Flyers coach Dave Hakstol admits it would have been a difficult decision not to continue playing goalie Michal Neuvirth had the Flyers had a game, say, last Friday instead of having a five-day break.
As such, Steve Mason will be back in net Tuesday night as the Flyers try to halt the Dallas Stars’ three-game win streak.
Neuvirth threw consecutive shutouts for the Flyers last week prior to the long break. He had the hot glove but after five days, there’s a cooling off period for everybody, including the goaltender.
Would you have kept Neuvirth in had the Flyers played on Friday instead of today?
“I don’t know,” Hakstol replied after Tuesday's morning skate. “It might have changed things. It’s hard to deal in hypotheticals. Might it have happened? Yeah, maybe. But we are making a good, sound decision.”
The Flyers have back-to-back games and meet the Bruins in Boston on Wednesday night.
“Mason will go in and do a great job,” Hakstol said. “Coming back on a short turnaround tomorrow, if we see it as the right decision, Michal will be ready to go tomorrow. His play has been very good. He went in a did his job.”
Mason will make his first start since Oct. 10 in Florida when he gave up four goals in less than seven minutes before being pulled during a 7-1 loss to the Panthers.
Mason admitted he had some off-ice, personal family issues to deal with which affected him that game. Coupled with the Flyers' five-day recent break, he has only had practice time — not game action.
Mason says he’s ready to resume his role as the club’s No. 1 goaltender.
“Longest break since the summer time,” Mason said. “I’m a little anxious and I have butterflies but that’s a good thing. I’m anxious to get that first shot out of the way and more forward.”
He wants some action, too. As in seeing the puck right away to get himself into the game.
“It'll be nice to feel the puck early and start to feel good about yourself,” Mason said. “It’s always tough when you kind of stand there and minutes go by without shots.
“Those are tough, mental games. When you get all the shots, you are constantly in it. I’m excited to see how the game goes.”
The Stars have three players in the top 20 in the NHL in scoring: Jamie Benn (five goals, eight points); Tyler Seguin (three goals, eight points) and Jason Spezza (four goals, seven points). Dallas’ 19 goals scored ranks tied for third best in the NHL.
“They have a ton of offensive power and speed off the rush,” Mason said. “Real creative players. When you look at their top line, they added [Patrick] Sharp this offseason.
“Spezza is on their second line and he is a world-class player. He has a ton of skill and can make you pay. They come at you in waves.”
The Flyers got pucks deep on Chicago in their last game and checked tightly throughout during a 3-0 win.
“They have some really good players on the other side,” Wayne Simmonds said. “They’re a fast team that scores a lot of goals. We’re going to have to play smart like we did against Chicago.
“Keep pucks out of the middle of the ice and keep it on the boards. Get pucks deep. That is when we are playing our best hockey, when we get pucks deep behind the defense. Grind ‘em down.”