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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
EDMONTON, Alberta — Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit left Game 3 of the Western Conference second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night after suffering what appeared to be a lower-body injury while making a save with 8:21 left in the first period.
Brossoit stopped a shot from Oilers forward Connor McDavid and was pushing cross-crease to defend against a rebound opportunity when he suddenly crumbled to the ice in pain. The veteran was down for several moments before an unsuccessful attempt to get up on his own. Brossoit was eventually helped off by a pair of teammates and shakily made his way down the Vegas tunnel to the locker room.
ESPN’s Leah Hextall reported Brossoit was having his left leg looked at by athletic trainers in the hallway between the Vegas bench and the locker room.
Adin Hill took over for the Golden Knights in net. Hill, Vegas’ primary backup netminder, just made his NHL postseason debut last week when he replaced Brossoit in Game 2, a 5-1 Edmonton rout that evened the best-of-seven series, 1-1, on Saturday night.
Jonathan Quick, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Los Angeles Kings, was the Golden Knights’ third goaltender and took over on the bench as Vegas’ top option. Typically, the No. 3 goalie sits up in the press box, but Quick, as Hextall reported on the broadcast, was working out at ice level during the first period and was quickly able to get his equipment on and join his teammates.
Vegas has had to use multiple starters this season due to various injury problems. At one point, the Golden Knights won four consecutive games with four different goalies.
Brossoit started the season while still recovering from summer hip surgery. He cleared waivers, went to play in the American Hockey League and then was promoted back to the NHL — only to suffer a lower-body injury in February. That limited him to just 11 regular-season appearances.
Brossoit eventually became Vegas’ No. 1 again, finishing the regular season with a 10-7-0 mark and a .927 save percentage to go along with a 2.17 goals-against average. He then backstopped the Golden Knights to a first-round series win over the Winnipeg Jets and a 6-4 victory in Game 1 over Edmonton before being pulled after the second period of Game 2 for allowing five goals on 32 shots.
Hill was 16-7-1 in the regular season with a .915 percentage and a 2.45 average