The Flyers had goaltender Michal Neuvirth scheduled to start in net Saturday, but had to turn to Steve Mason at the last second due to an undisclosed Neuvirth injury.
The team announced Sunday that Neuvirth will miss three weeks with a lower-body injury. That’s a big loss for the Flyers as they sit on the bubble of the postseason. Not only has Neuvirth played well this season, the team has four back-to-backs remaining. That looks a lot more manageable with Neuvirth and Mason healthy.
Instead, the Flyers will have Mason taking double duty in those situations or they will turn to Anthony Stolarz, who has been recalled to replace Neuvrith. The 22-year-old Stolarz has a .916 save percentage through 42 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL. He’s never made a NHL appearance.
Neuvirth has posted an impressive .925 save percentage through 31 games this season. That bests Mason’s .915 through 43 matches.
The Flyers are about to embark on a four-game road trip sitting three points back of the Detroit Red Wings — with two games in hand — for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They have 12 games remaining, with just five of those coming against teams not currently in playoff position.
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