Carter Hart's Early Post-Season Success With The Golden Knights Is A Product Of Familiarity With John Tortorella

The Vegas Golden Knights have split their first two Stanley Cup first-round playoff games against the Utah Mammoth.

While not everything has gone the way the Golden Knights hoped, Carter Hart’s goaltending under coach John Tortorella has been solid.

Hart spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers, and he’s now been reunited in Vegas with former Flyers coach Tortorella. 

Hart’s strong play against the Mammoth is an indication he’s happy having Tortorella as his coach again. 

“It’s nice because you know (Tortorella) knows you, he’s seen you play well,” former NHL goaltender Devan Dubnyk said on The Hockey News’ “Big Show”. “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. Carter can go out there and play without feeling like he has to impress anybody, and that (Tortorella) knows him and knows who he is both on and off the ice. 

“And for ‘Torts’, it’s not easy for a coach – you come in (for) a team, and you don’t know who to start. You’ve got three (goalies), and you’re like, ‘I don’t know’, you’re trying to lock up the spot and go into the playoffs. 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. It’s pretty easy, you’re going to go to the guy that you know. So it’s easy for ‘Torts’, and nice for Carter Hart.”

Indeed, Hart’s individual statistics against the Mammoth bear out Dubnyk’s praise for Hart. He’s got the fourth-best save percentage of any playoff starting goalie at .935, and his 2.56 goals-against average is also encouraging.

That said, Vegas has struggled to produce offense, posting just six goals in the two games against the Mammoth – and one of those goals was an empty-netter in Game 1’s Golden Knights win.

Thus, it’s on Hart to do some of the heavy-lifting against a swift and skilled Utah team. But while Tortorella has a history of throwing his goalies under the bus – we all remember Tortorella’s 2006 comments about being “sick of the 25 percent rule (with goalies); we need to make an occasional save,” don’t we? – you’d like to think he’s evolved and learned his lesson about putting a negative spotlight on his netminders.

Right now, Tortorella is riding the hot hand in net, and that’s Hart. Akira Schmid was the most relied-upon Vegas goalie in the regular season, playing 34 games to Hart’s 18. Meanwhile, veteran Adin Hill played in 27 outings, but his numbers (3.04 GAA, .871 SP) were terrible.

So going with Hart was clearly the best option, as Hart posted an SP of .909 or better in each of his final five regular-season games.

As Dubnyk noted, sometimes familiarity between a coach and his goalie is beneficial to both parties. Tortorella was hired because the Golden Knights are never satisfied with mediocrity, so there’s still all sorts of pressure on the coach – and on Hart as well. 

If they’re going to beat the upstart Mammoth, the Golden Knights need to give Hart more offensive support. Because even if they do get out of the first round, Vegas is going to be facing much tougher tests in the second round and beyond. 

The sexual assault charge Hart faced and was proven not guilty of dominated headlines about him in recent years. But he now has a chance to be on an accomplished Golden Knights team that can go deep into the post-season. He’s starting his 2026 playoff journey looking up to the challenge.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.