The Philadelphia Flyers, once a proud franchise that won a lot of hockey games, made it to the playoffs on a consistent basis and were considered a Stanley Cup contender year in and year out, are a bad hockey team right now.
As of this writing (Monday, January 9), the team is seventh in the Metropolitan Division and 26th in the NHL with a 15-18-7 record for 37 points. Truth be told, this team should be a lot worse than that.
For starters, the team does not score a lot of goals. They are 25th in the league in goals allowed having scored 110 goals in 40 games (2.75 goals per game).
This team is terrible defensively. The Flyers are 21st in the league in goals allowed, as they have given up 132 goals this season (3.30 goals against per game).
The Flyers are also struggling on special teams. They are 29th in the league on the power play (16.1 percent) and 20th in the league on the penalty kill (75.4 percent).
The Flyers are having an awful season. With that said, one player on this team deserves some positive attention, and that is goaltender Carter Hart.
Going into the season, no one knew what to expect of Hart. Hart, 24, struggled the last two seasons, as his numbers clearly reflect that:
2020-21: 9-11-0-5, 3.67 goals-against average, .877 save percentage, and one shutout
2021-22: 13-24-0-7, 3.16 goals-against average, .905 save percentage, and one shutout
While his numbers are not exactly great this season, Hart has definitely played better than his numbers have shown. He is 11-12-0-6 with a 2.97 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.
Considering the Flyers give up about 32 shots per game, those numbers are not terrible. Hart is playing with much more confidence this season than last season, as he is challenging shooters, playing more at the top of his crease, and finding ways to put himself in a good position to stop rebound opportunities, if there are any.
He is also showing that he can steal games. This was especially the case when he stole a win from the New Jersey Devils back on Thursday, December 15, when he matched a career-high with 48 saves on 49 shots in a 2-1 victory.
In speaking with Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic back in early December, Flyers head coach John Tortorella praised Hart and what he has done for his hockey club.
“The thing I like about Carter – it’s a tough place. It’s a tough city. It’s a tough city, but I think it ends up putting skin on you, and you become a pro quicker,” he said. “I think he’s handled himself really well here, and I know there’s been some ups and downs early in his career, where he was kinda force-fed in here. This year here, I think he’s calmed himself down, he’s just really concentrated on trying to be the best he can be. I think he’s done a really good job of being a good teammate in a tough situation, with a team that’s trying to play better in front of him that still hasn’t.”
Hart is also garnering the respect of his teammates. In that same article linked above, Flyers forward Scott Laughton recognizes just how good Hart has been this season.
“I think he’s one of the most elite goaltenders in the league,” Flyers forward Scott Laughton said. “We definitely gotta play better in front of him and play in the offensive zone more. But he’s special, and we’ve got to do a better job in front of him, first and foremost.”
There is no doubt that it has already been a long season for the Flyers. With that said, Hart has no reason to hang his head, and he has been the team’s best player this year.
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