LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vegas Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart appeared to injure his left leg in the first period Thursday night of their 5-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said Hart will receive “a full evaluation” on Friday and an update likely will be provided Saturday.
“But it didn't look good when he went off, so hopefully it's nothing serious,” Cassidy said.
Columbus had possession of the puck, forcing an injured Hart to stay in the crease while his teammates tried to defend. Boone Jenner capitalized by scoring for a 1-0 lead at 8:24 of the period.
Akira Schmid replaced Hart.
NHL rules prevent the stoppage of play for an injured player if the opposing team has the puck unless it's clear that player is seriously hurt. Cassidy said he understood the officials' decision to let play continue, that it was a difficult judgment call.
The Golden Knights already were short-handed at the position with Adin Hill out since injuring his left leg Oct. 20 against Carolina. Hill practiced Thursday and could be nearing a return, but Cassidy said he couldn't say when that would happen. He made it clear that Hill won't be rushed back even if the team is down another goalie.
“I don't think you can accelerate a guy because of an injury,” Cassidy said. “I don't think the medical team would put the player at risk, and I wouldn't want them to. If he's ready, great. There's still 40 games left.”
Vegas signed Hart in October and he made his first appearance Dec. 2 in a 4-3 victory over Chicago. It was his first NHL appearance in nearly two years.
Hart was one of five 2018 Canada world junior hockey players acquitted of sexual assault in July. He was the first of those five agree to an NHL contract. The league ruled those players were eligible to sign deals beginning Oct. 15 and to play starting Dec. 1. Hart signed a two-year, $4 million contract.
He went into this game 5-3-3 with 3.23 goals-against average and .874 save percentage.
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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) is helped off the ice after suffering an apparent injury during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart, right, defends the net though apparently injured during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Las Vegas. Hart left the game after a stoppage in play. (AP Photo/David Becker)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.
New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.
However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.
“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.
One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.
The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.
So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.
Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.
Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.
Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.
For years, federal health officials joined doctors' groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.
But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.
“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.
“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable," she said in a statement.
Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - Pharmacy manager Aylen Amestoy administers a patient with a seasonal flu vaccine at a CVS Pharmacy in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
