Good NewsThe owner of the Flayers has instituted new regulations to protect the….
Daniel Briere, the general manager, declared on Tuesday that Hart had asked for and been given time off from the squad. The Flyers will not be making any more comments, he continued.
Requests for comments or any explanation of the circumstances were not promptly answered when messages were made to Scott K. Fenton, Hart’s attorney, and agent, Judd Moldaver.
After giving up five goals on 15 shots in a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Hart, 25, was yanked after one of his worst starts in an otherwise excellent season. In his sixth NHL season, which is the last of his three-year, $11.9 million contract, he is 12-9-3.
Hart, who was born in Sherwood Park, Alberta, a small town west of Edmonton, will be a restricted free agent come summertime.
In one of their last games before the All-Star break, the Flyers, who have been among the league’s most pleasant surprises this season and have a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.
Hart is the most recent member of the NHL to depart from his franchise. The Calgary Flames announced on Sunday that forward Dillon Dube would be taking an indefinite leave of absence to focus on his mental health, with professional assistance.
Later on Tuesday, Nikita Kucherov scored three goals and added an assist to lead Tampa Bay to a victory over the Flyers in their first game without Hart. During his second straight start, Samuel Ersson recorded 15 saves.
Late in the first period, Kucherov scored on a one-timer from the right circle. At 2:24 of the second, he scored a nearly identical goal during a power play. In the game’s last minute, he also got an empty-net goal.
With 80 points, Kucherov took the lead in the NHL, maintaining his competition with Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado for the top slot.
Tampa Bay triumphed for the sixth time in seven games behind goals and assists from Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves, and Michael Eyssimont added another goal.
Cam York and Jaime Drysdale both scored for Philadelphia, which has lost its last three games. Cam Atkinson scored one and provided one assist.
It was Drysdale’s first goal since he was acquired by Anaheim on January 8 in exchange for Cutter Gauthier, one of the Flyers’ best prospects.
Five stars, four red wings
DETROIT — Dallas defeated Detroit with two goals from Rope Hintz.
For the second time in ten games, the Red Wings suffered a regulation loss (7-2-1). The Stars’ four away games resulted in a 2-1-1 record. Dallas has won four of the last six road games for the team.
Dallas, which has defeated Detroit seven straight times (4-0-3), also has goals from Jamie Benn, Mason Marchment, and Esa Lindell. With three assists was Wyatt Johnston.
For Detroit, goals came from David Perron, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, and J.T. Compher.
In the Stars net, Jake Oettinger made 30 saves. James Reimer and Alex Lyon, the Red Wings’ goalies, combined to stop 33 shots.
