Hart has skill, proper mindset to lead Flyers in Playoffs, Boucher says

Carter Hart is ready for his next step as the No. 1 goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers: playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"As a younger player, it's part of the steps in your career you have to take, and it's definitely one step I've been waiting for my whole life," Hart said during training camp.

Hart will begin that run against a goalie he grew up idolizing, Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. Game 1 of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round series between the No. 1-seeded Flyers and No. 8-seeded Canadiens is Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS, NBCSP) at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the East hub city.

"[Price] was my favorite goalie growing up," Hart said Saturday. "I just had the chance to actually meet him the other week and talk with him for the first time. So that was something that was pretty cool. For first playoff series, playing against Carey Price would definitely be a lot of fun. I look forward to it."

Brian Boucher understands what Hart is feeling; 20 years ago, he was a 23-year-old rookie goalie awaiting his first playoff start for the Flyers.

Boucher, now an NBC Sports analyst, began the 1999-2000 season as the backup to John Vanbiesbrouck. But as the season progressed, he earned more playing time and started 13 of the Flyers' final 20 regular-season games. With 35 games of NHL experience, he was the starter when Philadelphia opened the playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres on April 13, 2000.

"I did feel a huge difference when the playoffs started," Boucher said. "The energy is different, the importance of the game is different."

Hart played 31 games in 2018-19 and went 24-13-3 in 43 games this season. The 21-year-old was the youngest goalie in the NHL to play at least 20 games in 2019-20.

"Certainly, the experience of playing in the regular season is valuable," Boucher said. "For anybody that's doing it the first time around, those are important hours to put into your craft. You've got to go through that. You hope the experience you have going through it is a positive one. That can really help build your confidence. But there's no better training than getting after it."

Hart started getting after it during the round-robin portion of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. He went 2-0-0, making 57 saves on 59 shots in wins against the Boston Bruins (4-1) and Tampa Bay Lightning (4-1).

The win against Tampa Bay gave Philadelphia the No. 1 seed in the East for the first time since Boucher and the Flyers were the top seed in the conference in 2000.

"Hart looks confident and showing no signs of nerves after the two round-robin games," Boucher said. "I think the unique circumstances of having round-robin games has allowed him to get his feet wet without the real fear of going down in a normal best-of-7 series. As far as timing is concerned, I think he's right on it right now. He appears to be seeing pucks and reading plays well. No reason to not feel good about his game right now."

Those round-robin games were contested in a vastly different environment than the one Boucher played in as a rookie. Instead of a raucous home crowd in Philadelphia or a roaring enemy audience on the road, Hart will be playing in a building without any fans.

"The energy and the crowd, it gets your adrenaline going," Boucher said. "Sometimes you have to work to bring the adrenaline down. I think as a goaltender if you're too hyped up it can work against you. For skaters, I think they feed off that energy. ... But as a goaltender, as much as you're trying to tone it down, calm down the adrenaline, it's also what makes it so fun. That's what makes it so different than the regular season or preseason; you can feel that energy. Although you're trying to control that energy, you crave it. That's what's going to be different. It'll be quiet. You won't be able to feed off that external energy. You're going to have to make sure that you bring it yourself."

If Hart has any questions, he can turn to teammate Brian Elliott, who is 16th among active NHL goalies with 44 playoff starts.

Boucher had a similar lifeline with Vanbiesbrouck, who was in his 18th NHL season in 1999-2000.

"'Beezer' for me was a calming influence," Boucher said. "Just having a veteran like him if I needed to go talk to him. During the course of the season, there were times I would go pick his brain and try to learn some things from him. Just having him around, knowing that if you did have a hiccup he was there to pick up the pieces, was a good thing."

Boucher also was faced with a difficult decision before his first game.

"We had the option in the first round, because of building times, to play Game 1 and Game 2 on back-to-back days or have two days off between Game 1 and Game 2," he said. "I remember we were on the train coming back from New York, that's where we played our last regular-season game, and some of the veterans asked me, 'Hey, what do you want to do?' They never asked me for my input as a rookie, but they asked me on this one. I said I'd rather play back-to-back nights. No travel. I didn't want to have to sit there and think about it after Game 1 if it was bad."

Boucher made 18 saves in a 3-2 win in Game 1, and the next day made 30 saves in a 2-1 victory in Game 2. The Flyers won the series in five games, then defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the second round before losing to the New Jersey Devils in seven games in the Eastern Conference Final.

Boucher believes Hart is equipped to lead the Flyers on a similar run of success during his first NHL postseason experience.

"I think his physical abilities are as good as any of the top goaltenders in the NHL," he said. "But what's more impressive is how calm he is in the net. For a 21-year-old to have that level of calmness at such a young age is what stands out most to me. That's why I think he's going to be fine.

"I think he's got all the makings to be a top goaltender in this league. ... He's got a good team, a team that's making the rise, they're making the climb. And he's a big reason for it. I think he's going to do a real good job."