With a condensed 56 game season. I figured we could take a look at the Flyers goalies. With Brian Elliott having been with the Flyers for three seasons and averaging a career Goals Against Average (GAA) of 2.50 and Save Percentage of .912. Easy to say the veteran can be a safe option to put in the net at any time, in all situations. Moreover, Carter Hart has been in the NHL since the 2018-19 season. I’m going to start with comparing their regular season and playoff stats from the 2018-19 season.
Let’s take a look at Brian Elliott’s 2018-19 and 2019-20 regular season stats:
*Regular season 2018-19:
26 GP, 23 GS, 11 W, 11 L, 1 OT.
69 GA, GAA 2.96 and SV% .90, 1 SO.
*Regular season 2019-20:
31 GP, 27 GS, 16 W, 7 L, 4 OT
80 GA, GAA 2.87, SV% .899, 2 SO
*Playoffs 2019-20
3 GP, 2 GS, 1 W, 1 L, 0 OT
5 GA, GAA 2.15, SV% .911
Carter Hart
Regular season 2018-19:
21 GP, 30 GS, 16 W, 13 L, 1 OT
81 GA, GAA 2.83, SV% .917
*Regular season 2019-20:
43 GP, 40 GS, 24 W, 13 L, 3 OT
95 GA, GAA, 2.42, SV% .914, 1 SO
*Playoffs 2019-20
14 GP. 14 GS, 9 W, 5 L, 0 OT
32 GA, GAA 2.23, SV% .926, 2 SO
It’s clear to say that they each go neck and neck with similar stats. I’m not saying one goalie is better than the other, but if I were Alain Vigneault I would be starting Hart more often this season. Especially in rival games like the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils. It’s no secret that the Flyers re-signed Elliott this past October because he is a great backup goaltender and mentor. It has also become apparent that Elliott is also a large part of their leadership group. Â
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I started writing this piece a week before the season opener, but I paused on publishing it because I wanted to see who would get the first start of the season and what the outcome would be. Now with what I had previously stated, if I were Vigneault I would be starting Hart against rivals such as Pittsburgh and New Jersey. I think it’s pretty obvious the kid will be the starting goalie for the majority of the season. With a GAA of 2.50 and a .925 Save Percentage in two victories against the Penguins. Hart did have some unfortunate mishaps that gained Pittsburgh a few goals on both nights. However, Hart shut the door last night when his team needed him the most, and was arguably one if their best players last night, I still think that Hart should be the starter all season. The kid is here to stay and became a goalie of his own.
The Flyers are lucky to have two goalies that can hold their own and evolve as the season goes on.
