The Philadelphia Flyers are providing struggling goaltender Carter Hart a chance to find his game.
Flyers coach Alain Vigneault told reporters Monday that Hart will be scratched in games on Monday and Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres. Veteran goaltender Brian Elliott will get the nod on Monday versus the Sabres, who are mired in a franchise-worst 17-game winless skid (0-15-2).
Vigneault stressed that this is not a vacation for Hart, who has yielded 39 goals in his last 10 games.
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“This is not a rest day for Carter, this is a work day for him. We were able to have him skate in practice (on Sunday), we’re going to have him skate and then stay on the ice and work on his game,” Vigneault said.
“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 (Dillabaugh, goaltending coach) after. We’re going to stay that way here for a little while here. He needs to work on his game. He needs to work harder, he needs to work better. I’ve had a good conversation with him and Kim about my expectations about his practice habits and him stopping the puck.”
Hart, 22, sports an 8-9-3 record in 22 games (20 starts) this season. His 4.04 goals-against average and .869 save percentage in 2020-21 are decidedly worse than the 2.42 GAA and .914 SP he posted last season.
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–Field Level Media