Carter Hart staying ‘ready for the next shot,’ whether it’s from Connor McDavid or another NHL star
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Flyers goaltender Carter Hart stayed calm in the face of the NHL’s top offense on Thursday night.
In their 2-1 shootout win, Hart and the Flyers held the Edmonton Oilers to a single goal for the first time since the Oilers’ Dec. 31 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. While Connor McDavid extended his points streak to 14 straight games by assisting Evander Kane’s goal in the second period, Hart shut the door against his hometown team the rest of the way.
“I thought it was a really good game by Carter because sometimes they were storming us, and then there were other times in the game we were down in their end, and Carter wasn’t seeing much action,” coach John Tortorella said. “Especially at the end of the game, for a goalie, that’s when the pressure is really on because he’s thinking, ‘I just gotta get a point here.’”
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When McDavid raced end-to-end past two Flyers defenders with just over a minute left in overtime, Hart kept his composure and made a glove save on McDavid’s wrist shot that brought the home crowd to its feet.
“It feels good, but I just gotta be ready for the next one, even after a big save or after a goal, whatever it is. Just got to be ready for the next shot,” Hart said.
Hart later denied McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the top two in the NHL in points this season, in the shootout to seal the win. Thanks to Hart’s saves and shootout goals from Morgan Frost and James van Riemsdyk, the Flyers nabbed their first shootout win of the season and just their second shootout win in the last two years. Hart finished with 34 saves.
But the 24-year-old goaltender wasn’t without help on Thursday night. Following Monday’s 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders, where unnecessary penalties hampered the Flyers’ ability to generate offense, discipline was a focus against the top power play in the NHL. The Flyers stayed out of the box for the entirety of Thursday’s game, and kept the Oilers, who boast a league-high 57 power-play goals, off the ice.
“It’s obviously hard, especially if you get on the wrong side of these guys, and, with their speed, it’s pretty easy for them to get by you,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “I thought we did a great job of that, and that’s a credit to our forward group for helping our D out and our D trying to do the best that we could with our gaps.”
But it was Hart’s stability, even facing a high-octane offense like the Oilers, that gave the Flyers the opportunity to take two points on Thursday.
“I think [Hart has] done it all year long. I think he’s handled himself so well, in just his composure throughout the game, no matter what’s going on,” Tortorella said. “He’s been our best player this year. He’s been our most consistent, best player, and continues to be.”
Cates-Couturier connection
Though Flyers center Sean Couturier has been sidelined since December 2021 with a back injury that has required two surgeries, the veteran’s presence is still felt. Noah Cates, a center who converted from left wing at the start of this season, says he’s been getting tips about the position from the former Selke Trophy winner.
He’s even heard some comparisons from his teammates between their style of play, and Couturier is a player Cates wants “to evolve into.”
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“[Couturier is] always there at the games, and so he talks about face-offs a lot with me,” Cates said. “Hearing from other guys that they think I play like him, or do some things like him, that is obviously a huge honor. I just really want to take the ice with him one of these days.”
Cates had a rough night in the dot on Thursday night. As the Flyers’ top-line center, he matched up frequently against Oilers centers McDavid and Draisaitl and went just 2-for-12 in faceoffs. But Cates plans to take those faceoff losses as learning experiences.
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“They have some skilled players, and maybe they cheat a little bit,” Cates said. “I just gotta be a little more diligent and go into the faceoff and learn from them, when I go against them the first or second time, and then kind of change my game plan.”
Alongside Couturier, Cates said he’s been taking notes from Scott Laughton and Patrick Brown. During Friday’s optional practice, Cates was on the ice practicing draws with the Flyers assistant coaches.
Breakaways
Kieffer Bellows was placed on waivers on Friday. He has just one goal and one point since being claimed off waivers on Oct. 27 from the New York Islanders. … The Flyers will host the Nashville Predators on Saturday (12:30 p.m., NBCSP).
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