Hart delivers when Golden Knights 'needed him most' in Game 1 of Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Carter Hart threw out his glove to catch the one-timer from Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis, the puck bouncing up on the Vegas Golden Knights goaltender before falling back into the webbing.

It would’ve been a big save at any time, but it was that much bigger considering Tomas Hertl would go on to score the game-winning goal for the Golden Knights 21 seconds later.

“I mean, huge,” Golden Knights forward Colton Sissons said of Hart’s save after their 5-4 win against the Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center on Tuesday. “He had a couple of big ones, stopped a couple breakaways after we were not doing a great job in front of him early there. He just settled back into his game, and he’s a huge part of the win as always.”

Indeed, he was. Hart made 23 saves on 27 shots on Tuesday, helping the Golden Knights overcome an early 2-0 deficit to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Game 2 will be here on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).

It was a brilliant end after a frustrating start for the Golden Knights and Hart, who allowed a goal the first shot he saw, a snap shot from forward Nikolaj Ehlers on a 2-on-1 just 25 seconds into the game.

“I don’t think it was a tough start by him, I think we gave them breakaways and 2-on-1s, and that’s on us,” Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “We have to make sure we’re better at that, on giving them those chances.

“But yeah, that save was huge. It’s the big moment saves you really need, and he’s been great at that. So, we just need him to keep doing what he does.”

It was another example of what Hart has done throughout this postseason. He’s now 13-4 with a 2.33 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in 17 starts.

That late third-period save was salvation for the Golden Knights, and frustration for the Hurricanes.

“I didn’t get quite enough wood on that pass from (Sebastian Aho),” Jarvis said. “And they capitalized and we didn’t.”

But like Sissons said, it was just one of several critical saves Hart made throughout Game 1. Another one came at 16:27 of the first period, when Logan Stankoven got free for another Carolina breakaway, only to have Hart thwart his wrist shot from in tight.

At the time of the save, the Golden Knights were trailing 2-1.

“Those are two key times, too. In the first period on Stankoven, that could've been a dagger a little bit, and then obviously Jarvis at the end there,” Vegas forward Brett Howden said. “He made a lot of great saves all night, and he's been great for us. He gives us so much confidence. But those two saves in particular, when we needed him most he was there.”

Hart has found a way to rebound from tough starts, whether it was on him or not, a few times this postseason. He did it most recently in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche, who took a 3-0 lead in the first period. However, Hart stopped all 19 shots he faced in the second and third periods of that game, which Vegas would rally to win 5-3.

His critical third-period save on Tuesday was just the latest key contribution for the Golden Knights, who have gotten plenty of them throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“I think there are probably a couple he would like back, but at the same time, he made some huge saves in the third that really kept us in it,” Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore said. “We wouldn’t be here without him, for sure."