Golden Knights Notebook: Hart Returns, Line Changes Coming & More
· Yahoo Sports
The John Tortorella era is in full effect and it is already bringing some memorable moments. During Tortorella’s press conference after practice Wednesday, a reporter asked if he could share a moment of laughter on the ice during practice with no explanation. He answered bluntly, “no.”
Welcome to Golden Knights Notebook, a look at all things Golden Knights. With the regular season entering its final stretch, things could get interesting for the Golden Knights — and really the entire NHL, especially in both wild-card races.
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The Anaheim Ducks lost a thriller to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night, and the Golden Knights remain five points behind the Ducks and three behind the Edmonton Oilers.
How the top three in the Pacific Division shakes out remains to be determined, but it will come down to the wire. Now, let’s jump into the news.
Carter Hart To Start Thursday Against Calgary Flames
On Feb. 24, Hart was placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and began skating two weeks ago, but is now back. He will get the starting nod tonight against the Flames, per Danny Webster.
“Carter and I have a really good relationship,” Tortorella said at practice on Thursday. “The year that he had to stop playing in the NHL, I think that Philly team gets in the playoffs by six or seven points, that’s how well he was playing. He’s become a really good pro and I love the kid. I think he has a good heart, no pun intended.”
Hart and Tortorella spent time together in Philadelphia with the Flyers, and now the two are reunited in Vegas in a unique circumstance, to say the least.
This season, Hart has split time between the Henderson Silver Knights and the Golden Knights. He’s recorded a .871 save percentage along with a 3.28 goals-against average in 12 games at the NHL level.
His last game was Jan. 8 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, when he left midway through the first period due to injury. Now, nearly three months later, he’s back in the crease.
Line Changes Coming?
When head coach Bruce Cassidy was fired, many thought there would be a ton of changes with Tortorella coming in, but in reality, that simply has not been the case.
First, with the season this close to the end, it is difficult to institute any major changes. It is simply not possible. Tortorella, however, as he gets more comfortable, could begin to make some adjustments to the lineup.
“I don’t think we need to tap into anything,” Tortorella said at practice on Wednesday. “With a veteran team and where we’re at in the standings right now we don’t need to tap into anything else than worrying about ourselves and take it each day at a time.”
When he spoke about Mitch Marner in particular, he said he will “be moved around,” along with other players on the team.
“He’s too good a player to be locked into one line all the time,” Tortorella said. “Jack (Eichel) will be moved around. I’ll move some people around here into different positions depending on momentum of games.”
More adjusted and comfortable, expect Tortorella to be more active on the bench. We’ll see what that entails but it’s only naturally going to happen as he gains more familiarity and the noise settles down.
Loose Pucks:
- Zach Whitecloud makes his return to Vegas tonight. He was dealt to the Flames in the package that sent Rasmus Andersson to the Golden Knights. In the 23 games he has played in Calgary, he’s notched six points.
- In response to activating Hart from LTIR, the Golden Knights sent Braeden Bowman down to the Silver Knights.
- Speaking of the Silver Knights, since the AHL All-Star break, they have been on a tear. As of April 2, they sit in sixth place in the Pacific Division but are only three points shy of third place.
- Pavel Dorofeyev is heating up. In his last 10 games, he has four goals and nine points. He leads the Golden Knights with 34 goals.
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