Mark Madden's Hot Take: Goalie Carter Hart at heart of Flyers' struggles

Remember when a member of the Philadelphia hockey media said Sidney Crosby had passed the torch as hockey’s best player to the Flyers’ Claude Giroux?

That was in 2012.

In the interim, Crosby has 691 points to Giroux’s 596.

Crosby has also won two Stanley Cups since — and two playoff MVPs, one regular-season MVP, one scoring championship and one goal-scoring title. Giroux has none of the above.

Crosby currently has 37 points, Giroux 25. Crosby helped the Penguins eliminate the Flyers in the ‘18 playoffs. Crosby’s Penguins never allowed 15 straight goals to the New York Rangers.

It’s starting to look like Crosby is still better than Giroux, and maybe still better than everyone but Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, who trails Crosby by three Stanley Cups to none.

Giroux was never hockey’s best player. Not for one second. Was Giroux ever in the top 10? Maybe he was. But you’d have missed it if you blinked.

That brings us to another haphazard christening: “The Flyers finally have a great goaltender in Carter Hart.”

They don’t. Hart stinks.

Penguins GM Ron Hextall got excoriated when he had the same job in Philadelphia because he didn’t want to rush Hart to the NHL. Hextall’s mistake might have been not suggesting a new line of work, because Hart is the NHL’s worst goalie.

Hart’s goals-against average is 4.02, his save percentage .869. Those stats are a throwback to when nobody played defense, systems were optional, goaltenders wore half the equipment and blocking every shot wasn’t a blood oath.

His recent form is even worse: Hart has lost four of five. His goals-against average in those games is 5.69, his save percentage .803.

The Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad has six goals against Hart. He has 10 on the season.

Hart has been pulled four times. That includes twice against Buffalo, the NHL’s dregs.

Hart is only 22 years old. He’s got lots of time to get worse.

But that’s hard to imagine, because Hart is flunking the eye test, too. He’s visibly shaken, drowning in an ocean of self-doubt. Each goal seems worse that the last.

Hart had two solid seasons before this one. Perhaps he’ll bounce back. Or maybe he’ll disappear for keeps like Jim Carey, Washington’s net defective. Remember him? Me, neither.

What’s the point of this column? Well, I just find all this hilarious.

Have you ever seen the Flyers win the Cup?