Hart's play will be key to Golden Knights' success in WCF
The goaltender has been the starter in all 12 playoff games for Vegas.
The Vegas Golden Knights Carter Hart #79 blocks a goal attempt during an NHL playoffs game against The Anaheim Ducks on May 10th, 2026 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. LAS VEGAS — To get this far in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, you need good goaltending. Carter Hart has been that for the Vegas Golden Knights.
He may have to be better than good for his team to get past the Colorado Avalanche when the Western Conference Final begins Wednesday at Ball Arena. The 27-year-old from the Edmonton suburbs has been in net for all 12 games in the postseason and has a 2. 30 goals-against average and a .
922 save percentage. He has faced some pretty good shooters so far, including Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther of Utah and Anaheim’s Beckett Sennecke and Alex Killorn and has managed to come out on top. Now, the challenge is to get the better of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas and the rest of the Avalanche, which have lost only once in this year’s playoffs.
That’s not going to be an easy task and it will likely take a total team effort in order to help Hart come out on top in a series that figures to be high scoring. That means forwards coming back to help in their own end. It means the defensemen not getting caught in pinches and creating odd-man rushes for the Avs, who have speed to burn.