Flyers' Mason improving, may return next week
Flyers goalie Steve Mason continues to make progress from arthroscopic surgery to his right knee, saying there’s a chance he returns to the lineup next week.
Flyers goalie Steve Mason continues to make progress from arthroscopic surgery to his right knee, saying there's a chance he returns to the lineup next week.
"I'm right on schedule in my recovery," he said after watching the Flyers' morning skate Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center.
Mason skated Wednesday at the Flyers' training facility in Voorhees and took Thursday off. He is expected to be back on the ice Friday.
The Flyers play in Carolina on Tuesday, and in Toronto next Thursday.
"I plan on traveling with the team, and hopefully go to Carolina and Toronto," Mason said. "And who knows, maybe play in one of those games?"
If he continues to progress, next Thursday seems more likely because Mason probably won't face any shots in practice until next week.
"It's never fun to sit out, especially an important stretch of the season right now," Mason said. "We're trying to do everything we can to get back as soon as possible."
Mason, 26, was injured in bizarre fashion. He skated to the Flyers' bench during a timeout in Washington on Feb, 8, and as he turned to go back to the net, "I opened my knee up to push out, and the meniscus flipped up and got caught in between the joint there."
He had surgery Feb. 10 to repair the torn meniscus,
"Finally, we figured out what was wrong," Mason said of the surgery, "…and going in and taking care of the problem so we won't have to deal with that again. "
"No surgery is minimal, but this is probably one of the more minimal areas of your body in terms of inflammation…and that's why you recover so quickly," general manager Ron Hextall said last week, adding there wasn't a lot of swelling in the knee.
About a year after he was drafted by Columbus, Mason had the same surgery on the other knee while playing in juniors in 2007. "And I've never had a problem, knock on wood, with my left knee" he said. "So we don't forsee any problems with this one in the future."
It was the third different time he was sidelined by an injury this season. When healthy, Mason has been among the league's most dependable goalies. His .925 save percentage is fourth in the NHL among goalies who have played at least 30 games, and his 2.27 goals-against average ranks tied for ninth.
Breakaways. Ray Emery (10-10-3) will make his fifth straight start Thursday when the Flyers host Buffalo, which owns the league's worst record. Michal Neuvirth (3-15-2) will start for the Sabres….Andrew MacDonald will be a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game, including one when he attended his grandmother's funeral services….Jake Voracek is tied for second in the NHL scoring race with 60 points _ two shy of equaling his career high. Voracek is looking for his first goal in 15 games, excluding an empty-net tally….Wayne Simmonds has 11 points (six goals, five assists) during the Flyers' last 10 games, a 6-1-3 run…. If they win Thursday, the Flyers would inch to within five points of Boston for the last playoff spot. They are seven points behind Boston and four behind Florida.
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.