Steve Mason has started 20 of the final 23 games the Flyers have played since March 1st. The heavy workload placed on Mason has been due in large part to the injury suffered by backup goalie Michael Neuvirth. Neuvirth suffered a lower body injury in Chicago on March 16th, and wouldn’t play in another game until nearly a month later in the season finale against the New York Islanders on April 10th. Dave Hakstol, the Flyers’ rookie head coach, was forced to rely heavily on his starting goaltended with his team in the middle of a playoff hunt. Anthony Stolarz was called up from Lehigh Valley to backup Mason, and did not play in any of the 12 games he was on the roster for.
Signs that Mason was in much need of a couple games off were apparent at the end of the regular season. The Flyers earned their playoff spot on the second to last day of the season, only after they lost 3 straight games that were all started by Mason. Two of the three losses were to Detroit and Pittsburgh both of which were teams ahead of the Flyers in the standings at the time. It was understood at the beginning of the season that the Flyers were going with the youth movement and weren’t expected to make the playoffs. With all of this known, why was it so hard for Hakstol to put Anthony Stolarz in net for a few games. Hakstol had the perfect opportunity to use the rookie goaltender against Toronto when his team was coming off a loss to Detroit the day before. Toronto was a team that was long out of the playoff to that point with nothing to play for in addition to their lack of talent. Giving Mason the game off against the Leafs would have given him two very needed consecutive days off before a huge game against the Penguins. The Flyers would go on to beat the Penguins and clinch their playoff spot, but let us not forget names like Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Fleury were not in the Pittsburgh lineup. During the game Pittsburgh’s starter Matt Murray was injured, and replaced by Jeff Zatkoff. Zatkoff had only played 34 NHL games prior to that since being drafted in 2006. Pittsburgh had already clinched their spot in the playoffs and was playing more to stay healthy then they were to win the game.
Hakstol’s decision not to relieve Mason in any of his teams’ final games has turned quickly into a detriment for the Flyers. It is very easy to see the exhaustion in Masons play during the past three playoff games against Washington. He has gone from a confident ice in his veins type player, making acrobatic saves and shutting down opponent’s offenses, to an easily beaten and at times flustered looking net minder. It was never more apparent than a goal scored by Washington’s Jason Chimera, who lofted a flat slow gliding puck from center ice at Mason in game two which then went through Mason’s legs. The shot was as routine as it gets, and yet turned out to be the game winning goal in the tilt. Fast forward to Monday’s game three. A dump in goes off a stanchion behind Mason which was then miss played by Mason, and resulted in a goal for Washington’s Evgeni Kuznetsov.
More times than not during this playoff series Mason has looked amateur and has been a shell of himself, which is in large part to the excessive amount of games he has played in the past month. Not only have some of the goals allowed been cupcakes and usually would be routine saves, but Mason has coughed up huge rebounds that have led to more scoring chances to the NHL’s top team.
These playoffs should be taken as a huge learning experience for rookie head coach Hakstol. His loyalty to Steve Mason has his team down three games to none and playing sad, undisciplined hockey. The need for a Michael Neuvirth to start has become long overdue, and if the change comes now it may be too little too late. Neuvirth has arguably been the better of the Flyers’ two goalies, and could have emerged as the team’s number one option if not for injuries during the year. He proved many times during the season he can play lights out in big games, and now the Flyers are faced with the biggest game of them all in game 4 on Wednesday. To me, the best time to make the goalie swap would have been when Mason allowed Chimera goal in game two. Switching it up right there in that moment would have showed the team that subpar and undisciplined play would not be tolerated, and could have lit a fire under the team at a critical point. Instead the team as a whole played flat and played defeated hockey for the remainder of the game. This play carried over into game 3 by both the Mason as well as the team in front of him to the tune of a 6-1 embarrassment on their home rink. An easy wrist shot by Alex Ovechkin in the second period beat Mason, who was in perfect position and saw the show the whole way, gave Washington a 2-1 lead and they never looked back.
It is very easy to look back in hindsight at a playoff series and say what should have been done. Unfortunately for the Flyers and their fans what should have been done was not done. The team now goes into game 4 on Wednesday looking to begin a miracle comeback like that of the 2010 Flyers against Boston. This however is not a fairytale and miracles usually occur once in a lifetime.
-Mark “Flagman” Michaels
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