PHILADELPHIA — One of the most consistent storylines the Flyers have experienced since trading for Steve Mason in April 2013 was stellar play from the netminder on a nightly basis, yet a lack of production from the players in front of him — in particular, the defense.
And early on in this 2015-16 campaign, that storyline has continued, albeit to a smaller extent. Mason has been shaky for several games this season (the bulk of which could potentially be arrtibuted to the burden of a personal family matter), but has also demonstrated how good he typically is in other games.
In the Flyers' 3-2 shootout win over the Rangers on Saturday (see recap), Mason was in mid-season form, and turned in another stellar performance — making a season-high 37 saves on 39 shots. That elevated shot total is ultimately indicative of the defense — which didn't exactly take the night off, as they combined for 13 shots on Henrik Lundqvist.
"We’ve always had good games against them,and tonight was no different," Mason said. "It was a hard fight right until the end, and I think the guys really deserved to win tonight."
Those 13 defensemen shots were all part of a Flyers offense that was so active and fast-paced that it made Chip Kelly look slowed down. The team managed to throw 48 shots at Henrik Lundqvist, who, almost unsurprisingly, turned away all but two of them.
"You definitely take notice to when a guy is on, and tonight, [Lundqvist] was definitely on his game," Mason said, "and that’s just a great challenge whether it’s Henrik Lundqvist or any other goaltender in the league.
"Obviously, Henrik is one of the best and it’s a great measuring stick, but at the same time, you can’t focus too much on what the other guy is doing, because you have your own job to do."
What's intriguing about the Flyers' huge shot total is that they did it with two offensive cogs out of the lineup. Sean Couturier was a scratch with an upper-body injury, while top-liner Michael Raffl left in the second period after collapsing on the bench,
Raffl's injury was one of the scarier moments of the game, due to the sheer unpredictability around it. An earlier shift saw him take a Jarret Stoll elbow to the head, which is strongly believed to have led to his collapse. Ultimately, he was "fine," according to GM Ron Hextall, and his presence in the dressing room in the second intermission helped lighten the mood for the Orange and Black.
"Michael's a funny guy, sometimes he does something funny and I think he's just joking around," Claude Giroux said. "I told him to move, and then I realized that he wasn't joking around, and then I started freaking out…the team was pretty worried, but he looks good right now."
With the Flyers out of game action until Tuesday, Raffl's status remains unknown. Considering the fickle nature of head injuries, his status will still take some time to determine, but the team remains optimistic that he won't be out of commission for too long.
"I think everybody knew he was in great hands and he was doing well, and we just had to get our minds back on the job at hand," coach Dave Hakstol said.
