NEWARK, N.J. — In his emotional postgame meetup with reporters following his return to the NHL Tuesday, Carter Hart didn’t say he was hurt.
But after being the winning goaltender for the Golden Knights in their 4-3 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, Hart suddenly was unavailable for duty.
It was originally thought he had something happen Thursday in practice prior the Knights kicking off their five-game swing through the Metropolitan Division Friday in Newark against the Devils. But Hart apparently suffered a lower-body injury while on the ice Tuesday against the Blackhawks.
The Knights merely shrugged and followed a well-orchestrated solid road blueprint against a New Jersey team which has had its struggles of late, and left the Prudential Center 3-0 winners.
Vegas was better with its zone exits, playing quicker, finding gaps to get players good scoring opportunities and though each team had a goal disallowed (New Jersey for an offsides challenge, Vegas for a high stick) the Knights made a late first-period goal from Shea Theodore stand up.
Akira Schmid, the former Devil, stopped 24 shots and became the third different Vegas goaltender in as many games to get a win between the pipes. Carl Lindbom beat San Jose last Saturday, Hart defeated the Blackhawks Tuesday and Friday it was Schmid, who improved to 10-2-4 this season. It was a career-high for wins in a season for the 25-year-old Swiss goaltender.
“I thought we played the right way for the most part,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I thought we were really good in the first. The first 10 minutes of the second, we couldn’t get any momentum on our side at all. But we hung in there and Akira made some big saves when we needed them.
“I thought we were better the second half of the second period and in the third, I thought we played the right way. Special teams made a big difference. We get a couple of penalty kills and score a couple on the power play. So there was a lot to like.”
Granted, Hart probably wasn’t going to play Friday anyway. But it meant making a roster move as Jesper Vikman was called up from Henderson of the AHL to back up Schmid. The team is listing Hart as day-to-day. Whether he plays Sunday in Madison Square Garden against the Rangers remains to be seen.
“He tweaked a minor injury in the game Tuesday and then aggravated it in practice Thursday, so we didn’t feel like we were in a position to have him back up Akira,” Cassidy said of Hart, who will remain with the team on the trip and is likely to play at some point.
Hart wasn’t the only roster move made Friday. Colton Sissons was a late scratch with Reilly Smith drawing back into the lineup as a center for the first time in an NHL career that has spanned 944 games over 15 seasons. Smith had been a healthy scratch the last two games. Cassidy said Sissons was sick and unable to go.
Fortunately for the Knights, Schmid was good to go. He didn’t receive the warmest of receptions Friday from the 15,584 on hand on a chilly December night. But he more than did his job, and while his teammates in front of him played well, Schmid certainly was a big part of the win.
“There was a little bit of nerves,” Schmid said. “But once the game starts, they go away pretty quick. The guys did a great job in front of me and it’s always special to get a shutout, especially against your old team.”
“Obviously, I was very excited to be back and see all the people who helped get me started.”
The third-period power-play goals from Tomas Hertl and Ivan Barbashev following a successful penalty kill after Noah Hanifin was called for delay of game gave the Knights some breathing room as New Jersey was shut out for the second straight game.
“You want to start out on a good note,” Mitch Marner said of the trip, that continues Sunday and Tuesday vs. the Rangers and Islanders. “These three teams are not going to be easy to play against. So it’s good to start off this way.”