PRACTICE AND PROSPEC UPDATES
* Steve Mason and R.J. Umberger participated in practice for the Flyers on Friday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ. Michael Raffl, who limped off the ice but soon returned to finish the game after painfully blocking a shot on Wednedsday against Chicago, also fully participated.
* The Flyers will take a complete off-day on Saturday and then put in two full days of practice before hosting the Dallas Stars on Monday.
* Umberger (upper-body injury, day-to-day) left the ice about halfway into the practice but that was planned before the session. The player expects to participate fully in Sunday's practice and, barring setbacks, he hopes to play on Tuesday.
* At the end of practice, assistant coach Gord Murphy spray-painted a line down the middle of the offensive zone and dived the players into a five-on-five battle drill with 3-vs-2 on each side. The skaters had a blast with it, with the winning "Team Green" side celebrating at the end as if they'd just won a playoff overtime game over the "Team Gray" group.
The goalies, who had to play without a crease to get their bearings or a sense of the angles, did not have nearly as much fun but liked the competive part of it. At one point, Mason made three consecutive spectacular saves, including one semi-reminiscent of Brian Boucher's famous robbery of Patrik Elias in the 2000 Eastern Conference Final.
* Jakub Voracek said after practice that he'd never done that particular drill before, either in junior or pro hockey and had a blast with it. No one wanted to lose. Wayne Simmonds, who was on the losing side, nevertheless enjoyed it, too.
"You come back to the line and guys are talking trash," Simmonds said with a grin. "Guys are slashing each other. Probably things [media] guys don't see and don't hear but it gets pretty heated out there." * Mason participated fully in practice for the first time since last Sunday before taking leave for an emotionally wrenching family medical emergency that began to unfold over the weekend.
"It's definitely nice to be back around the team setting here, and start focusing on hockey again," Mason said as he sat at his locker after practice.
During the early part of practice, Mason spent considerable time working directly with goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh. Later, he said he was continuing the same routine they established throughout training camp.
"Focus on the fundamentals that were making the game sharp in training camp and the first game of the season," Mason said.
"The tracking, making sure you're following the puck into your body, your glove. When you do that it's clean hockey. You're controlling where the puck is going. The next couple days here we'll focus on that a lot and make sure we're ready for the next game."
Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said a decision about Tuesday's starting goaltender would be made after Monday's practice. Hakstol said he already knew the team had two quality goaltenders and the events of the past week do not change the plan going forward.
Mason said he could not help but be impressed by the way his goaltending partner Neuvirth performed in his absence.
“Watching both games, he looked confident out there. At the end of the day, he did his job. He steps in that first game not knowing he’s playing until short notice and he did everything you could have asked for him. He played great,… said Mason.
Mason, who enjoyed a strong preseason and played well in the regular season opener in Tampa Bay, had by far the worst game of his Flyers career (four goals on eight shots, pulled at 6:47 of the first period) in Saturday's game in Sunrise. He admitted after Friday's practice that his focus was not where it needed to be to compete.
"I didn't handle Saturday very well, didn't play well," Mason said. "I don't want to get into details on it but I definitely didn't handle myself well enough to play well for the team."
After taking family leave from the team on Monday and being temporarily designated for non-roster status after the request was approved by the NHL, Mason rejoined the team for most of Wednesday's morning skate. Jason LaBarbera backed up Neuvirth in both Monday and Wednesday's games before being loaned back to the Phantoms on Thursday.
"There's definitely a mental hurdle that needed to be overcome. It just takes time. That's why it took time just to come out to morning skate and be around the guys," Mason said.
* Several Flyers players eloquently expressed their united support for Mason. To a man, they pledged to help him cope with his situation.
"It's good to see him around the guys," said Umberger. "The things that's going on with him in his personal life, to be around the group is a way that you can relieve that. When you're at the rink you can just be a kid and play hockey and people aren't going to know the full details of what's going on with him. But we have a group of guys here, a team that's supporting him. He's one of our brothers."
Added Simmonds, "He's going through a lot right now but we are here to support him. This is a family in here. All the guys on the team know if you are having problems, whatever is going on, you can come to any one of us and you know you are going to get that support."
* Ryan White took extra skating after practice, along with Vincent Lecavalier and Luke Schenn. If Umberger is able to return on Tuesday, the early hint is that White may the player who sits out as a healthy scratch against the Stars.
* AHL: The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0-1-0) return to action on Friday night, heading on the road for the first of back-to-back weekend road games as they visit the Springfield Falcons. Game time is 7:05 p.m. ET. The Phantoms are right back in action on Saturday.
* QMJHL: Flyers 2014 second-round pick Nicolas Aube-Kubel continued his scoring streak since returning to the Val-d'Or Foreurs' lineup on Oct. 2. On Wednesday, Aube-Kubel scored a goal and registered six shots on goal in his team's 5-2 win over the Quebec Remparts. Aube-Kubel has five goals and 10 points in his six games since returning, and has recorded at least one point in every game.
* WHL: The Calgary Hitmen ran into a buzzsaw on Thursday night, getting shellacked 10-2 by the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. Flyers 2014 first-round pick Travis Sanheim was minus-three and did not record a point for Calgary. Sanheim had two shots on goal. Teammate Radel Fazleev, the Flyers' 2014 sixth-round pick, was also held off the scoreboard and was minus-two. Fazleev did not register a shot on goal.
* SHL: Flyers 2014 fifth-round pick Oskar Lindblom had his best offensive game of the season to date, scoring his first goal of the season that counted (a previous would-be goal was disallowed) and adding two assists in a 4-3 Brynà¤s IF Gà¤vle road win over Modo Hockey à–rnsköldsvik on Thursday. For the season, Lindblom has one goal and six assists in nine games. Teammate Felix Sandström, the Flyers' 2015 third-round pick, started the game in goal. He allowed just one goal until BIF led by three late in the game. The team in front of him packed it in a bit early and Modo scored two late goals to cut the final deficit to one goal. For the night, Sandström stopped 29 of 32 shots. In five appearances overall, Sandström is 4-1-0 with a 2.14 goals against average and .921 save percentage.
* OHL: Flyers 2015 first-round pick Travis Konecny has racked up six assists in his last two games, including three in the Ottawa 67's 4-3 overtime road victory over the Windsor Spitfires on Thursday night. Konecny set up a go-ahead goal in the third period (Windsor re-tied the game a few minutes later) and then had a hand in the game-winning tally by Auston Keating.