Carter Hart did not play for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 4-3 overtime win at the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, and the goalie also will be scratched Wednesday at Buffalo so that he can focus more on practice.
"He needs to work on his game," coach Alain Vigneault said Monday. "He needs to work harder; he needs to work better. I've had a good conversation with him and [Flyers goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh] about my expectations about his practice habits and him stopping the puck."
Goalie Brian Elliott started and made 29 saves Monday, with Alex Lyon backing him up. Vigneault said either Elliott or Lyon will start Wednesday.
Hart is 8-9-3 with a 4.04 goals-against average and an .869 save percentage in 22 games. He's allowed at least three goals in eight consecutive starts, and in 16 of his 20 starts this season.
Hart is 2-6-0 with a 5.04 GAA and an .815 save percentage in his past 10 games. Hart's last win was 4-3 at the New York Islanders on March 18, when he made 22 saves but allowed three goals in the third period.
"Just chipping away at things right now," Hart said after that game when asked about his confidence level. "Getting back to playing my game and trusting the game that I've built. I think it's coming, it's going in the right direction. I've just got to build off it."
Hart has a .789 save percentage in three games since then.
"We were able to have [Hart] skate in practice yesterday, we're going to have him skate and then stay on the ice and work on his game," Vigneault said. "Tomorrow is a team practice day, which we hadn't had a lot. ... He's going to skate today in practice, stay on after, practice with the team tomorrow, stay on after. Wednesday he will do the same thing, he's going to practice it and work with Kim after. We're going to stay that way here for a little while here."
Hart's teammates remain supportive.
"We all know 'Hartsy' is a good goalie; everyone in the world knows 'Hartsy' is a good goalie," defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. "Everyone goes through their ups and downs. Right now it's a down. ... I just know his personality and how he is and his attitude for playing the game. His preparation is second to none. I'm pretty sure no one in this organization is too worried about the Carter Hart we'll see next."
Hart was 24-13-3 with a 2.42 GAA and a .914 save percentage last season and allowed at least three goals in 15 of 40 starts.
At 22 years old, Hart is the third-youngest goalie in the NHL; the only goalies younger are Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars (by four months) and Stuart Skinner of the Edmonton Oilers (by three months).
Because of Hart's age and track record, the Flyers believe his current struggles aren't indicative of what kind of future he'll have.
"You look back at a young Carey Price at the age of 22, Connor Hellebuyck, Marc-Andre Fleury, just going through some names," general manager Chuck Fletcher said March 24. "All of those great goaltenders had some ups and downs early in their career and had some tough seasons. It's a hard position. I believe in Carter. I believe in his talent, and I believe he will be a very good goalie for this franchise for a very long time. Clearly right now, he's not on top of his game."
March 30, 2021 at 06:37AM
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Hart must 'work harder' for Flyers, won't play two games at Sabres: coach - NHL.com
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