The Philadelphia Flyers will be without goaltender Carter Hart for the remainder of the regular season, the team announced Thursday morning. The 22-year-old is nursing an MCL sprain in his left knee that has kept him out of the lineup since April 15.
Injury update: Goaltender Carter Hart will miss the remainder of the regular season with an MCL sprain in his left knee. pic.twitter.com/cfsEyfIePg
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 29, 2021
Much like the Flyers as a whole, Hart’s 2020-21 season has not gone according to plan. After putting together an impressive 2019-20 campaign and helping guide the Flyers to their first postseason series victory in nearly a decade, Hart had his fair share of struggles in his third year as an NHLer.
Hart appeared in 27 games for the Flyers this year, finishing off the season with a .877 save percentage and a dreadful 3.67 goals against average. Hart was even scratched for a pair of games after allowing five goals on just 11 shots against the New York Rangers on March 25 — just one of the several beatdowns the Rangers have given the Flyers this season.
Head coach Alain Vigneault said Hart needed to “work harder” and “work better” after that shellacking.
While it’s unfortunate that Hart won’t play again this season, it does give him the opportunity to reset and recover after one of the most spectacularly disappointing seasons in recent Flyers history.
If his final performance of the season is any indication — a 32-save shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins — perhaps better days lie ahead for the young goaltender.
