Carter Hart out with eye infection; NHL Black Hockey History Tour visits Philadelphia

On Sunday, the Flyers appeared to be slowly rounding the corner with injuries given the returns of defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and forward Patrick Brown to the lineup on Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

However, their poor injury and illness luck this season continued — they’ll be without their starting goalie, Carter Hart, for their Presidents’ Day matinee.

Yeo named Hart as the starter on Sunday, but Hart now has an eye infection that impacts his vision and is unable to play. Instead, Martin Jones (18 games, 3.58 goals against average, .898 goals against average) will get the start. The Flyers will call up Kirill Ustimenko from the Phantoms to back up Jones.

With the St. Louis Blues in town on Tuesday, Yeo said he hopes Hart’s eye infection improves before the second night of their back-to-back.

“I’m hopeful that he can be available for us tomorrow, but I’m not 100 percent sure,” Yeo said. “But I don’t think it’s a long-term problem here, no.”

Jones, 32, made his first start in roughly three weeks on Thursday against the Washington Capitals, allowing four goals on 24 shots. He has played in 18 games compared to 32 for Hart). In the final year of his contract, Jones could be a candidate to be moved at the trade deadline to provide goaltending depth to a contender.

For now, Jones will continue to help the team as they look for their second win of the month.

”He’s a guy that never asks a question,” Yeo said. “There’s been a lot of times here when we’ve been sort of running with Carter. [Martin’s] attitude has been outstanding. His support for Carter has been outstanding. And when we’ve asked him to come in, he’s been real good. So I would expect no less.”

Prior to the Flyers’ game on Monday afternoon, the NHL’s mobile Black Hockey History Tour welcomed local fans outside of the Wells Fargo Center. The museum highlights and celebrates Black achievement in hockey in both the men’s and the women’s games. Exhibits honored early trailblazers such as Willie O’Ree and Val James and modern legends including Jarome Iginla.

An exhibit featuring prominent figures in the women’s game highlighted the contributions of players including Angela James, Sarah Nurse, and Blake Bolden.

Arcadia University women’s hockey head coach Kelsey Koelzer, the first black female head coach in NCAA ice hockey history, and former Flyer Donald Brashear were present to sign autographs and greet fans.

The traveling museum will make additional stops in NHL cities for the rest of the season and is free to the public.