Philadelphia Flyers: Carter Hart’s first postseason will be a good test

Now through his second NHL season, Carter Hart will see postseason play with the Flyers for the first time.

After failing to make the playoffs last season, this will be the first time Carter Hart plays in the postseason. The young Flyers goaltender could be up for his biggest test yet.

And his performance could help the Flyers determine his workload going forward. They will be in need of a backup goaltender after this season. With the Flyers expected to make a big run, Hart’s play will almost certainly play a big role in everything.

Hart is the goaltender of the future, there is no question about that. He’s gone from 31 games in his first season to 43 this past year. So he is already appearing in half of the Flyers games.

But looking at some of the elite goaltenders in the league, some of playing upwards of almost 60 games. Carey Price and Connor Hellebuyck played in 58 games this season. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Frederik Andersen appeared in 52.

Hart’s 43 games ranked 12th among all goaltenders. But it’s clear he could play at an even higher level. That’s where the postseason play will come in.

Jordan Binnington is the latest example of a young goaltender coming into his first postseason and having immediate success. He appeared in 26 post season contests last year, winning 16 of the most important games of his career. He finished with a 2.46 GAA and a .914 SV%.

But Hart’s postseason play is likely to determine how the Flyers go after a backup goaltender. If Hart plays well, the team can likely spend cheaper on a backup. On the flip side, they may have to spend a bit more if he struggles.

Any postseason struggles wouldn’t be something to worry about, however. The playoffs are a much different game than the regular season. It’s nothing Hart has experienced before. So growing pains are a possibility.

It won’t affect his standing with the club. The Flyers are all in on Hart no matter how this postseason goes. It will be a good experience for him to finally see what the NHL playoffs are like.

And who knows, maybe Hart’s story will end the same way Binnington’s did. No doubt the Flyers would love that to happen.