The Philadelphia Flyers announced that Martin Jones will get the nod in the net due to Carter Hart coming down with an eye infection.
Lineup update: Goaltender Carter Hart (eye infection) is out today. Martin Jones will start and Kirill Ustimenko will back up. #CARvsPHI pic.twitter.com/657avPG2x9
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 21, 2022
Hart has been solid in the net for the Flyers and at 23 years old is much more developed than most goalies at that age. It’s not surprising that Philadelphia would take every precaution to make sure their young goaltender is fully healthy before putting him between the pipes.
Jones has been Hart’s primary backup this season. His .898 save percentage isn’t great and a 3.58 goals-against average would be tough for any team to overcome. In comparison, Hart has a .910 SV% and a 2.96 GAA. Jones has only won six of the 17 games he’s started.
Philadelphia faces the fifth-most shots in the league, allowing an average of 34 per game. Worst still, Jones faces an average of 2.5 more shots than Hart does per game.
Over at FanDuel Sportsbook, the Flyers are +188 against the Carolina Hurricanes and Jones is -122 to go over 29.5 saves.