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Amid Flyers' playoff push, goalies play for contracts

The final 26 games will determine the Flyers' playoff fate and maybe, just maybe, whether they will offer one of their goalies, Michal Neuvirth or Steve Mason, a contract.

The final 26 games will determine the Flyers' playoff fate and maybe, just maybe, whether they will offer one of their goalies, Michal Neuvirth or Steve Mason, a contract.

Let the intrigue begin.

Mason has had an up and down season and, for the time being, has been supplanted by Neuvirth as Dave Hakstol's go-to goaltender.

Neuvirth had an underwhelming and injury-interrupted first half of the season but has regained his mojo, allowing a total of five goals in his four starts during the recently completed homestand.

Both say they want to stay here. Both have not had the type of overall seasons that figure to earn them lucrative long-term deals if they hit free agency on July 1. That might work to the advantage of the Flyers, who need a veteran as a stopgap until one of their many gifted goalie prospects is ready to shoulder the load.

Neuvirth's injury history works against him, but if he excels down the stretch the Flyers could offer him a team-friendly two-year deal and go with him and Anthony Stolarz as their goaltender duo next season. Hotshot prospects Carter Hart and Felix Sandstrom are probably a few years away from being NHL-ready.

Likewise, Mason might play his way into the Flyers' plans with a strong finish. Mason (2.90 goals-against average, .900 save percentage) and the surging Neuvirth (2.67, .897) also could help their bargaining power, which is low at this juncture, if they carried the Flyers into the playoffs.

On Valentine's Day last year, the Flyers, playing with unparalleled focus because they were trying to get into the postseason for ailing club chairman Ed Snider, started a season-ending 17-6-4 run that enabled them to inch into the playoffs.

To duplicate that type of finish, this team needs to bottle its workmanlike effort in Saturday's 2-1 overtime win over San Jose.

Good signs were everywhere. The Flyers had a 14-4 shots domination in the first 20 minutes, giving them a 60-26 opening-period advantage in their so-so homestand. They also actually outscored San Jose in five-on-five play. Honest.

The Flyers played a strong positional game, kept the Sharks to the outside, and had a significant territorial advantage. Dave Hakstol's latest lines were clicking, and only Aaron Dell's brilliant goaltending kept the Flyers from scoring at least four goals.

"It seems like every goalie we play against has an unbelievable night," said Neuvirth, mindful that the Flyers scored just six goals in the five-game homestand.

Was the hard-earned win a mirage or a sampling of things to come?

We shall see when the Flyers start a three-game Western Canada journey Wednesday in Calgary. The trip also has stops in Edmonton and Vancouver. Edmonton is the only one of those three teams in a playoff spot.

The Flyers are also outside of the playoff picture. Points-wise, they are tied with Toronto for the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot, but the Maple Leafs are ahead based on having two games in hand.

To reach the playoffs, the Flyers need some of their big guns to start producing. Claude Giroux has two goals in his last 21 games. Jake Voracek has one goal in his last 16 games. Brayden Schenn has one goal in his last 11 games. Shayne Gostisbehere, who sparked last year's playoff drive, has no goals in his last 29 games.

They also need to continue the close checking they displayed during their 2-2-1 homestand, one that would have been much better if the offense had just been average.

"Going down the stretch into the playoffs, we have to be tight defensively," said Wayne Simmonds, who won Saturday's game with the first overtime goal of his career. "The goals haven't been coming for us, but if we hang in there and play the way we have been and keep getting pucks to the net and keep getting to the hard areas . . . we should be fine."

The Flyers' schedule isn't that daunting. Eleven of their final 26 games are against teams that aren't in the playoffs at the moment.

Then again, teams that face the Flyers can say the same thing.

Bottom line: The Flyers won't be in the playoffs unless their five-on-five play resembles Saturday's performance. It was just the third time they had outscored an opponent five-on-five in the last 24 games.

scarchidi@phillynews.com

@BroadStBull