Flyers’ Carter Hart now has answers to illness that has ‘been going on for a while’

Carter Hart is feeling much better.

After he was a full participant at the Flyers’ optional morning skate, Hart revealed that he has been dealing with an undisclosed illness, which “just kind of comes on and off periodically” and is now being addressed.

“Yeah, a lot,” said the goaltender when asked about how relieved he was to finally get answers. “I guess it’s been going on for a while, and I used to never get sick and now I get sick; I think I’ve been sick three times in the last month. So something’s going on, and it’s good we got to the bottom of it and figured it out. Now I can take the right steps to treat it and fix it and feel better going forward.”

Hart missed Thursday’s 4-3 shootout win against the Washington Capitals and the team’s practice the following day. He missed two games in early November while the team was out in California because of food poisoning after eating bad fish, but noted it could have been related as “it’s been similar symptoms to what’s been going on the last few times.”

The 25-year-old Alberta native said he’s lost a fair amount of weight and is aiming to gain it back. And while getting sick is never ideal, this recent bout happened during the dads trip, so he was able to have his dad, John, around.

“Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better,” Hart said. ”It’s nice to just be around the boys again. I mean, obviously, it’s only been two days but not around anybody. ... It was too bad that my dad didn’t get to see me play on the dads trip, but at least he was here keeping me company when I was sick. So at least I got to spend good time with him.”

» READ MORE: The Flyers’ dads trip has been an equally special experience for both the fathers and sons

Hart said it made everything easier having his dad in town. He noted that now knowing what’s been going on makes sense and he’s on “the right track to get rid of this and hopefully get past it and feel a lot better going forward.”

Although coach John Tortorella said before the optional morning skate he wasn’t sure who would back up Sam Ersson on Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. on NBCSP), Hart said he’s good to go as the backup.

“He did a great job and came in on Thursday against the Caps,” Hart said about his goalie buddy. “I was battling to try and play Thursday and then just couldn’t go, and he stepped up to the plate and did a great job and made some key saves at the right times and got a big two points and helped our team get a big win against a good Washington team.”

Sean Couturier, who took a maintenance day on Friday, did not participate in morning skate on Saturday. ... Egor Zamula is back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Thursday. Marc Staal will come out.