Flyers vs. Devils: Carter Hart tries again to take a positive step in a March to forget

The Flyers will attempt to build off an encouraging performance Monday – albeit a 2-1 overtime loss to the Islanders – when they host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

Carter Hart will try to take a positive step in a month that has been a debacle for both him and the team.

The Flyers are 4-7-1 in March. In eight appearances this month, Hart is 2-4 (two no-decisions) with a 4.68 GAA and .821 save percentage.

Yes, the defense in front of him has been shoddy, but Hart (3.83, .875) has been just as ineffective.

He is expected to be opposed by Mackenzie Blackwood (2.91, .908), though the Devils have not made it official.

The Flyers had 5-3 and 3-1 wins in New Jersey in late January, but the Devils are playing much better now. Hart made 31 saves in the latter victory, and he has great career numbers against the Devils: a 3-1 record with one shutout, a 1.73 GAA, and .937 save percentage.

» READ MORE: The Flyers have handled back-to-backs well this season | On the Fly

The Flyers (15-11-4 ) are two points behind fourth-place Boston for the final East Division playoff spot, and the Bruins have two games in hand. Tuesday is the second game of a four-game homestand, with the last two against the Rangers, who whipped the Flyers, 9-0, in the teams’ last meeting Wednesday.

The Devils (11-14-4 ), who are 3-1-1 in their last five games, are coming off Sunday’s 2-1 overtime win in Pittsburgh as Blackwood stopped 35 of 36 shots faced and improved to 7-8-1 on the season. New Jersey took two of three from the Pens, with the first two games of the series in Newark.

Flyers: Claude Giroux has six goals and 10 points over his last 11 games,; Oskar Lindblom has three goals over his last three games; Sean Couturier has 18 points in his last 17 games, and Travis Konecny has 10 points in his last 11 games.

Devils: In the last eight games, Travis Zajac has eight points, including seven assists, and rookie Janne Kuokkanen has seven points (three goals, four assists). Jesper Bratt has eight points over his last 10 games.

The Devils have six rookies who have combined for 50 points (20-30), tops in the NHL.

The Devils are 7-3-2 on the road and 4-11-2 (gulp) at home. ... The Flyers are 7-5-3 at home, 8-6-1 on the road. … The Flyers are 4-1 in the second half of games on consecutive nights. ... Joel Farabee, who is having a breakout year offensively, is minus-7 over his last four games. ... On Monday, the Flyers ended a streak of allowing three or more goals in 11 straight games. The Flyers have had streaks of 11 or more three-plus goals in a row 11 times in their history. The longest: 16 games in 1993-94. … New Jersey native James van Riemsdyk has 16 goals in 36 career games against the Devils. … In franchise history, the Flyers have a 119-101-18-13 record (.536) against the Devils, including their time in Colorado and Kansas City.