John Tortorella Stands Behind Carter Hart As Hart Fails To Stand In Front Of Four Goals Per Game

There are very few people on Earth who want to see Carter Hart in net for Vegas. Most of them are Golden Knights fans, but no one cares what they think because they are Golden Knights fans. One of them is John Tortorella, who has displayed a deep and occasionally baffling level of loyalty to the goalie, likely dating to their time in Philadelphia. The only others are the Carolina Hurricanes, because they have been beating the shit out of Hart every night and would like that to continue.

Hart had already made history by being the first goalie to give up at least four goals in each of the Stanley Cup Final’s first four games, so what did he do in Game 5 Thursday night? Gave up four more, as fans gleefully chanted “No means no,” as they have before in this series. I find the chant in poor taste, but certainly not for reasons that involve sympathy for Hart. There could be some pathos in watching a man steadfastly earn himself the undisputed title of worst goalie in Cup Final history, were it another man.

But it’s Hart, whose role in the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal came with an acquittal, but also a fairly clear-eyed consensus in the NHL world that the limits of basic decency did not extend to allowing Hart to resume his career as if nothing happened. That consensus did not apply to the Golden Knights; it rarely seems to. They signed Hart in October 2025, nine days after he became eligible to sign, and put him in net on Dec. 2, one day after he became eligible to play.

It’s important to remember that Hart was not some superstar, and the Knights could get one up on the league by holding their nose to bring in his obvious talents. They were taking a flyer on him. They were already as set in goal as any team, with Adin Hill, who won the Cup for them three seasons ago, starting the first year of a six-year extension.

But then Hill was suddenly hurt, so Hart got the nod, and he was very bad, and then he got hurt. The Golden Knights had pretty putrid goaltending all year, honestly. Their third-stringer Akira Schmid actually played the most games and put up the best numbers, but he wasn’t even considered for the postseason; he’s been a healthy scratch for every game. Hill was back in the spring and scuffling as the team slumped, but it wasn’t until Vegas fired Bruce Cassidy and brought in Tortorella that they turned to Hart again. He put up a 6-0-0 record with a 1.66 GAA and a .930 save percentage as the Knights snuck into the playoffs. It was enough to make him the playoff starter.

And Hart was very good through three rounds. His .924 save percentage coming into the Carolina series ranked second in the league, behind only Frederik Andersen. There is one crucial difference between the two: When Andersen suffered extended struggles, Rod Brind’Amour didn’t hesitate to bench him and keep him there. Brandon Bussi, the undrafted, untested rookie, had an up-and-down regular season but has been superb since spelling Andersen, after the latter allowed four goals in the second period of Game 3. Bussi has stopped 59 of 65 shots, and won the two games he started.

Hart was not benched after he allowed four goals in the third period of Game 3. Vegas fought back to win that one, but Hart has rewarded his coach’s trust with two more four-goal performances. Maybe he’s got another one in him yet.

Hill is healthy and a proven Cup winner, and the Golden Knights probably aren’t surviving this series without a game or two won by a goaltender. Hart hasn’t been terrible, necessarily—there are no truly soft goals in the footage—but he looks worn out and a step slow. He looks incapable of stealing a game, or even winning one without his skaters scoring an unsustainable amount.

Is there any chance that Hart, who has played every minute of the postseason, could see the bench? Tortorella was asked just that after Thursday’s 4-2 loss.

“Oh, Christ,” Tortorella said. “That could be the stupidest question I’ve heard.”

That answers that. The Hurricanes must be thrilled to hear it.