By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
An injury is not an ideal situation by any means, but if the Flyers were looking for a reason to give three goalies a chance to prove their worth and how valuable it is to the future of the franchise, Michal Neuvirth's injury provided it.
Neuvirth is going to be sidelined for four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury. That injury has changed the roles of the other three goalies in the Flyers organization at the NHL and AHL levels and gives them all a chance and us all a chance to see where they stand as the race for a long-term spot between the pipes for the Flyers remains up for grabs.
For Steve Mason, this is his chance to claim the net once and for all. As an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, Mason and Neuvirth both faced competition to try to be the goalie the Flyers trek ahead with beyond this season. For 2016-17 though, it was shared duty of the crease.
With Neuvirth out of the picture recovering, Mason's the man in charge. It's been a rough start to the season for both goalies, but Mason started to show signs of the goalie he was at the end of last season in Saturday's win over Minnesota, notably on the pad save that clinched victory for the Flyers.
If Mason can run away with this, Neuvirth will have to be near perfect upon his return to have any shot of taking the crease back. And Mason's durability would play a factor as well, because for the talent Neuvirth has, he can't seem to remain healthy.
This brings us to Neuvirth's temporary replacement, Anthony Stolarz. Stolarz was never going to be called up this season by performance-based merit. An injury was the only thing that would open the door.
In the previous two seasons, Stolarz was called up to serve as the emergency backup. But ultimately, every time it happened, it was either to sit on the bench for a game or two in the off chance that the starter fell victim to injury mid-game, or in last season's case, serving as backup to a hot Mason during the final weeks of a run to the playoffs. Stolarz wasn't seeing the ice for his NHL debut in a must-win game.
Which is why this time is different. Results at the beginning of a season are important, but these are not must-win games where the end result so clearly dictates a team's playoff hopes. Stolarz will make his NHL debut at some time and maybe play more than just one game to spell Mason a night off.
This chance means a lot for Stolarz because, for a change, playing is part of the equation. Let's face it, Stolarz was up before to sit on the bench in hopes that he was never needed. He'll be needed this time around and the Flyers will be looking for crucial points. At the same time, the thing that seems to have hurt the Flyers between the pipes is the inability to get the timely save. Mason finally started to deliver those on Saturday, but that's only a start.
Stolarz comes roaring in after a strong start to his AHL season — 6-2-0 with a 2.39 GAA and .927 save percentage. At the time of his call-up, Stolarz was riding a four-game winning streak and picked up his first shutout of the season in that time.
So, for the rookie netminder who could also hold a big part in the future, he'll at least get the chance to face NHL competition and see where he stands on that level.
And then to the AHL, with Stolarz now serving as backup to Mason, Alex Lyon becomes the lead netminder in Lehigh Valley. Lyon picked up his first two professional wins over the weekend and was stellar in leading the Phantoms to their sixth straight win on Sunday.
For the 23-year-old goalie in his first pro season, the transition is evident, but starting to go smoother. Some extended time manning the net in Allentown will certainly help Lyon's development.
So for the three goalies getting new opportunities, this is a chance. Mason gets extended starting time in Philly, Stolarz will test the NHL waters for the first time and Lyon will get an extended look at AHL competition. It is a chance for all three to not only prove where their place is in the Flyers future, but to see how far the two young goalies have come.
How close is Stolarz to being a full-time NHL goalie? How close is Lyon to making the leap to starting goalie in the AHL? These questions will certainly have some clarity by the time Neuvirth is ready to return.
