Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart earns NSFW John Tortorella praise ahead of Game 2 appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Vegas Golden Knights have been led by goaltender Carter Hart in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was once again great in Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche. Despite dealing with cramping late in the game, Hart saved 36 of 38 shots for the Golden Knights in the win.

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Hart has started all 13 games in the playoffs for Vegas, and now, head coach John Tortorella is giving his netminder praise ahead of Game 2, per Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com.

“Carter Hart’s a hell of a goalie,”  Tortorella said. “… I think he’s grown so strong mentally. I don’t think much bothers him. He is just zeroed in, and he’s going to have to be, because we’ve got a little bit of work to do here.”

Hart was the 48th overall selection of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2016 NHL Draft. He would make his NHL debut in 2018-19 and was the primary netminder for the Flyers under Tortorella for two seasons. Still, he would take a leave of absence at the end of the 2023-24 season, and due to sexual assault allegations, we not signed in 2024-25. The NHL determined that the five players accused of the assault, who were found not guilty, would be able to sign NHL contracts in 2025 and begin play in December. That is when the Golden Knights signed Hart.

When Tortorella took over the Golden Knights, he turned to Hart in goal. In the playoffs, the netminder is 9-4 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .920 save percetnage. Even though Adin Hill is available, Hart has been the only netminder for Tortorella.

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“’Hilly,’ he’s a Stanley Cup winner, right?” Tortorella said. “We have trust in him. We haven’t gone there. We felt Carter has played that well, so we’ve stayed with him. It’s not like you’re trying to fix something that isn’t broke.”

Hart will look to have another solid game in Game 2 on Friday night, with puck drop set for 8 pm ET.

Related: Golden Knights making 1 lineup change for Game 2 vs. Avalanche

Related: Golden Knights coach John Tortorella tips cap to unlikely hero after Game 1 WCF win