Flyers' MacDonald flummoxed over being a healthy scratch

SITTING FOR the fourth consecutive game as a healthy scratch, including the one he missed to attend his grandmother's funeral in Nova Scotia, Andrew MacDonald's stint in the press box is raising eyebrows.

"There's little talk," MacDonald said of his communication with coach Craig Berube. "He understands that I'm upset. I'm wanting to play, obviously. But at the end of the day, he's got decisions to make. It's not a situation that anyone wants to be in."

Sift through the video from last Tuesday's overtime loss in Montreal and it's not hard to see MacDonald was the Flyers' best defenseman that game.

So, what exactly is going on with MacDonald?

If Berube's lineup against Buffalo was based purely on merit, MacDonald would've played last night. He's actually played rather well over the last month or 2.

Instead, the Flyers haven't exactly been shy about using Braydon Coburn and Nick Grossmann recently, perhaps using them as bait for a potential trade.

Coburn, the Flyers' longest-tenured player, struggled mightily in his first two games back following a foot injury. The only way Coburn will knock off the rust, however, is by playing more. Sunday marked his first game back since Jan. 12. He has a limited no-trade clause in which he must submit a list of 10 teams to approve a deal.

Flyers professional scout John Chapman was in Anaheim on Wednesday to watch the Ducks and Lightning, two teams that could use defensive help. Tampa Bay's Matt Carle is out until after the March 2 trade deadline; Radko Gudas has been out since early January. Anaheim will sorely miss Sami Vatanen for the next 4 to 6 weeks with a "lower-body" injury.

Lightning assistant general manager Pat Verbeek scouted last night's Flyers game.

So far, Ron Hextall has seemingly given Berube free rein with his roster, allowing him carte blanche to scratch whomever - regardless of salary, stature or standing. Vinny Lecavalier was benched for seven straight games in December. Michael Del Zotto saw the ice in only three out of 13 games in December.

"It's not a favorable situation," MacDonald said. "I thought I played pretty well in the Montreal game, and then I had to deal with some personal issues.

"To be honest, I thought I was playing pretty good. I think the start of the year, I didn't get the start that I wanted. I didn't play that great. Maybe earlier in the year, there were some things to work on. I feel like throughout the year, I've worked on things they've asked me to. Moving forward, I felt like I was getting better and kind of finding my groove."

With Kimmo Timonen, the Flyers have nine healthy defensemen. As players mentioned in December, that many defensemen creates a mental minefield on the ice, each player worried they could be the next one to sit out if they make a mistake.

Something is bound to happen. It must, just to fit Timonen on the 23-man roster.

Until then, a more awkward question lingers for MacDonald, who is in the first season of a 6-year, $30 million pact: Did he make the right choice to sign with the Flyers?

"I signed here for a reason. I wanted to be here," MacDonald said. "I believe in the team and the organization. Right now, I might not look very good, but it's still a great organization in my eyes, still a great place to play, and where I'd like to be. I've got to work through this and go forward. In my mind, [this is] certainly not a forever position. It is right now. It's something where you've just got to put your head down and be ready when your name is called."

Goaltender Steve Mason revealed yesterday that doctors removed 60 percent of the meniscus in his right knee in an arthroscopic surgery on Feb. 10. He is expected to travel with the Flyers next week and could return in Carolina or Toronto, needing one or two more one-on-one sessions with goaltending coach Jeff Reese before taking shots from teammates.

"I turned to go back to the net, opened my knee up to push out, and the meniscus flipped up and got caught in between the joint there," Mason said, explaining his injury, suffered in Washington on Feb. 8. "That's a pretty fluke accident there."

Backup Ray Emery made his sixth consecutive start last night in Mason's stead. It was the first time Emery has started six straight games since March 2-11, 2012, with Chicago.

Mason, 26, said he underwent the same procedure with his left knee more than 6 years ago, while playing for the OHL's Kitchener Rangers.

"I've never had a problem, knock on wood, with my left knee [since then]," Mason said. "I don't foresee any problems with this one in the future. We know that we've found the problem and dealt with it, and just getting back to games hopefully sooner rather than later."

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