Carter Hart Allows Five Straight Final Games With 4 Goals
Carter Hart has gone from carrying the Vegas Golden Knights through the first three rounds to carrying the weight of a 3-2 Stanley Cup Final deficit. He became the first goalie in NHL history to allow four or more goals in four straight games to begin a Cup Final series in Game 4, then did it again in Game 5.
Hart Faces Carolina Pressure
Carolina has scored 21 goals in the first five games, and the Hurricanes took Game 5, 4-2, to push Vegas to the brink. Jordan Staal scored six of those goals and stretched his run to five straight games with a goal, while Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov combined for three goals in the clinching win.
Hart’s postseason arc has been stark. He played nearly every other night for almost two months after going nearly two years without a game, and he had only 18 regular-season games before this run. Through the first three rounds, he backed up the Golden Knights well enough to reach the Final, but the series has turned on him in the last two games.
Tortorella Stands Behind Hart
On Thursday, John Tortorella shut down the idea of a goalie swap when asked if he was considering it. His answer was blunt: “Oh, Christ. That could be the stupidest question I’ve heard.”
Tortorella has been unusually defensive of Hart this postseason, and the two go back to 2022 in Philadelphia. Hart won 19 of his first 23 starts with Tortorella behind the bench in Vegas, a stretch that helps explain why the coach has not blinked after the first five Final games.
That support comes with risk. Adin Hill is available on the bench, but he had a rough 2025-26 season, starting slowly and dealing with multiple lower-body injuries. Vegas also may be without William Karlsson after he exited Game 5 with an injury that would “probably” keep him out of Game 6, and Jack Eichel still has not scored in the series.
Vegas In Game 6
The Golden Knights need a goalie who can steal Game 6, and Hart has not been that player in the Final. Carolina has already built a 3-2 edge and has the series momentum after back-to-back wins, leaving Vegas to answer a simple problem: keep the season alive while the net has become the loudest issue in the series.
If Hart starts again, the pressure will be on him from the first puck drop. If Vegas turns to Hill, it will be betting on a goalie whose season never stabilized. Either way, the Golden Knights have reached the point where one save sequence can decide whether they get another game in this Final.
