The Philadelphia Flyers’ winning streak ended at eight games recently, but now Carter Hart’s own run is at eight.
Hart joined Jocelyn Thibault as the only two goalies who’ve managed personal winning streaks of eight games before age 21. Hart’s tremendous (if specific) personal achievement might have gotten lost in the shuffle a bit on Saturday, what with how often the Anaheim Ducks are getting humiliated, with the latest score being 6-2.
The Flyers are now 9-0-1 in their last 10 games, as the only thing that ended their winning streak was a (narrow) shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Anthony Stolarz was the goalie who absorbed that loss, though not before making some impressive saves.
During Hart’s own eight-game winning streak, he’s managed an impressive .934 save percentage. There have been other red-hot goalies during that span - Jordan Binnington, Carey Price, and Robin Lehner also stand out - but only Hart has eight wins since Jan. 14.
Hart has been impressive when you zoom out to the full 2018-19 season too, at least when you keep things to the NHL. In 17 games, Hart’s record is 11-5-1, and his save percentage is at .926.
(You wonder if his AHL struggles might have come from a place of frustration with his development, as much as anything else.)
It sounds like life will be getting better for Hart ... although what about superstitions?
Carter Hart said he’ll be moving in with Jake Voracek next week. He had been living in a hotel in NJ since getting called up from the AHL
— Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) February 9, 2019
With this win, the Flyers now have 57 points in 55 games played (25-23-7). The longer this surge goes, the less ridiculous a playoff push sounds. Hart’s been a big part of this run, and chances are, he’ll be key if it continues.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Hart won’t turn 21 until August.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.