The 20 year-old net-minder wasn’t expected to see time with the Philadelphia Flyers this year, but has begun to prove his worth at the NHL level through 12 games thus far.
Since he was called-up by General Manager Chuck Fletcher to replace an injured Anthony Stolarz back in December, it’s safe to say Carter Hart has started to prove why he was dubbed goaltender of the future for the Philadelphia Flyers.
While his record is still below the .500 mark thanks to the infamous eight game losing streak, Hart has been able to post a 2.66 Goals-Against Average and a .918 save percentage through 12 games. He now leads all Flyers goalies in both of those categories, sitting second in games-played as well. It’s crazy to think he’s already seen more time in-net than the likes of Michal Neuvirth, Calvin Pickard, and Stolarz while out-performing them in the process. Then again, neither of those three are particularly good so maybe my expectations have been lowered a touch. Hart hasn’t been 100% perfect, though, and definitely has some things to clean up on.
The 2016 second round draft pick had a rough couple of performances against the Carolina Hurricanes and, more recently, the New Jersey Devils with a sub .900 save percentage in both of those contests. He’s also been slightly below average when play is even in high danger areas, tying 55th and 36th in High Danger save percentage and Goals-Against Average among goalies who have played at least 300 minutes of time-on-ice this year.
What sets Hart apart is his ability to bounce-back from rough outings. The confidence and poise he shows between the crease are almost always evident in each game, which is something you don’t see a lot of in young goaltenders. It’ll be interesting to see what Fletcher does when Stolarz, Neuvirth, and Brian Elliott all return from injury. Hart needs to see ice-time, whether it’s at the AHL or NHL level, but it would be understandably tough to send back him down if he keeps this play up.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hart make his sixth consecutive start in the Flyers next game against the Winnipeg Jets given the bye the team is currently on. You obviously want to be careful in trotting out a net-minder too many times, but he’s deserved it with his performances of late and gives Philadelphia the best chance to win every night in-net.