Flyers-Wild observations: Impressive rebound by Carter Hart

Here are some observations from the Flyers' 7-4 home victory over the Minnesota Wild on Monday night:

No goalie is immune from an off-night, an off-period, or simply the kind of flub that goes unnoticed when it’s in the middle of the ice. The test is what happens after any of that occurs, something we are painfully aware of in this town after an overdose of mentally frail goaltenders over the last two decades.

One of the most impressive aspects to Martin Brodeur was how well he competed in those games. He could allow five goals over two periods and then return to form in time to salvage a point or two with a great third period.

This makes Carter Hart’s game Monday all the more impressive at age 20. After allowing two early (and iffy) goals in the first 8:29, he really allowed only one after that. Minnesota scored the other goal after a Wild player (with a little nudge from Robert Hagg) plowed Hart almost completely out of his crease. ``They were just trying to shovel pucks in the net,’’ he said. ``And shovel me into the net at times, too.’’

Compete is a word Hart uses continually. Hart even said such tactics sometimes help him ``reset.’’

``Playing in the [WHL] last year, we played Seattle 12 times and that’s their same exact style," Hart said. "Just run the goalie and crash the net. You can’t control how the other teams play and you can’t control the ref’s decisions. You control what you control and you battle.

``I think the first half of the game, I wasn’t very sharp, but like I said, the boys kept competing and stuck to it and got some support. We were down by two and we battled back and I just had to compete for myself to kind of get myself into the game and get going, knowing that the boys had my back with scoring some goals and just competing. The mood in the locker room right now between periods and on the benches has been really good and very supportive for everybody, and it’s fun to be a part of.’’

From the start of this season, Wayne Simmonds, an unrestricted free agent after this season, owned the distinction of most likely to be traded should things go wrong.

They have. Problem is, he was a part of why they have. Coming back from offseason core-muscle surgery, Simmonds has not returned to being the unmovable force he was before the injury. At least until recently, that is.

Playing on a line with two natural centers (Scott Laughton, Nolan Patrick), Simmonds scored two goals and was a plus-3 in Monday night’s victory over Minnesota. It was his best plus-minus of the season.

Speaking of Patrick, his two goals broke a 25-game goal-less streak.

His reaction?

``Crap. Whoa.’’

``I’ll be honest. It weighs on you quite a bit, and it’s something you think about quite a bit when you go through a slump like that,’’ he said. ``You just have to believe in yourself and keep trying to do things that help the team. If it’s not scoring, it’s trying to play a good two-way game and it will eventually come. Didn’t think it would take that long, but it happens, so ...’’

Laughton’s aggressive play, combined with goaltender Devan Dubnyk’s increased self-frustration, created the night’s most memorable scrum. Dubnyk is 6-foot-6, 224 pounds and fully padded, and he was allowed to land two fully equipped shots to the head of Laughton before anyone got between them.

This was enough to initiate a bigger brawl in bygone eras, something Hart said he was warily aware of Monday night. ``It wouldn’t be something that’s new to this organization,’’ he said of a possible goaltender fight. ``There’s been some goalies in the past …’’

Hart, 20 and a slim 6-2, decided against upholding that tradition, which would have required a 200-foot skate by him anyway.

``He’s not just 6-6 — he’s 12 or 13 years older than me,’’ he said. ``So I’m going to pass on that.

``I’d probably get my [butt] kicked.’’

Especially since Hart has never had a fight. ``I got punched in the face before, though,’’ he said.

His coach, Scott Gordon, was a goaltender at the ECHL, AHL and NHL levels in the late ’80s and early ’90s. He could not make the same claim.

``Yeah, I’ve had a fight,’’ said Gordon, who is generously listed at 5-10. ``I ended up with a partial separation of the shoulder. It wasn’t a smart decision.’’