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Greg WyshynskiESPN
The Philadelphia Flyers‘ 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night marked a new era for the franchise. It was the first game under interim coach Scott Gordon, who replaced the fired Dave Hakstol on Monday. Perhaps more importantly, it marked the successful NHL debut for a rookie the team hopes could become the franchise goaltender they’ve been seeking for decades: 20-year-old Carter Hart.
“It’s something that I’ve dreamt of as a kid, ever since I was 4 years old,” said Hart before his first career start, which saw him turn aside 20 shots for the Flyers (13-15-4), who emerged from the Eastern Conference basement with the win.
Hart was called up on Monday as the Flyers once again shuffled around their maligned goaltenders, who had collectively the worst save percentage in the NHL this season (.874). With Brian Elliott and Anthony Stolarz injured, and Alex Lyon shipped back to AHL Lehigh Valley, Hart was brought up and given his first start against the Red Wings.
It’s been a meteoric rise for Hart. He was selected in the second round of the 2016 NHL draft (No. 48 overall) and played for the Everett Silvertips junior team, where he starred. Hart is the only player ever to win the Canadian Hockey League Goaltender of the Year Award twice. Hart turned pro with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this year, where Gordon coached him.
The Flyers inquired about whether he was ready a few weeks ago, but that was during a rough stretch of play for Hart.
“I couldn’t confidently say that it was the right time,” Gordon said Tuesday. “But since that time, he’s played five games and has gotten better. He’s really starting to become a pro. Whether this was the right time or not, I don’t know, but he’s been a better goalie than he was.”
Against Detroit, Hart stopped all eight shots he faced in the first period, as the Flyers took a 1-0 lead on a James van Riemsdyk goal. He surrendered his first NHL goal on the penalty kill in the second period, as fellow rookie Dennis Cholowski snapped a shot from the slot. He gave up another goal in the third period, as Jacob de la Rose was left alone in front of the net and snapped a quick shot through Hart.
But the rookie managed to close the Red Wings out after that for his first NHL victory, including a save late in the game with the Detroit net emptied. It was an effort that Hart might not have been able to conjure earlier in his first pro season.
“Earlier in the year, making the transition from juniors to the pro level, I was overanalyzing everything,” he said on Monday. “I just gotta trust me game. Play to my strengths. When it’s game time, you just gotta play. Don’t think. Just play.”
The Flyers mobbed their rookie goalie after the victory. A franchise notorious for going through goaltenders with unfortunate frequency– as Hart was the sixth one to appear this season alone — celebrating the debut of one they hope can break that hex.