Already besieged by injuries up and down the lineup this season, the Flyers appeared to have be dealt another massive blow when Carter Hart hit the injured reserve on January 15th with an abdominal injury.
But then Brian Elliott — aka BAMF — happened.
Since Hart’s injury, all Elliott has done is go 4-0-1 in five starts —two of them shutouts— en route to a .935 save percentage as the Flyers have surged behind the veteran’s play.
The run has been more impressive considering the 34-year-old largely struggled to an .896 save percentage in his 21 games prior to being thrust into the spotlight due to Hart’s injury. Though he went 9-5-3 in those games, he did so while receiving ample goal support in order to prop up his less-than-stellar play.
But when the Flyers have needed him most, Elliott has delivered some outstanding performances in the crease over the last few weeks.
There was the road win in St. Louis against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blues which Elliott backstopped the Flyers to a win while making 30 saves after losing Hart just two days earlier. Then there was important back-to-back wins against the Kings and rival Penguins after the Flyers played an absolute clunker against the Canadiens to essentially kill the momentum from the big wins over the Blues and Bruins.
He wasn’t able to bookend the Flyers’ lengthy All-Star break with another win at the hands of the Penguins (four goals on 20 shots), but rebounded with a 16-save shutout in Detroit on Monday night. Though the Red Wings remain —by far— the NHL’s worst team, they kept Elliott busy for a hot second with some high danger chances early before fading as the Flyers woke up.
After posting a goals saved above average (GSAA) well over -3.0 for the bulk of the season, Elliott has turned things around by posting a 1.41 GSAA since taking over for Hart. While that doesn’t look all that great compared to the top netminders like Ben Bishop (17.18), Tuukka Rask (16.07), or Darcy Kuemper (14.79), It’s better than the mark that Hart (-0.97) has played to thus far even when healthy.
And with Hart taking the morning skate Monday for the first time since getting injured, Elliott could be in line for another start on Thursday against the Devils as Flyers coach Alain Vigneault evaluates Hart’s health. Given Elliott’s recent success and not wanting to rush Hart back too fast, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the veteran get at least the Devils game and perhaps even the road trip to Washington to face the Capitals before Hart returns.
Given how Elliott has played in Hart’s absence, the Flyers don’t have any need to rush Hart back, which is a luxury here that they didn’t expect when to have as the veteran has more than held down the fort.
Taking the reins during an important stretch for the team with their No. 1 netminder out for what has now been seven games, Brian Elliott has provided the everything the Flyers have needed and more.
*Statistics courtesy of the incomparable hockeyreference.com and the amazing evolving-hockey.com.
