It’s been a frustrating year for Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart and it will ultimately end in very fitting fashion. The 22-year-old will miss the remainder of the season with an MCL sprain, the team announced on Thursday morning.
Hart has been out of action since April 15th with a knee injury. This in itself must have been tough for the young goalie to stomach after seeing his save percentage shoot up from .815% to .910% in the month of April.
Brian Elliott and Alex Lyon have been tending in place of Hart and will see out the remainder of the season. There is also a chance that we see some action from Felix Sandstrom.
Hart struggled in a season where plenty of other Flyers also took a step back. After a stunning 2019-20 campaign ended in some admirable performances in the postseason, expectations were sky-high. He ends his season with a .877% save percentage, going 9-11-5 in 27 games.
On top of that, Alain Vigneault benched his young star on several occasions, citing that his play has simply not been good enough. It was hard to fault AV for making the call, but in the same breath it’s just as important to remember that this season is very different and Hart still has his best years ahead of him.
Without the pressure of needing to be rushed back into the fray, the Flyers can allow Carter Hart to rest up and prepare for next season away from the spotlight for the time being, which could be exactly what he needs after a campaign of annoyance and regression. It’s time to hit reset and attack next season with a refreshed mentality and leave the bumps and bruises from this year in the past.
Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre
