QUICK HITS: MARCH 3, 2017
1) With the Flyers' 2-1 shootout home win against the Florida Panthers on Thursday night, coupled with the New York Islanders' regulation win over the Dallas Stars and the Toronto Maple Leafs' shootout loss to the LA Kings, the chase for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference has grown even tighter.
Both the Islanders and Maple Leafs have 70 points, but New York took over possession of the wildcard spot by virtue of holding a game in hand on Toronto. The Maple Leafs, Panthers and Flyers have all played 63 games, while the Islanders have played 62. Also playing 62 games to date are the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are one point behind Philly.
The Flyers, who have 67 points, are at a significant regulation/OT win tiebreaker disadvantage against every team with whom they are competing. As such, the gap can more properly be viewed as four points, because Philly needs to win outright on points to get in the playoffs.
2) The Flyers have a tough road trip upcoming, playing three of the next four games against teams above them in the standings: Washington (Sat. at 7:30 p.m. ET), Buffalo (Tue. at 7:30 p.m.), Toronto (Thu. at 7:30 p.m.) and Boston (March 11 at 1 p.m.).
Currently tagged with an unimpressive 11-16-3 road record, the next four games will more or less make or break the Flyers' chances to still be playing meaningful games by the time they return home to the Wells Fargo Center for games against the Columbus Blue Jackets (March 13 at 7 p.m.) and Pittsburgh Penguins (March 15 at 8:00 p.m.).
3) Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said on Wednesday that his decision to extend the contract of goalie Michal Neuvirth by two seasons does not necessarily rule out the team re-signing Steve Mason. However, sources indicate that there has been no contact between the Flyers and the Mason camp all season. Unless Mason has a strong finish to the season -- as he did down the stretch last year -- the chances of the Flyers' offering him a new deal by July 1 do not seem particularly strong.
Although Neuvirth ranks dead last in save percentage among all NHL goaltenders who have played 14 or more games (lower the number to 13 and Jeff Zatkoff brings up the rear), he has shown in the past to be a significantly better goalie than that. His down season and injury history meant that he was inclined to accept a discounted two-year contract to stay put.
Some have speculated that the Flyers, assuming Mason is not re-signed, might actually expose Neuvirth to the expansion draft and protect Phantoms goaltender Anthony Stolarz. That does not seem particularly likely. There were be more proven and higher-profile goalie prospects available for Las Vegas to choose among leaguewide. While Stolarz is a decent NHL prospect who seems to improve every year, the Flyers are more likely to lose a young position player (Scott Laughton? Nick Cousins?) than Stolarz.
4) The Flyers have signed 2016 first-round pick German Rubtsov to an entry-level contract. Although he is technically AHL eligible because he was drafted out of Europe, it seems like a more prudent course of action if he puts in a full season in the QMJHL before turning pro.
4) The Flyers Alumni have added Eric Lindros to their roster for the March 18 game (3 p.m. ET) against the Penguins Alumni at Santander Arena. For updated rosters and information, click here. There will be further roster updates next week.
5) Continuing the Flyers Alumni Friday series at the Reading Royals home games at Santander Arena, Bob "the Hound" Kelly will be the team's guest for this Friday's game against the Manchester Monarchs. Attending fans can meet and obtain a free autograph from the Hound.