Carter Hart is officially back. The Vegas Golden Knights have three goaltenders on the active roster.

Let the guessing game begin.

Hart returned Thursday and made 19 saves in the Knights’ 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames in his first start since Jan. 8 because of a lower-body injury.

“It felt good to get back in there,” Hart said. “Huge two points for us, and we played a good game and had a great third period.”

Hart allowed three goals on 22 shots but, like much of this season involving all of the Knights’ goaltenders, the goals weren’t on him. All three came on 2-on-1 chances that Hart was left to fend for himself.

Otherwise, he was solid in his first game in almost three months.

“Obviously, there’s a little bit of rust to shake off when you haven’t played in a few months,” Hart said. “I think as the game went on, it felt better and better.”

But now that Hart is back in the fold, the question that’s been asked countless times since he joined the Knights in October can now be put on the table.

What’s the plan in goal?

From how coach John Tortorella described the plan, or lack thereof, this is going to be a game-by-game basis all the way to the playoffs.

“I have no plan on how to attack it,” Tortorella said. “I plan on who the goalie is going to be the next game. That’s as far as I go.”

Quite the conundrum

One game against a team outside the playoff cutline in Calgary shouldn’t be the end-all decision in this process.

But when you have three different goalies with each having a case — logically and organizationally — to be the starter, it complicates things.

Adin Hill is still the No. 1 option by virtue of contract, pedigree and playoff history.

Akira Schmid is a choice based on availability, reliability and consistency.

Hart is now in the fold off potential, upside and the unknown.

Former coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t stick around long enough to put a plan into place with goaltending director Sean Burke.

The workload Hill received the past couple of weeks made it seem like Hill was going to get the lion’s share of the starts down the stretch. Cassidy even made that known prior to him being fired Sunday.

It’s not as clear-cut with Tortorella.

The familiarity is there

Tortorella knows what he’s getting in Hart. He coached him for part of two years in Philadelphia before Hart had to surrender himself to police for the 2018 sexual assault case involving Hockey Canada.

Tortorella said that before Hart had to take his absence in January 2024, the Flyers team he coached “gets in the playoffs by six or seven points” with Hart patrolling the crease.

“I love the kid,” Tortorella said. “We’ve had a lot of conversations. I think he’s handled himself so well through some pretty hard times for the past couple of years.

“People make judgements on him. I feel like people are still making judgments on him. I think he’s a good kid. I think he’s got a good heart.”

There’s now reason for Hart to get a longer runway down the stretch, primarily because his coach believes in him.

Saturday’s pivotal clash against the Edmonton Oilers should provide slight clarity on where the pecking order stands.

Hill fared well Monday with 22 saves in the 4-2 win over Vancouver, and unless an organizational shift has happened since Thursday’s game, Hill is likely to get the call against the Oilers.

It was going to be answered one way or another at some point this season. With six games left, and the Knights three points back of the Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division, the time has apparently come.

Just another wrinkle in what’s been an interesting week for the Knights.

“Making the most of practice time that we have and being ready for every game, every start of every game,” Hart said. “And we only have six games left here and I don’t think we have any back to backs.

“So, we’ll have some practice time here and the last six games here. Preparation and continuing through these games are huge and the race is getting tight.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.

Up next

Who: Golden Knights at Oilers

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton

TV: KMCC-34

Radio: KFLG 94.7 FM/KKGK 1340 AM

Line: Oilers -115; total 6½