The Vegas Golden Knights opened the Western Conference Final with a 4-2 road win over the Colorado Avalanche, taking a 1-0 series lead behind a strong all-around performance.
Vegas goalie Carter Hart played a key role in the Golden Knights' victory, stopping 36 of all 38 shots he saw at Ball Arena and holding Colorado scoreless through the first two periods, not allowing a goal until his team had already taken a commanding 3-0 lead 1:34 into the third frame.
Late in the game, however, a few fans spotted Hart leaving the ice for a moment, causing concern about his condition and fearing he could have suffered a late-game injury, even though SinBin reported that the netminder "appears to be fine" in the locker room after the game.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
According to The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, reporting after the Game 1 win by Vegas, the concerns were misplaced as Hart never truly suffered an injury on Wednesday.
“Carter Hart wasn’t injured at the end of the game, as I’ve seen some people ask about,” Granger reported. “Minor cramping. It was warmer than usual at ice level. He’ll be fine moving forward.”
Granger's clarification confirmed that Hart’s issue was not related to any particular injury, but rather to in-game conditions and the ice being softer than usual, which affected his condition.
The 27-year-old netminder improved to 9-4 in the playoffs following the Game 1 win, and has now allowed two goals or fewer in eight of his 13 appearances while posting a .918 save percentage and a 2.35 goals-against average.
Although Colorado mounted a late comeback attempt with third-period goals from Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog, Vegas held on to secure the win, scoring the fourth and final goal on an empty-net situation to seal the victory.
Game 2 is scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m. ET in Denver, with Vegas looking to extend its lead in the series after stealing home-ice advantage.
