Knights, with injured players healing, look to enter break rolling

There was more to like about the Golden Knights’ 3-2 road win against the Islanders on Tuesday than just goaltender Adin Hill’s return.

The Knights were more responsible with the puck. They played with discipline. And they kept most of the Islanders’ shots to the outside while keeping the front of their net clear.

It was a winning formula for the Knights (28-14-6) that snapped their seven-game losing streak away from T-Mobile Arena. They’ll try to replicate it their final two games before the All-Star break.

The Knights face the New York Rangers at 4 p.m. Friday at Madison Square Garden and play the Red Wings at 5 p.m. Saturday at Little Caesars Arena.

“It was a big game,” right wing Jonathan Marchessault said of the win over the Islanders. “We weren’t proud of our record on the road and it’s good to get a win.”

The Knights can now look to get a winning streak going on the road before some extended time off. After Saturday, the team won’t play again until they host the Oilers on Feb. 6.

That could give some of the Knights’ many injured players time to recover. One of them could even return before the break.

Right wing Michael Amadio, who last played Jan. 15 because of an upper-body injury, practiced with the team Thursday. He could be available to return as soon as Saturday.

Amadio’s possible comeback comes on the heels of Hill’s return, which gave the Knights a massive boost. Hill is leading in the NHL in most statistical categories for goaltenders and made 41 saves against the Islanders.

Just as important, Cassidy said Hill came out of the game healthy. It was Hill’s first time starting and finishing a game since Nov. 27 due to a lower-body injury.

That means he and partner Logan Thompson can split the next two games and settle back into a rotation. Thompson, since the start of December, has started 18 of the Knights’ 24 games.

“I feel like we’ve both played well this year, so I think we’ll both keep taking the starts we both get and go from there,” Hill said. “It’s just about managing our workload and trying to get wins at the end of the day.”

Hill said he is confident in his health going forward despite the starts and stops in his recovery process.

He first returned Dec. 17 against Ottawa but lasted just 6:25 before leaving the game. He was then scheduled to start Jan. 10 against Colorado, but ended up not dressing.

Hill said he had felt 100 percent for a few days when he took the ice Tuesday. He wanted to be absolutely sure this time. He also wanted to settle back into his routine.

“When do you wake up, when you eat, all of that stuff,” Hill said. “It’s nice to get back into it.”

Goaltender Isaiah Saville was sent back to the Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate in Henderson on Wednesday, a sign of the team’s confidence in Hill’s health.

It’s unclear which of Thompson or Hill will start against the Rangers, but a win will require another effort like Tuesday’s.

Cassidy has said the Knights need to play cleaner and smarter hockey with important offensive players like centers Jack Eichel and William Karlsson injured.

They did that against the Islanders after failing to do so in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Devils on Monday. The defeat drew Cassidy’s ire. He called the showing a “beer league” effort that was “disrespectful to the game.”

He got the response he was looking for Tuesday. The Knights hope to do the same thing two more times before getting a rest.

“Honestly, we were disappointed with our game,” Marchessault said. “We don’t need our coach to tell us if we played bad or well. I think everybody is pretty smart and we know whether we played good or bad. For us, it was a new day with a new challenge and we executed.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.