{"id":543612,"date":"2026-04-06T10:43:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/543612\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T10:43:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:43:31","slug":"golden-knights-lean-on-harts-promising-return-with-hill-schmid-in-the-mix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/543612\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Knights Lean on Hart\u2019s Promising Return with Hill, Schmid in the Mix"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> might finally have something they\u2019ve lacked for much of the season: direction in net. This may seem like a crazy take, but stay with me. <\/p>\n

For most of the year, the Golden Knights goaltending situation has been anything but stable. Injuries, inconsistency and stretches of poor play turned what\u2019s typically a position of strength into a nightly question mark.<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights thrive when they can rely on stability in net, when they know what they\u2019re getting night after night. Instead, they spent much of the season searching for it.<\/p>\n

They signed netminder Carter Hart in October<\/a>, gave the net to Carl Lindbom when they were dealing with a myriad of injuries. Akira Schmid also got an extended look earlier in the season when they were banged up in net, too. <\/p>\n

Now, with the playoffs approaching, that search may finally be settling.<\/p>\n

Hart\u2019s return from injury has been the turning point. The Golden Knights have won three in a row and while it hasn\u2019t been flashy, and it hasn\u2019t been perfect, but it has been noticeable. He\u2019s tracking the puck well, moving with confidence and, most importantly, looking more and more comfortable with each start.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt good,\u201d Hart said, after his first start back from injury on April 2.<\/a> \u201cObviously there\u2019s a little bit to shake off when you haven\u2019t played for a few months, but as the game went on, I felt better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n

That gradual build is exactly what the Golden Knights need right now, a goaltender trending in the right direction. Something that hasn\u2019t been the case in awhile, better yet this season. <\/p>\n

How Have Golden Knight Goaltenders Fared This Season?<\/p>\n

The numbers tell the story of a season without a clear, dominant presence in net, but also one where each goaltender has had a role at different points.<\/p>\n

Goaltender Games Played Save PercentageGoals Against Average RecordAkira Schmid 34.8932.5916-10-8Adin Hill26.8683.0610-9-6Carter Hart 14.8803.087-3-3<\/p>\n

Schmid has been the most consistent over the largest sample size. His .893 save percentage isn\u2019t eye-popping, but he\u2019s been able to stabilize the crease during stretches when the Golden Knights needed it most during injuries. <\/p>\n

Hill\u2019s season has been more uneven.<\/a> His .868 save percentage and 3.06 GAA highlight the inconsistency that has defined his year. For a large part of this season, he\u2019s struggled heavily and hasn\u2019t been able to sustain any rhythm. <\/p>\n

Last season he signed six-year, $37.5 million contract with the Golden Knights. <\/a>Depending how the season finishes and how the playoffs go, it\u2019ll be interesting to see what happens to Hill.<\/p>\n

Hart\u2019s numbers come in a smaller sample, shaped heavily by injury and time missed. But the context matters. His .880 save percentage and 3.08 GAA don\u2019t tell the full story of his return. <\/p>\n

Since getting back into the lineup, he\u2019s shown a steadier game, more composed positioning, better rebound control and a growing sense of timing.<\/p>\n

Hart\u2019s return has given the Golden Knights something they\u2019ve been searching for. He\u2019s playing with confidence and playing under his old head coach, John Tortorella, who coached him with the Philadelphia Flyers.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was pretty excited. I love playing for Torts in Philly,\u201d Hart said. \u201cWe got along really well and I think he\u2019s gonna add a really good spark to our group here and so far, the guys seem to really like him, and he\u2019s a good fit here.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are still more questions than answers at this time of year for the Golden Knights, but with a recent surge and Tortorella helping steady the group they\u2019re beginning to look more like a team that can settle into a playoff identity.<\/p>\n

Who Will Be The Solution in the Playoffs?<\/p>\n

That now begs the question, who\u2019s going to be the answer in the playoffs in net? The Golden Knights sit in third place in the Pacific Division <\/a>and just a point shy of the lead in the division over the Anaheim Ducks. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible that they can still win the division amid all the noise. With that, they need reliable play in net, and Hart has the possibility at doing just that. <\/p>\n

Despite not having a lot of time to ramp up play coming back from injury, an opportunity lies before Hart to take the Golden Knights starting job in net, with just five games left in the regular season. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaking the most of practice time that we have, and being ready for every game,\u201d Hart said. \u201cWe only have six games left here, and I don\u2019t think we have any back to back, so we\u2019ll have some practice time here, and the last six games here, just preparation and continue to these games are huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

That limited runway could actually work in Hart\u2019s favor. With fewer games and no back-to-backs, he has a chance to settle in, find his rhythm and build momentum without the added pressure of a heavy workload.<\/p>\n

If he can continue trending in the direction he\u2019s shown since returning, the Golden Knights won\u2019t need to search much longer. In a division race that remains tight and a playoff push that demands reliability, the Golden Knights may have already found its answer.<\/p>\n

The only question left is whether Hart can solidify it in time. <\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tCooper Krigbaum is a beat reporter covering the Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas Hockey Now on Sportsnaut. He also … More about Cooper Krigbaum<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Vegas Golden Knights might finally have something they\u2019ve lacked for much of the season: direction in net.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5129],"tags":[1042,88,149,5317,5,348,4,74,39,5316],"class_list":{"0":"post-543612","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-vegas-golden-knights","8":"tag-adin-hill","9":"tag-carter-hart","10":"tag-golden-knights","11":"tag-goldenknights","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-john-tortorella","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-vegas","16":"tag-vegas-golden-knights","17":"tag-vegasgoldenknights"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116357354143645443","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}