An injury suffered right before the NHL’s Christmas break has ultimately landed Carter Hart on the Injured Reserve.
In the first period of the Flyers’ game with the Carolina Hurricanes back on December 23, Philadelphia defender Rasmus Ristolianen shoved opposing forward Seth Jarvis into Hart as he was sliding across the crease. Hart left the game and the Flyers wound up losing by a score of 6-5.
On Tuesday, Hart practiced with the Flyers and the report from head coach John Tortorella afterward was that he would be good to go for the team’s upcoming road trip. On Wednesday, that all changed, as Hart was placed on the Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury.
There’s no indication yet about how long Hart will be out. In the meantime, the Flyers will likely operate with a goaltending tandem that features Felix Sandstrom and Samuel Ersson, who have a combined 15 games of NHL experience between the two of them.
Sandstrom was Philadelphia’s third-round pick in the 2015 NHL draft. He played five games for the Flyers last year and has played nine this year and has an .897 save percentage in the NHL. Ersson was the team’s fifth-round pick from the 2018 NHL draft and he allowed five goals on 30 shots in relief of Hart last week against Carolina.
Hart has been one of the long bright spots on a struggling Flyers team this season. Through a league-leading 27 starts, Hart has a .911 save percentage. The 24-year-old Hart has one more season after this one left on his three-year, $11.937 million contract.
