When Carter Hart left the morning skate early, everyone collectively held their breath. He did not appear to be laboring at all when he left, but it was still not a good sign for the Flyers.
Alex Lyon became the only goaltender in the ice for the Flyers pregame practice. It has become known that Brian Elliott does not take the skate when he is the starting goaltender.
Alain Vigneault had already done his pregame availability before practice, so it would take some time before finding out what could be ailing Hart. It wasn’t the first time he pulled himself from a skate before. He would end up being diagnosed with a right abdominal strain.
It wouldn’t be until about an hour before the game that it became known why Hart had left. He was diagnosed with back spasms and, for now, will be day to day. Elliott was the starting goaltender for Friday night’s game either way.
That forced the Flyers to recall Lyon on an emergency basis from the taxi squad. He would be backing up Elliott against the Bruins. That wasn’t the only bad news the team got, however.
Phil Myers, having recently returned from a fractured rib, was a full participant during the team’s morning skate. He was expected to suit up next to Travis Sanheim, per usual. And then he wasn’t.
When the Flyers released the update on Hart, they also listed Myers out as well. It was simply put as an upper body injury. He had previously missed four games before he had returned for the last three games. There was no indication that he was laboring in any way during those games.
So that will be something to keep an eye on moving forward. Robert Hagg drew into the lineup as the Flyers were forced to change up their defensive pairings a bit. Justin Braun moved up to play with Sanheim while Hagg would join Erik Gustafsson on the third pairing.
The Flyers have games against the Washington Capitals coming up and would like to have both Hart and Myers back in the lineup for those. It is also possible we could see Sean Couturier soon as well. He was recently said to potentially he about a week away when Chuck Fletcher spoke on Tuesday.
Elliott will carry the load for now, if he is needed for more than just this game. The Flyers will play again on Sunday when they travel to Washington.