- Carter Hart has allowed four-plus goals in all five Cup Final games, an NHL first
- Analysts are pushing Vegas to start Adin Hill in must-win Game 6
- Read below for what John Tortorella said about the goalie question
The pressure on Vegas to make a change in net is getting loud.
Vegas trails 3-2 in the Stanley Cup Final and faces elimination at home Sunday. A growing group of analysts and columnists wants John Tortorella to start Adin Hill over Carter Hart in Game 6.
Hart has been getting torched. He has allowed four or more goals in all five games of the Final, the first goalie in NHL history to do that to open a championship series. His series numbers sit at an .856 save percentage and a goals-against average near 3.90.
Carolina has had no trouble beating him:
Tortorella has no interest in the conversation. When a reporter asked after Game 5 whether he had thought about going to Hill, the Vegas coach shut it down in classic fashion.
“Christ, that could be the stupidest question I’ve heard,” Tortorella said.
He hasn’t backed off since, and he promised the series would head back to Raleigh for a Game 7:
The case for Hill isn’t crazy. He backstopped Vegas to the 2023 Stanley Cup, going 11-4 with a 2.17 goals-against average and two shutouts that spring.
Rust is the worry. Hill hasn’t played since April, so handing him an elimination game cold is a gamble of its own.
None of this means Hart is the problem long term. He carried Vegas through three rounds with a 12-4 record, a 2.22 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage before the Final. The Hurricanes have simply solved him.
Carolina can win the second championship in franchise history on Sunday, and the Cup will be in the building.
Vegas is embracing the must-win:
Tortorella has made his call. Hart gets the net, and the Golden Knights have one night left to prove him right.
