After registering an assist in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, and increasing his NHL-leading point total for the postseason, Mitch Marner continues to make his case as a Conn Smythe candidate.
Marner’s assist on Pavel Dorofeyev’s second-period goal, which gave the Vegas Golden Knights a 2-0 lead at the time, upped the forward’s postseason tally to 19 points.
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And as the Golden Knights stole home ice with their 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche, and moved seven wins away from their second Stanley Cup title in four years, Marner continued to solidify his chances.
That said, after limiting the Avalanche to two goals in an arena where they averaged 4.4 goals in their previous five home playoff games, Knights goaltender Carter Hart has entered the conversation.
At BetMGM sports book, Marner is currently +650 to win the Conn Smythe award, with teammates Pavel Dorofeyev (+1600) and Jack Eichel (+2000) next in line.
Hart, though, might be pure value right now, sitting at +3000, meaning a $100 wager would return $3,000 if Hart were to win the award.
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After the Knights were arguably outplayed for much of the first period Wednesday night, it was Hart who kept them in the game until Dylan Coghlan and Dorofeyev gave them a 2-0 lead late in the second period.
“We know they’re a team that likes to put pucks to the net and … we did a good job of getting in lanes and sacrificing the body and just battling to find pucks,” Hart said. “I thought we came out really good in the first period. We know this is a hard building to play in, and it was huge for us to just get rolling and just to start off the right way and then just build off that.”
Through Wednesday, Hart leads all postseason netminders with nine wins. And among all goalies who have played in at least four games during the playoffs, he ranks fourth with a save percentage of .920 and sixth with a 2.35 goals-against average.
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It shouldn’t come as any surprise that he’s been one of the best Knights on the ice nearly every playoff game, as he returned from an injury and closed the regular season with a 6-0-0 run behind a .930 save percentage while allowing 1.7 goals per game.
He’s held opponents to two or fewer goals in eight of his 13 playoff games, and in two of the four games that four pucks got past him, his team won by identical scores of 5-4 in overtime.
“Carter Hart is a hell of a goalie,” coach John Tortorella said. “He was great in Philly for me. We’ve got two good ones here. Adin Hill has kind of been put off to the side a little bit, but that’s a guy who just won a Stanley Cup a couple of years ago.
“I just think (Hart) has grown so strong mentally. I don’t think much bothers him. He is just zeroed in, and he’s going to have to be because we have a little bit of work to do here.”
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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) makes a save during the second period against the Colorado Avalanche in game one of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena.
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