Photo Credit: Zack Hill
Carter Hart has just been spectacular here as of late, and for that matter for the majority of the season. Harttacular has posted a 23-12-3 record, with a 2.47 GAA, and a .911 Save Percentage. What more could one expect from a 21-year-old in just his first full season in the NHL. I mean if he had more starts he could be mentioned in a conversation for the Vezina Trophy.
Hart has been on fire in the past five games, accumulating a 5-0 record, with a 2.00 GAA, and a .929 Save Percentage. Talk about heating up at the right time for this playoff push. This is his net, and his to lose at the moment. Hart needs to see as many starts a possible down the stretch to prepare him for the playoffs, but Brian Elliott needs to make spot starts to keep fresh just in case. Such was the case Wednesday night against the Washington Capitals, where Elliott was tabbed as the starter.
The young 21-year-old netminder has cured his old habits after big win after big win, a la the New York Rangers this past weekend. Hart has just been so gosh darn good at letting up minimum rebounds for the most part. It was never a major issue or flaw in his game, rebound control is often corrected with working with Goalie Coach Kim Dillabaugh at practice, however, practices were very limited until the month of February. With the travel and all, to include the abdominal strain injury, it was really tough to work with Dillabaugh on this aspect of his game, but Hart has been very good at these aspects of his game since returning from the abdominal strain injury this past February. For his efforts, Hart is now 19-2-2 at home, with a 1.64 GAA, and a .942 Save Percentage.
Hart is clearly leading the charge to the finish line. He has worked with Goalie Coach Kim Dillabaugh on cutting down his angles, and he has also become bigger in the net. This is all very noticeable during the games recently. Hart has cat like reflexes right now, as he moves post to post with ease. He is just so darn confident as he makes glove save after glove save. Hart has rarely been rattled as of late.
This young man in Hart has electrified the fan base, and has cemented himself as the guy between the pipes for the orange and black for the foreseeable future. Most fans knew he was special, but it’s great to see him flourish here down the stretch in big playoff like atmosphere games.
Hart is the real deal, and he takes all the blame for a loss that’s what good players do. Hart will continue to have a lot of highs, but some lows, as well. We as people just have to remember, he is just 21-years-old with just so much potential.
