As alluded to this morning in the team’s reassignment of goaltender Jiri Patera to their AHL affiliate, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have removed Adin Hill from the injured reserve, and he is on track to dress in the team’s game tonight against the New York Islanders. Even though he will be back in the lineup, it is unclear if Hill will start in tonight’s contest, or if the Golden Knights will continue to utilize Logan Thompson.
Being one of the better success stories of last season, there were high expectations for Hill coming off an impressive run to the Stanley Cup last year. When he has been healthy, Hill has once again been one of the better netminders in the league, producing a 10-2-2 record in 15 games with a league-leading .933 SV% and 1.99 GAA to boot.
However, for the fourth time in his career and already the second time this season, Hill has missed a significant amount of time with injury, being one of the main drivers of Vegas’ fall in the standings. Since recovering from his current injury suffered on December 17th, the Golden Knights have only managed a 6-8-1 record, falling to eighth in the league standings.
Other Pacific notes:
- After suffering an undisclosed injury in the team’s most recent game, Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group reports that San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro will not play tonight. Fortunately, subsequent reporting indicated that the injury to Ferraro was not as bad as expected, but the Sharks will likely be keeping him out through the All-Star break to fully recover.
- Kate Shefte of Seattle Times Sports reported that Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand had missed the team’s practice today due to personal reasons. With a game tomorrow night against the Chicago Blackhawks, it is unclear if Bjorkstrand will be in the lineup or not. As the Kraken’s lone All-Star representative, Bjorkstrand is putting together quite the season, scoring 12 goals and 36 points in all 46 games for the team.
- Having spent two weeks with the team since being recalled on January 9th, the Edmonton Oilers announced they have loaned defenseman Philip Kemp to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Making his NHL debut on January 13th, Kemp was unable to score his first NHL point after only managing two minutes of ice time. With Kemp now back in Bakersfield, the Oilers were able to comfortably place the new contract of Corey Perry onto their active roster.
Ferraro should be in the AHL, Wilson must be getting a cut of his deal. Overrated Mount Rushmore.