Good goaltending underscores Flyers' recent surge

RALEIGH, N.C. - April Fools' Day isn't for another month or so, right?

Pick up a paper today and flip to the sports section in the Miami Herald or Boston Globe and you're likely to be baffled.

In South Florida, the Panthers are talking about the Stanley Cup playoffs. Huh? They've made it just once since 2000.

In Beantown, the Bruins are in the middle of a meltdown. There is all sorts of chatter about whether general manager Peter Chiarelli should be fired, or whether coach Claude Julien will survive the summer if the Bruins don't make the playoffs. Didn't these same Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011, lose in six games to the Blackhawks some 20 months ago and win the Presidents' Trophy last season?

I guess the standards are impossibly high - taller than those snow drifts up there - in a town where nine championship parades have been thrown since 2000.

What about the Flyers? They're even more polarizing and confusing. In the same week, they lost to the worst team in the NHL, beat the best team in the NHL, were written off after a loss to Columbus, and then brought themselves to within two points of a playoff spot.

Through it all, perhaps the most impressive component of the Flyers' recent 8-1-4 surge has been their goaltending.

Wait, what? That was not a misprint. Up is down. Orange is the new black, apparently.

For once, goaltending isn't a question mark - let alone the fifth or sixth topic on the discussion list. Steve Mason is tied for the fourth-best save percentage in the NHL and he's played just five games in the last month.

The wheels could have fallen off. The Flyers haven't blinked, nabbing 20 of a possible 26 points.

Ray Emery entered and went 2-1-3 with a .917 save percentage. Rob Zepp is a sparkling 5-1-0 this season and appears as poised as any netminder in recent memory in tense situations.

"I think they've done a good job," general manager Ron Hextall said yesterday. "Obviously, we've gotten a lot of points and we've gotten solid goaltending. Whether it's been Ray or 'Mase' or 'Zepper,' they've done a good job for us. I think guys are always cognizant as a team where [injuries] are at. Sometimes, you've got another level there when guys go down."

Zepp, 33, will start tonight for the Flyers against Carolina. He'll be backed up by Anthony Stolarz, since Emery injured himself in practice yesterday and did not make the trip. Stolarz is expected to join the team in North Carolina in time for today's morning skate.

Emery, 32, has been "bothered by a nagging, maintenance-type of thing," for a few weeks now, Hextall said. His injury is classified as a "lower-body" variety, not leaving out the possibility that his surgically reconstructed hip could be bothering him. Hextall said Emery was healthy enough to start over the weekend, though both games went to Zepp based on Craig Berube's gut feeling.

Tonight will be Zepp's third start in 4 days, a run he's actually quite accustomed to after a half-season in the AHL. He started three games in 3 days two weekends ago.

Stolarz, 21, did not play in his three games with the Flyers from Feb. 10-15. He is likely to remain with the team until Mason is ready to start.

Mason, 26, is on the mend after 60 percent of the meniscus in his right knee was removed in an arthroscopic surgery on Feb. 10. He is on the road trip and practicing, but not cleared to return to action just yet.

Hextall said a realistic return for Mason would be Saturday against the Rangers. To be back for Thursday night's matchup against the hometown crowd in Toronto would be "probably a little bit soon."

Goaltenders run into injuries all the time. Exactly two-thirds of the league has dressed four different goalies for games this season. Few teams have been asked to do that and make up ground in the standings like the Flyers.

The Flyers have a better even-strength save percentage (.925) than seven current playoff teams (Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Los Angeles, N.Y. Islanders, Washington, Anaheim and Vancouver), proving goaltending hasn't been an issue.

Consider: The Flyers will face the 27th-place Hurricanes tonight at PNC Arena with two goaltenders who not only began the year in the same tandem with the Phantoms, but weren't even playing professional hockey in North America last season. They can draw within two points of the Bruins, who are suddenly smelling themselves and now without David Krejci (knee) for the next 4-to-6 weeks.

What a strange hockey world, indeed.

Kimmo Timonen also accompanied the Flyers on the road trip but is not expected to play. That would leave maybe one audition (Saturday) before Monday's trade deadline . . . Biggest difference in Flyers over 8-1-4 run: They're killing penalties. They were 7-for-7 over the weekend and 34-for-38 (89.4 percent) since Jan. 20 . . . Don't hold your breath if you were hoping to see the Flyers in Las Vegas. The NHL in Vegas group announced yesterday they're "near" 7,000 deposits for season tickets, a pace that has slowed considerably after opening with 5,500 more than 10 days ago . . . The Flyers are 6-0-4 in one-goal games during this stretch. They were 8-8-7 before that.

STAT WATCH

63: New career high in points set for Jake Voracek on Sunday afternoon in his 60th game. His previous high was 62, set last season over a full 82 games.

7: Even-strength goals for defenseman Michael Del Zotto this season, the same amount as Claude Giroux.

THE WEEK AHEAD

at Carolina

Tonight, 7 o'clock

It's easy to poke fun at the Hurricanes, who are one of four NHL teams yet to break 50 points, but the Flyers will do so at their own peril. Carolina is 11-7-3 in 2015 — and one of those wins is against the Flyers on Jan. 2. The Flyers are 12-7-4 in the same time span. The Hurricanes lead the NHL in penalty killing (87 percent) and have nearly as many double-digit goal scorers (5) as the Flyers (6).

at Toronto

Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

Since the Flyers' last trip to Toronto, the Maple Leafs have gone into full-on tank mode, losing 21 of their last 28 games (5-21-2) in regulation. Seemingly everyone on the Leafs is up for grabs at the trade deadline, including Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel. Phaneuf, out since Jan. 21 with a broken hand, could be back in the lineup Thursday. The Leafs are 169-157-33 (.517) with him and 7-18-5 (.317) without their captain.

vs. N.Y. Rangers

Saturday, 8 o'clock

The Flyers can avoid being swept in their season series by the Rangers with a win in NBC's first prime-time non-outdoor regular-season game since 2006. New York outscored the Flyers, 10-2, in three games this season. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist skated for 45 minutes yesterday; he has been out since Feb. 2 when he was hit in the throat with a shot. He doesn't seem ready to return for Saturday's matchup. Cam Talbot is 6-1-2 in the King's absence.

PHANTOMS PHILE

The Phantoms are hanging by a thread in the AHL playoff race, seven points back of eighth place with two teams to jump over. They do have two games in hand. Scott Laughton has two assists and eight shots in his four games since being sent back to Lehigh Valley.

Blog: ph.ly/FrequentFlyers