Carter Hart in the wrong spotlight after latest comparison after Game one win against Hurricanes
Carter Hart and John Tortorella are moving closer to something big in Vegas, but this latest milestone has also opened a fresh wave of anger.
Hart picked up his 13th playoff win of this postseason, tying Marc-André Fleury for the most wins by a Golden Knights goalie in a single playoff run. That pushed his name right beside one of the most popular figures the franchise has ever had.
That's where the reaction changed fast. For a big part of the fan base, Fleury still stands as the original face of the franchise and the goalie most tied to its early playoff identity.
Hart's number also says plenty about this run. Vegas has gone deep, and Hart has carried a heavy load in net while the club keeps pushing through the bracket.
On its own, that should have been the story. Instead, the comparison to Fleury hit a nerve and turned a clean playoff stat into something far more divisive.
Some of the pushback was immediate and harsh. Fans didn't just reject the comparison. They went straight at what it represents for the organization right now.
Fleury link turns a stat into a flashpoint
«The whole championship will be tainted,» replied one. «Win or lose, that's a stain the organization wears forever,» added another.
The backlash comes from Hart's connection to the 2018 incident in London, Ontario. Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, and Alex Formenton were charged, then found not guilty of sexual assault on July 24, 2025.
Vegas signed Hart after that ruling, but the reaction around him never fully disappeared. This record only brought those feelings back to the surface in a louder way.
That tension was already visible earlier in the playoffs. During Game 1 against Carolina, fans in the upper deck could be heard chanting «No Means No» at Hart.
So this isn't just about a number in the record book. Hart has matched a major Fleury mark, but for many people, the issue isn't the save count or the win total. It's everything attached to the name now sitting next to Fleury's.
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 2, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | - | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mitch Marner | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Colton Sissons | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Smith | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | - | - | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Jackson Blake | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||