Five Flyers Observations : Carter Hart Deserves To Be The Flyers Starter
A Flyers goalie hung out to dry? Where have you heard that before? Tonight, Flyers Carter Hart was given the opportunity to start in-front of the home Philadelphia crowd.
However, it was a shame his teammates didn’t want to help him out. Hart was left out to dry on all three of the Rangers goals tonight. After, a failed clear, the Rangers put one home on the power-play. Then, just 35 seconds later, Flyers Andrew MacDonald gifted-wrapped the Rangers a 3 on 1 for an easy goal. Then, another failed clear doomed Hart once again.
The Flyers made it a game in the 3rd period for the second straight. Goals by Ivan Provorov and James van Riemsdyk cut the Rangers lead to 3-2. But, a miscommunication between the Flyers bench and Hart have the Rangers an easy empty net goal.
Here are four more observations from the Flyers 4-2 loss to the Rangers…
Should Hart Get A Chance?
Statically, the Flyers best goalie in the preseason has been Carter Hart. Yes, the 20-year old rookie has outplayed 4 veteran goal-tenders. But, is he fighting an up-hill battle he will never win?
One thing the Flyers will not do now is rush someone. Look at the past history of Flyers rookies. The only ones to go from juniors to the NHL directly were Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny, and Nolan Patrick. Others like Shayne Gostisbehere, Oskar Lindblom, Robert Hagg, and Travis Sanheim have all spent time with the Phantoms.
But, with the Flyers goal-tending position in dismay and the unknown, should the Flyers give him a shot? Well, tonight was Hart’s first troubles in a Flyers uniform.
The good thing? Not one of the three goals that Hart let in tonight was his fault. Hart was hung out to dry by his defensemen and failed clears on the power-play.
Therefore, should the Flyers give him a shot? Should Hart start the Flyers season as the starter? This is one bet I am willing to take.
Gudas-MacDonald Pairing Needs To GO
What is worse than one bad defenseman? Two bad defensemen. What is worse than two bad defenseman? Those two defenseman on the same pairing.
Tonight, for some unknown reason, head coach Dave Hakstol decided he wanted to try that and see how it would work. Well, Dave you already knew how it would work and well… Yeah, IT DOESN’T.
Both Gudas and MacDonald are defensive liabilities. But, for some reason, Hakstol wanted to see if they could work together. IT DID NOT WORK and it was 2 of their mistake that costed the Flyers goals tonight.
The Gudas and MacDonald pairing needs to be abolished faster than the fans wanting Gritty gone.
Possible Move Coming?
Coming into tonight’s game, Jordan Weal needed a game to remember. A game to impress his head coach to worthy him of a roster spot. Or possibly another team?
Weal doesn’t seem to fit the Flyers plans and has been beaten out for the 3rd line center position by camp standout Mikhail Vorobyev. So, instead of sitting Weal in the press box, could he be possibly traded?
https://twitter.com/PFL_BSommermann/status/1045437753180278784
The Islanders and Capitals are both looking for cheap secondary scoring help. Weal, who over his last 88 games, has scored 16 goals and added 17 assists. Compare that to an 82-game season and it is good secondary scoring.
Now, yes the Islanders and Capitals both had important hockey personal in attendance to watch tonight’s game. Do I think anything is close? NO. But, this is something to keep an eye on.
Roster Cuts
Currently, the Flyers have 6 more cuts to go. One name that will not be apart of those cuts is Philippe Myers. Myers, who was having one of the best camps out of any Flyers defensemen, was cut shockingly yesterday.
Now, yes Myers was having a good camp. However, if you watched Myers’s last two games, he struggled. We will never know if that was the direct reason for his send down. But, with the return of Andrew MacDonald and Travis Sanheim early from injury, Myers seemed to be losing his spot to one of them.
GM Ron Hextall has said from the beginning no prospect is going to make the team just to sit in the press-box. Well, with the Flyers defense completely healthy, Myers was in that spot. That, to me, was the overwhelming reason for his send-down.
Besides Myers, the Flyers still have some key position battles to finish in the final two preseason games. At the moment, camp standout, Mikhail Vorobyev, seems to have the 3rd center position locked up. Which leaves Jordan Weal with out a position on the roster and nowhere to go. Could a trade be in the works to trade the 5th year pro?
Result : Flyers 2 – Rangers 4 , LOSS
Record : 3 – 3 – 1
Next Game : 9/29 Boston Bruins, Boston MA, 5:00 PM