Hart's return to NHL a success as Knights win in shootout, 4-3

LAS VEGAS — All eyes in the hockey world were upon the guy in the gold sweater with No. 79 adorned on it.Yes, Carter Hart returned to the NHL Tuesday night after nearly two years away from the game due to the legal issues he dealt with from his sexual assault case while representing Canada in the 2018 World Junior Championships. The Golden Knights have him for this year and the following season and are on the hook for $4 million.How did he do? Coach Bruce Cassidy put it best Monday when he said the 27-year-old has a lot of rust he needs to knock off. He looked like a goaltender in need of work as he was sharp on some pucks, shaky on others and allowed three goals in 30 shots but was stellar in overtime with six saves and in the shootout as the Knights defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 at T-Mobile Arena.Shea Theodore’s goal in the fourth round of the shootout was the game-winner as he went to his favorite move — a deke with the forehand and lofting a backhand shot over Spencer Knight and in.“It’s an amazing feeling,” Hart said of returning to the NHL. “I think it hit me during the national anthem.”Hart then got emotional, fighting back tears as he continued his thoughts.“It’s been a really difficult journey to get back,” he said. “Wouldn’t be able to do it without my family and friends. I’m just so happy to be playing the game again.”There was a huge roar from the Vegas locker room following the game, both to celebrate Hart’s triumphant return along with finally winning a game beyond 60 minutes for the first time since Oct. 9. Vegas had dropped eight straight in OT and/or the shootout.“He was excellent,” Cassidy said of Hart whose last NHL win came on Jan. 15, 2024 when he beat the Blues 4-2 in St. Louis. “We gave up a 2-on-1 early and that’s a tough way to start. I thought as the game went on he got cleaner. He held us in when it was 3-2 and gave us some life to allow us to get the tying goal.“In overtime, he made some big saves. And so did their guy (Knight). I’m sure he was excited to get back in there and it was probably emotional for him, first time in a while. I think the guys were happy for him for obvious reasons.“And it was nice to see us get a win in overtime. That’s big for the rest of the group.”  Hart received a somewhat muffled reception when he was introduced with the other VGK starters. And if you were looking for any signs of protest, you weren’t going to find any among the 17,944 onlookers.Dismay? Oh yeah, there was a lot of that, particularly when Hart flubbed a clearing attempt and wound up hitting Tyler Bertuzzi’s body and Bertuzzi put the puck into an empty net to give Chicago a 2-1 second-period lead.The first goal he gave up was on the Blackhawks’ second shot as Oliver Moore beat him high to the blocker side moments after Ivan Barbashev had given Vegas an early 1-0 lead 27 seconds in after his pass went off the skate of Wyatt Kaiser and past Knight.It was that kind of a weird evening. The hockey gods weren’t about to let this be a normal game. Ben Hutton’s game tying goal banked off the skate of Matthew Grzelcyk and past Knight to tie it 2-2. Hart had taken a tripping penalty earlier in the period as he tripped Ilya Mikheyev, sending him airborne as he attempted to score.Perhaps the only normal moment came in the third period when Connor Bedard accelerated into the Vegas zone, eluded Shea Theodore and roofed the puck over Hart’s shoulder for what everyone thought would be the game-winner. But Braeden Bowman tied it with 2:28 to go as he banged home the rebound of his own shot.Then came overtime and Hart turned back the clock to when he was on top of his game as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers. He denied Ryan Greene 1-on-1. He stopped Moore from close range. He made a kick save on Bedard. And as OT was winding down, he stopped Ryan Donato to get the game to a shootout.At the other end, Knight also turned up the volume as he denied Mark Stone, then stopped Noah Hanifin on a 2-on-1 with Jack Eichel.“I think I got better and better as the game went on,” Hart said. “It’s been a long time since I played an NHL game. Like I said, it’s a process and I hope to get better and better.”Cassidy said it’s about Hart moving forward. He’ll get his opportunities on the upcoming five-game road trip that begins Friday in Newark against the New Jersey Devils. And also looming large is the Dec. 11 game in Philadelphia against the Flyers which will be televised nationally on ESPN.“He put in a lot of hard work with us and in Henderson (of the AHL),” Cassidy said. “There’s going to be some ups and downs. Tonight was an up. But there might be some downs. He’ll just have to play through it when that happens.“He’ll go back in whether it’s Friday or Sunday (against the New York Rangers) and get prepared for that one, learn from this one and get to know our team a little better.“Once he’s part of the Vegas Golden Knights, he’s part of the Vegas Golden Knights. We’ve welcomed him with open arms and he’s being a good teammate and help us win games and get his career back on track. We’re not going backwards. We’re going forward.”