extended period.

“He held us in there for a little bit till we got our footing under us. He did a good job for us,” Cassidy said of Schmid. “He’s played well every time he’s been in there for us.”

Carl Lindbom likely will get the call from Henderson to serve as the backup unless the Knights acquire a veteran goaltender. Lindbom, a seventh-round pick in 2021, posted a .912 save percentage in 36 appearances with the Silver Knights last season.

The Golden Knights also have been linked with former Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart, one of five players from Canada’s 2018 World Junior team that were acquitted of sexual assault in July. Hart, following his acquittal, can agree to an NHL contract beginning Wednesday. He is eligible to play starting Dec. 1.

2. New lines

The Eichel-Mitch Marner experiment appears to be over for the time being.

The Knights stuck with the top-six forward lines they used during the second half of Saturday’s overtime loss at Seattle. Eichel centered right wing Mark Stone and left wing Ivan Barbashev, while Marner skated with Hertl and left wing Pavel Dorofeyev.

Left wing Cole Reinhardt made his season debut on the fourth line in place of left wing Brett Howden, who is day to day with a lower-body injury.

Separating Eichel and Marner looked to be the right move by Cassidy as it gave each of the Knights’ top two lines a playmaker. Marner finished with two assists, while Hertl had a goal and an assist.

After being on the ice for both Calgary goals in the first period and briefly being benched, the Eichel line ended with an 18-12 advantage in shot attempts and 6-5 advantage in scoring chances at five-on-five, according to the website Natural Stat Trick.

“Being able to score five-on-five is so important in this league,” Eichel said. “It was good to get a couple five-on-five. We’ve got to build off of it.”

3. Stone avoids disaster

The Knights’ captain was the victim of friendly fire midway through the second period when he was hit in the right hand by a hard dump-in attempt from teammate Jeremy Lauzon.

Stone dropped to the ice for a few seconds and grimaced in pain before skating back into the play. He had difficulty holding his stick with his right hand, and Stone shoveled the puck forward with only his left hand on his stick to start the rush that led to Eichel’s first goal.

According to the broadcast, Stone briefly went to the locker room following the goal but returned. He didn’t show any effects in the third period and had a chance in front of the net that was turned away by Wolf.

Stone finished with an assist and has points in all four games.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.