Carolina fan chants ‘just noise,’ says Knights goalie Carter Hart

LAS VEGAS — Vegas Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart said the “no means no!” chants from Carolina Hurricanes fans were “just noise” as he prepares to start Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Hart was one of five players on Canada’s 2018 under-20 world junior team accused of assaulting a woman after the 2018 Hockey Canada Foundation Gala. Hart was formally charged with one count of sexual assault on Jan. 30, 2024, and shortly after took a leave of absence from the Philadelphia Flyers. In a trial last summer, a judge found that prosecutors did not meet the onus to convict the defendants on any of the counts. They were all acquitted.

The NHL reinstated those players on Oct. 15, 2025, and they were eligible to play in the league beginning on Dec. 1. Hart signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Golden Knights and has started all 21 games in their run to the Stanley Cup Final, which continues with Game 6 on Sunday night in Las Vegas. Carolina leads the series 3-2 and can lift the Cup with one more victory.

Hurricanes fans loudly chanted “no means no!” during all three home games in Raleigh, in reference to the trial. Hart addressed those chants for the first time on Saturday, following the Golden Knights’ morning skate.

“It’s just noise. I mean, both atmospheres and both buildings have been really loud and just a lot of fun to playing. Yeah, just noise,” said Hart, speaking at a podium next to teammate Mitch Marner.

It was the same podium where coach John Tortorella earlier offered another emphatic endorsement of his beleaguered goaltender as his Game 6 starter.

After their 4-2 loss in Game 5, Hart became only the third goalie in NHL history to give up four-plus goals in each of the first five games of a Stanley Cup Final. He now has an .856 save percentage and a 3.70 goals-against average against Carolina.

Tortorella snapped a reporter after Game 5 for asking if the coach had considered benching Hart for backup Adin Hill, who backstopped the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup win in 2023. Tortorella was more measured in his responses on Saturday morning but no less supportive of Hart, who was his goaltender when he coached the Flyers as well.

“I know him. I know there’s a better game in him. I’ve seen it throughout the playoffs. I think he’s a very good goalie,” Tortorella said. “We’ve got to do a better job around him. You can look at the numbers — and you guys, that’s what you do, you spit out those numbers — but I’ve got to look at things differently.”

Hart had the support of his teammates.

“All the belief in the world. I mean, he’s gotten us to this point and he’s been really solid throughout the playoffs,” defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “At this point of the year you just don’t care about what the outside says, honestly. If you start reading into how much you suck if you make a mistake or how good you are if you score a goal, you’re just going to lose your mind. It’s Game 6. We’re down and we’ve got to find a way to win and take it back to Raleigh.”