LAS VEGAS -- Like it or not, Carter Hart is deservedly a playoff goaltender in the NHL for the Golden Knights.

The 27-year-old has been the league's best goaltender since the start of the month, and just turned in his first playoff win since Sept. 3, 2020, when he was with the Philadelphia Flyers, in Vegas' 4-2 win over the Utah Mammoth on Sunday.

"We found a way to win a game, and I thought Carter Hart really gave us a chance," Vegas coach John Tortorella said.

After opening his tenure with the Knights by going 5-3-3 with a .871 save percentage and allowing 36 goals in 12 appearances, he returned to the net on April 2 after an injury, went 6-0-0 with a .930 save percentage, and allowed 10 goals in six games.

There was no better goaltender in the NHL during the same stretch.

Sunday, he was the better netminder, as the Golden Knights continued their winning ways under coach John Tortorella, who took over the team March 29, after Bruce Cassidy was fired.

Ironically, in Cassidy's first season with the Knights, he led them to a Stanley Cup after keeping once-starter goalie Logan Thompson in the press box as a healthy scratch during the playoffs and needed to turn to Adin Hill after Laurent Brossoit got injured.

Now, Tortorella has given Hill's net to Hart. And not because Vegas' $6 million goaltender is hurt, but because Hart has outplayed him - and deserves the starting role.

Tortorella was the coach of the Flyers when Hart was stopping pucks in Philly, so there is familiarity. Perhaps that's provided added confidence for both of them.

One, the incoming coach who took over a very talented team that needed a swift kick in the hockey pads with eight games in the regular season.

And two, the young netminder who's been through a lot off the ice, and simply needed to know there is someone who believes in him genuinely.

Aside from Vegas' offense coming around, there's no doubt the goaltending has been the biggest difference.

In Hill's lone start under Tortorella, he took the L in a 4-3 shootout loss at Seattle.

Tortorella has acknowledged he has two quality goaltenders in the locker room, but it's Hart's growth and maturity that have given him the pipes at this point.

"I had him there for a couple of years in Philly, and I watched him grow from the first time I stepped into Philly, and then he had to step out of the league, but I watched how he was growing," Tortorella said. "The greatest compliment I can give to Carter is preparation. That goaltending position, the coaches stay out of it. He has a position coach in (Sean) Burkey, so we stay out of it.

"But I do watch how he prepares. He's one of the guys who leaves no stone unturned. He gets focused. And I think he's mature. I think he's matured mentally. Sometimes we always look at these young kids and you talk about their physical growth, it's more mental. And I think he's really matured that way, and has certainly ... after his injury, found his way to get some good minutes under his belt as we enter the series."

After turning in good minutes in Game 1, it's quite clear who deserves the net at this point.

Like it or not.

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) makes a save as Utah Mammoth right wing Dylan Guenther (11) falls in the crease during the second period of game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena.