Rookie goalie Carter Hart struggles as Flyers fall to Carolina, 3-1, for third straight loss

RALEIGH, N.C. – Two nights after a late-game collapse turned what would have been a victory into a gut-wrenching loss in Florida, the Flyers needed a strong response to get back on track.

That didn’t happen.

Rookie goaltender Carter Hart had the first poor game of his young career, allowing three goals on 10 shots before being yanked in Carolina’s 3-1 win over the Flyers on Monday night at PNC Arena.

“We came out and played hard at the start, and I wasn’t up to the challenge,” Hart said. “They’re three pucks that I should have, and going forward I’ll learn from it, put it behind me and move on to the next one.”

It was the Flyers’ third straight defeat, and it was against a low-scoring, struggling team that was missing one of its best players, Jordan Staal, who is sidelined with a concussion.

The Flyers, who will end their five-game road trip Tuesday night in Nashville, got to within 3-1 with 17 minutes, 22 seconds left in regulation as Jake Voracek converted a sweet feed from Wayne Simmonds off the rush.

They would not get any closer.

Hart was replaced by Michal Neuvirth with 17:41 left in the second period and the Flyers facing a 3-0 deficit. Neuvirth (23 saves on 23 shots) was superb the rest of the night, especially on a strong Carolina power play early in the third.

After Curtis McElhinney made a terrific save to deny Scott Laughton on a two-on-one, the Hurricanes raced down the ice and 18-year-old Andrei Svechnikov scored from the high slot off an odd-man rush, giving Carolina a 3-0 lead with 17:41 to go in the second. It was the 11th goal of the season for Svechnikov, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft.

Just six seconds into the second period, the Flyers stood around and watched as Jordan Martinook beat two defenders and fired a shot off Hart and into the net to make it 2-0. It was the fastest goal at the start of a period in Carolina’s history.

The Flyers were soundly outplayed in the second period, getting outshot, 14-6.

“We got away from what was working for us,” defenseman Radko Gudas said. “I think our D started holding the puck way too much; we got spread way too much, and that caused those turnovers that cost us the second and third goals. It was tough for us to get the momentum back after those two goals."

“We stopped advancing the puck and started playing behind the goal line,” interim coach Scott Gordon said about the second period. “That was one of the things when I got here that we talked about, trying to get out of our zone as quick as you can. ... The second period, that’s what cost us the game.”

Hart, 20, allowed Lucas Wallmark’s shot from the high slot to sail over his glove with 9:23 remaining in the first period. It was the first bad goal he had surrendered in his five NHL games.

Hart took a 2.28 goals-against average and .917 save percentage into the night.

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” general manager Chuck Fletcher said before the game. “We think very highly of Carter and strongly believe he’s going to be a very good goaltender in this league for a very long time. It’s a difficult league for a 20-year-old, regardless of position, let alone goaltenders. I think we’ve all been pleasantly surprised by his poise and his demeanor."

As he watched the team’s morning skate Monday, Fletcher said that whether Hart remains with the team “will be determined, and not everything will depend on him. It’ll depend on the health of our other goaltenders.”

Brian Elliott could return in three weeks.

“I think the most important thing for Carter is that we just find a way to keep him playing, and if that’s here, that’s great,” Fletcher said. “If the ice time drops here, there’s nothing wrong with Carter getting a lot of games in Lehigh Valley. It’s still a work in progress, but clearly he’s shown he’s a kid with a lot of potential.”

Carolina, which will face the Flyers in Philadelphia on Thursday, began the night with four losses in its last five games and had scored a total of two goals in those defeats.

It was the first time Rod Brind’Amour had coached against his former team as Carolina’s head coach. The Hurricanes have struggled to score goals this season, but they have played with the feistiness their coach displayed as a player, entering the game fourth in the NHL in hits.