Carter Hart is the first goaltender in the history of the NHL to allow 4+ goals in the first five games of a Stanley Cup Final series.
He was also the first to do it in the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final series.
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Vegas Golden Knights Head Coach John Tortorella.
On Thursday in Game 5, the Vegas Golden Knights fell 4-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes, and ahead of a Game 6 on home ice, they are facing a 3-2 deficit in the series. This is the Golden Knights third appearance in the Stanley Cup Final since their inception in 2018, and given their experience as a team, there’s no way that they can be counted out just yet.
While the Knights have managed to pick up two victories in the series thus far, they’ve had to be at their very best offensively to make that happen, as they have scored 10 goals across two victories, while tallying just eight in their three losses.
GettyCarter Hart of the Vegas Golden Knights
Obviously, that’s not a good look on goaltender Carter Hart, and while he looked dominant heading into this series against Carolina, he has now recorded some unfortunate history, becoming the first player in NHL history to allow four or more goals in the first five games of a Stanley Cup Final series.
Carter Hart is the first goaltender in the history of the NHL to allow 4+ goals in the first five games of a Stanley Cup Final series.
He was also the first to do it in the first four games of a Stanley Cup Final series.
That was on full display in Game 5 once again, as the Hurricanes erased a 1-0 deficit to rattle off four straight goals, putting them in a prime position to clinch their second Stanley Cup in Game 6 in Vegas. In five games, Hart now has a combined save percentage of .854, a major drop after he posted a .945 mark in their four-game sweep of the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals.
After the brutal defeat, the questions came for Head Coach John Tortorella, who has now seen Hart put them in a compromised position in five straight games, forcing the team to score at least five goals just to win a game in the series. That led to one question from a reporter that asked whether or not the veteran coach had any thoughts of pulling his starter, who has played in all 21 games in the post-season thus far for Vegas.
Unsurprisingly, that didn’t go down too well with Tortorella, famously not very fond of the media to begin with, who blasted the reporter and firmly put his support behind the struggling 27-year-old net-minder.
“That could be the stupidest question I’ve ever heard.”
John Tortorella was asked if he gave any thought to pulling Carter Hart in the 3rd period in Game 6:
“That could be the stupidest question I’ve heard.”
While he did it with his typical attitude towards reporters, the message from Tortorella was clear: Hart is our starter and we are going to stick with him, through better or worse. Adin Hill is on the bench and ready to go for Vegas at any time, but in the post-season, Hart has appeared in all 21 games the Golden Knights have played, and as the series goes on, it becomes more and more clear that he’s tired.
Despite this, Tortorella has clear confidence in Hart, and with the team facing a must-win matchup on Sunday night back on home ice, they’ll need him to be at his best, and after this reaction, if he struggles early, there may be a massive decision to be made from Tortorella on how things play out.
Nathan Smith Nathan Smith is a writer with Heavy Sports covering the NHL and MLB. He brings a decade of experience covering sports in North America for digital platforms such as PFSN, Athlon Sports and FanSided. More about Nathan Smith
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