The Philadelphia Flyers’ playoff hopes were already on thin ice. Sitting nine points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern Conference wild card spot, destiny is not in their control.
On Sunday, those barely existent hopes took a blow when goaltender Steve Mason injured himself during a TV timeout. The prognosis? According to general manager Ron Hextall, he’ll be out 2-3 weeks with a “lower-body injury.”
Here’s how it happened:
It’s another tough break for Mason, who's now been injured three times in the last month and a half. He’s played well this season, given the defense in front of him. Currently, he's third in the NHL in even strength save percentage (.938) among goaltenders with at least 25 starts.
It’s now Ray Emery’s net for the time being and the Flyers have called up 2012 second-round pick Anthony Stolarz to backup.
Given the Flyers' position in the standings and Mason's value and injury history this season, shouldn't they just shut him down for the year?
This isn’t the same situation when the Flyers last knew they probably weren’t going to make the playoffs back in 2013. Then, they played Mason, who had recently been acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets, a ton down the stretch over Ilya Bryzgalov because they needed to see what they had in a guy who just received his desperately needed change of scenery.
They know what they have in Mason this time around. They have a bona fide No.1 goalie they can’t risk having more damage done to before next season when a fresh slate is on the table and a new journey toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs begins.
It's a good thought. And knowing the Flyers' history with goaltenders, maybe let Mason get a few extra months in the healing process. The goalie graveyard in Philadelphia is already quite full.
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