What Carter Hart is doing and has done so far won’t go unnoticed, especially among Flyers lore, however it still needs to be talked about. His performance this year, alongside that of Martin Jones, has been the main reason as to why the Philadelphia Flyers sit 8-4-2 and in fourth place in the always competitive Metropolitan Division.
Other than his middling performance in the second period against the Vancouver Canucks during their season opener, Carter Hart has been everything he was ever touted to be and then some. It’s on the record and everyone has talked about it to no end but his 2020-21 season was horrendous. It was a startling performance but also one that can be chalked up to situational circumstance. The Flyers’ defense was in tatters, the offense went silent for a large part of the season, and the morale in the locker room was pitiful.
Coming into the season, the one player with the most pressure on them was probably Hart himself. Everywhere you looked and anyone that ever spoke about the Flyers during the off-season pegged Hart as the sole x-factor because the “Flyers will go as far as he will take them”. Predictions were abound, analysts had their fun, and the media chimed in over and over again, but the consensus was that the Flyers weren’t going to fare well because Hart was no longer “good”.
One season derailed him so much that the Flyers were apparently doomed. Hart is young, hasn’t even come close to reaching his prime, and still oozing with talent. Goalies all over the NHL have terrible one-off seasons, some have several, before bouncing back and then jumping in the rankings for top goaltenders.
Petr Mrazek had several middling years in Detroit before making a not-so impressive pit stop in Philadelphia and then finding his game in Carolina. Carey Price had a few average seasons before leading his Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final. Matt Murray fell off after leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup victories. Sergei Bobrovsky had a rough start to his tenure in Florida but is having a rejuvenated season. Goaltending is fickle and you should never rule someone out just because of one bad season, especially when they’re in their early 20s.
The way the Flyers are scoring, they have no right in being 8-4-2. It can be seen as an overreaction but when you’re scoring 2 goals a game over a span of 11 games and going 3 for 36 on the power play, it’s definitely worrisome. The Flyers of yesteryear would never be winning low scoring, one goal games. The goaltending carousel never had a standout that was good enough to withstand 35-40 shots, other than maybe Steve Mason.
Carter Hart is essentially masking all the Flyers’ flaws until everything gets figured out. The scoring woes won’t last all season, the anemic power play won’t be a disadvantage forever, and the defensive miscues will eventually cease. If this was any other year and any other goaltender that has donned the orange and black in recent memory, the record could very well be inverted, maybe even worse off.
Hart sits with a 5-3-2 record but his peripherals of .938 save percentage and a 2.21 GAA will make any Flyers fan giddy. After shutting out the Arizona Coyotes, he had to stand on his head in his next 4 games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and Calgary Flames. He is doing everything possible from his end to keep the Flyers in the game and to have a chance to win on a nightly basis.
He was on the wrong end against the Penguins and Leafs as the Flyers couldn’t even find the back of the net against Toronto. But in his last two games, especially against the first place Hurricanes, he showcased his mettle and composure. He stopped 39 shots, several high-danger chances, and kept the Flyers in the game after 40 minutes, being outshot 28-13.
Even his performance last night deserves constant praise. His composure, positioning, and agility is on full display as he makes most of his saves look effortless. He is a lot quicker between the posts, his biggest weaknesses of angled shots and wraparounds look to be fixed, and he is back to making momentum-changing saves, like the diving glove save on Jordan Eberle in their 6-1 thumping of Seattle.
He is proving his naysayers wrong and keeping his doubters at bay with his early season success. The biggest weakness for the Flyers for over two decades is starting to become their most advantageous trait. As a team, they have the third best save percentage at .928% after finishing in last place in 2020-21 at .880%. Whenever the Flyers get back in the goal scoring column consistently and improve their power play, they are going to be a dangerous team to play against if the goaltending keeps up.
The Metropolitan Division is going to be tough all year but if Hart keeps playing the way he is, the Flyers are destined for at least a top three finish.
