Golden Knights' Carter Hart out with lower-body injury

Very tough break for goaltender Carter Hart, as he was just getting his NHL comeback started.

The Vegas Golden Knights netminder is now day-to-day with a lower-body injury. At this point, the cause of the injury is not known, but it's likely from ramping up hockey activities without enough time training before his comeback. Hart played the entire game in his first action against the Chicago Blackhawks, and led the Golden Knights to a 4-3 shootout win.

Word is, Hart got injured during the game and managed to tolerate the pain, but then informed the team afterwards that he was actually hurting. Talk about almost worst case scenario for Hart as he's looking to get his career back on track.

Hart was one of the five players from the 2018 Canadian World Junior team that were on trial for sexual assault and ultimately acquitted in July. After talks with several different teams, Hart signed a two-year contract worth $2 million AAV with the Golden Knights, which came less than two weeks after Hart was deemed eligible for the NHL.

Leading up to his NHL return, Hart dressed in three AHL games, going 1-2-0 with a dismal .839 save percentage. It hasn't been a pretty start, to say the very least. Looking ahead for the Golden Knights, Akira Schmid will take over as the starting netminder, as proven starter Adin Hill continues to rehab an injury. 

Schmid has posted a 9-2-4 record, along with a .896 save percentage, so regardless of the Golden Knights record, it's obvious they could use some better goaltending.

photo credit:  Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images