Report: Carter Hart out for longer than expected

Yesterday afternoon when the Philadelphia Flyers demoted goaltender Cal Petersen to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms it looked like injured/ill goaltender Carter Hart was ready to get back into the mix. Today though... not so much.

After Hart took reps in practice the the team this morning, the team officially recalled Petersen back from the AHL. He's expected to back up Sam Ersson tonight when the Flyers take on the Nashville Predators.

More insight from Flyers reporter Charlie O'Connor:

The 25 year old Hart has been in and out of the Flyers' lineup all season with an undisclosed illness that has frustrated him for awhile.

"It has been going on for a while," Hart said earlier this week. "I used to never get sick and now I think I've been sick three times in the last month, so something is going on. It's good that 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 declined to disclose the illness that he's been suffering through, but does seem to indicate that he's coming out on the other end of it now.

"Just kind of something that has been going on for a little while," Hart said. "Just kind of comes on and off periodically. Finally got to the bottom of it and taking care of it, addressing and fixing the issue.

"Knowing what has been going on makes sense. Now that we know, we can fix it. Feeling better today and doing the right things collectively as a group here with the medical staff to fix it and feel better."

Flyers insider Jordan Hall reported earlier this week that Hart has looked noticeably thinner in recent weeks, which is obviously cause for concern.

When he has played this season, Hart has been very good. The native of Sherwood Park, Alberta has nine wins in 17 starts with a career best 2.42 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.