Carter Hart began his 2026 playoff journey with the Vegas Golden Knights by splitting the first two Stanley Cup first-round games against the Utah Mammoth, and his early numbers have turned a debate into a short, sharp argument: Hart has the fourth-best save percentage among playoff starting goalies at.935 and a 2.56 goals-against average against the Mammoth.
The Knights managed six goals across two games — one of them an empty-netter in Game 1 — and Hart’s work in goal is the clearest reason they are level in the series. Across the regular season Hart had been used sparingly, appearing in just 18 games for Vegas, but he finished the schedule on a streak, posting a save percentage of.909 or better in each of his final five regular-season games.
That track record is exactly why John Tortorella, who reunited with Hart in Vegas after coaching him earlier in his career, leaned on the netminder to open the postseason. Devan Dubnyk, a veteran netminder who has seen similar coaching reharmonies, put the point plainly: "It’s nice because you know (Tortorella) knows you, he’s seen you play well," and added, "Hart had plenty of good times in Philadelphia, and from what I understand, he’s got a good relationship with ‘Torts’. So it’s kind of perfect for both sides." Dubnyk said the familiarity makes choices easier: "It’s pretty easy, you’re going to go to the guy that you know."
Context sharpens the choice. Hart spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers and was reunited in Vegas with Tortorella after the Golden Knights hired the coach on the premise that the franchise is "never satisfied with mediocrity." Tortorella has long been outspoken about goaltending standards; in 2006 he said he was "sick of the 25 percent rule (with goalies); we need to make an occasional save." That impatience helps explain why Hart — who played fewer regular-season games than Akira Schmid, who appeared in 34, and Adin Hill, who played 27 — was chosen to start the postseason run.
The decision is also practical. Of the three regular-season Vegas netminders, Hill’s numbers were troubling: a 3.04 goals-against average and a.871 save percentage. Schmid logged more minutes in the regular season but the coach apparently preferred Hart’s recent form and their shared history. As Dubnyk put it bluntly about coaches who must pick a starter: "And for ‘Torts’, it’s not easy for a coach – you come in (for) a team, and you don’t know who to start." He added, "But one of those (goalies) guys I’ve had before, and I know him, and I know he’s potentially great, and I’ve seen him play. There – that’s my guy."
Tension sits under the surface of the split: Hart’s postseason excellence so far — the.935 save percentage and 2.56 GAA — matters more because he entered the playoffs having been the least-used of Vegas’s three primary goalies. For carter hart, that means every high-leverage stop carries a double weight: it protects the lead on the scoreboard and validates Tortorella’s choice to go with a goalie who finished the season well but did not dominate minutes earlier.
The series score and Hart’s early numbers also change a narrative that lingered off the ice. Hart faced a sexual assault charge in recent years that was proven not guilty, a matter that has shadowed portions of his career; the facts record the legal outcome, and the current story is about how he performs for Vegas now. If his.935 save percentage holds or even slips only modestly, he will have answered the central coaching question: can Tortorella’s familiarity and a short hot streak justify naming Hart the postseason workhorse?
At this stage the simplest conclusion is also the most consequential: Hart has given the Golden Knights an unmistakable reason to keep playing him. The team scored six goals in two games and remains alive in the series, but it is Hart’s saves, not the empty-netter, that kept the scoreboard manageable. His next starts will decide whether this is the start of a deep run built on a goaltending reset — or a coach’s experiment that runs out of room.
