The Philadelphia Flyers got some good news as it looks like rookie goaltender Carter Hart is healthy once again and could find himself in net as early as Monday against the Ottawa Senators, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi.
Hart has been out since Feb. 21 with an ankle injury, but he was also coming off two of his worst performances, having been pulled in back-to-back games in which he allowed three goals on just six shots in both appearances. If the team opts to start him against Ottawa, it would be an opportunity to ease him back into the lineup as the Senators are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games.
The 20-year-old Hart is having a impressive season considering he was not meant to spend it in the NHL. Originally slated to spend his first professional season in the AHL, he appeared in just 18 games before being promoted alongside interim head coach Scott Gordon when he was hired. Since then, Hart was helped the Flyers rebound from a tough start with a 13-8-1 record with a 2.79 GAA. While that number doesn’t stand out, his .917 save percentage does.
- Paul Skrbina of The Tennessean writes that Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg missed Saturday’s game and remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to the team. Forsberg missed practice Thursday and Friday, but was believed to be available for Saturday’s game, but didn’t play in the end. Forsberg missed 19 games with an upper-body injury earlier this season, although there is no word on whether this injury is related to that one. The 24-year-old has 22 goals and 41 points in 52 games this season.
- Michael Smith of NHL.com reports that Carolina Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury and did not travel with the team on their three-game roadtrip that started in Nashville today, according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour. Ferland has been having a solid season, putting up 17 goals and 35 points in 52 games. The 26-year-old has played under 14 minutes combined over the last two games.
- The Boston Bruins’ Jake Debrusk is expected to miss a few more games as the forward is still in a walking boot, according to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. While he’s expected to miss this weekend’s games, he could be back not long after that as head coach Bruce Cassidy said that Debrusk was the closest, of all their injured players, to return.
- Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen reports that the Los Angeles Kings are interested in undrafted Michigan State forward Taro Hirose, currently the NCAA leading scorer. According to Rosen, Hirose is friends with Kings’ prospect James Anderson-Dolan and could be convinced to sign with L.A. although there is no word on whether the junior forward is ready to leave college. He has 16 goals and 37 points this season for Michigan State.