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Golden Knights’ fatal flaw that will doom them in 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
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- Golden Knights’ fatal flaw that will doom them in 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Golden Knights' fatal flaw that will doom them in 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Vegas Golden Knights are headed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the eighth time in their nine seasons. They made a late-season coaching change, firing Stanley Cup Champion Bruce Cassidy in favor of John Tortorella . Now, they head to a series against the Utah Mammoth with a big question over their heads. The Golden Knights have had goalie issues all year long, and Adin Hill , Akira Schmid , and Carter Hart could cost them a chance at the Stanley Cup.
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The Golden Knights started the season with Hill as their unquestioned starter. He was an afterthought when he landed in Vegas, becoming the starter during the 2023 playoffs. He led them to the Stanley Cup, posting an incredible .932 save percentage. In 30 career playoff starts, Hill has a .917 save percentage and a 2.41 goals-against average. But his 2025-26 numbers leave reason for concern.
Hill played 27 games for the Golden Knights this year, posting a dismal .870 save percentage. Against a team with great scorers like the Mammoth, that is not going to work. He got hurt in October, missing months until a return in early January, which led to a controversial signing.
The Golden Knights signed Carter Hart in November after he was acquitted of sexual assault charges in a Canadian court. The move was not beloved by fans, but the team took the risk. He has played 18 games this season, also impacted by injury, with a .891 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average.
Because of those injuries, Akira Schmid has played the most games of any goalie for the Golden Knights this year. Schmid was the star for the New Jersey Devils in their upset playoff win over the New York Rangers in 2023. Since then, he has been a replacement-level goalie who cannot lead a team to the Stanley Cup.
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What will the Golden Knights do at goalie?
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Tortorella was hired as the Golden Knights' head coach with just eight games to go in the season. They went 7-0-1 in those games, clinching a previously unlikely Pacific Division championship with a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. Hart has played six of those eight games, with Hill picking up the other two starts. They have not allowed more than three regulation goals in the Tortorella era.
This shows Tortorella's hand as to who will start in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hart will likely start, which no one saw coming just six months ago when he was in a courtroom. But that is the reality of the Golden Knights' goalie situation this season, which could be improved in the offseason.
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If the Mammoth take advantage of their goaltending advantage early in the season, Torotorella should be ready to make a change. They have other options besides Hart, and they have the offense to overcome some tough goaltending. But this hot stretch to end the season has settled some of those questions for now.
The Golden Knights expect greatness and are not afraid to make a move to get there. They have barely gotten any production out of their first-round picks, instead trading them to teams for players in their primes. And when guys hit the open market, like Alex Pietrangelo and Mitch Marner, Vegas pounces at the opportunity to sign them . That is why it is surprising that they have a goaltending issue to solve. But this is the situation they are in, and it has to be solved early in the postseason.
The last time the Golden Knights went into the playoffs with a goaltending issue, Hill stepped up and won them the Stanley Cup. Can one of their goalies do that again?
