Brian Elliott “The Moose” has stepped up in time of need time and time again, even with all his prior injuries with the Flyers. Elliott has been phenomenal this year, just phenomenal. Case and point was coming in cold from the bench in a 5-4 shootout victory against the Buffalo Sabres. He came in after the first period for Carter Hart, and played the rest of the game to earn the Flyers a much needed victory, “No. I didn’t play well,” Carter Hart said following the Flyers victory. “The boys needed a spark. Moose came in and did a great job.”
When healthy Elliott is a solid, good goalie, maybe not start 40-50 games a season, but a darn good backup. The problems that he has had in the past with being unhealthy seem to be a thing of the past, so much so that the entire team speaks very highly of him. Flyers Captain Claude Giroux has said time and time again The Moose is reliable, and Joel Farabee takes it a bit farther, “Moose came in, had a great game, really helped us out and was a big part of that win,” Farabee said following the Flyers 5-4 victory against the Sabres, “We have 2 great goalies and hopefully we can keep building off the momentum.
“The Moose” has put up solid numbers this season compiling a 7-2 record, 2.29 GAA, with a .919 Save Percentage. It really shows he is not only doing his job as a backup netminder, but he is putting together a complete season. Elliott is carrying the heavy lifting right now with Carter Hart trying to find his game with limited practice time due to the condensed schedule. The Moose cannot play in five or six games straight anymore, but he will be relied upon when his number is called, and he has proven that this season and last for that matter.
Elliott is a great mentor for the young Hart, and this is one of those cases where he will aide Hart. Both of these netminders speak highly of one another with both saying they have formed a great relationship with one another. This is the main reason Elliott is here in Philadelphia, to help Hart grow into the franchise netminder, as every prospect will go through ups and downs. It happens, and the hope is Hart will bounce back better than ever.
The 35-year-old in Elliott has turned into one of the best signings that Fletcher has made this past offseason. An offseason in which Nolan Patrick, Philippe Myers, Oskar Lindblom, and Nicolas Aubé-Kubel were restricted free agents. Hopefully this successful run continues for Elliott as he will be critical here for the next few games, while Hart has time to decompress for the rigors that lie ahead.
