Flyers Notes: Mason says he could return next week

Flyers goalie Steve Mason continues to make progress from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, saying there's a chance he will return 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 Thursday.

"I plan on traveling with the team," Mason said. "And who knows, maybe play in one of those games?"

If he continues to progress, 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."

He had surgery Feb. 10 to repair the torn meniscus,

"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 that there wasn't a lot of swelling in the knee.

About a year after he was drafted by Columbus, Mason said he had the same surgery on the other knee while playing junior hockey in 2007. "And I've never had a problem, knock on wood, with my left knee," he said. "So we don't foresee any problems with this one in the future."

Eric Desjardins, one of the best defensemen in Flyers history, was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in an emotional pregame ceremony Thursday.

Chris Therien, a Flyers rink-side analyst, made a stirring speech about his former defensive partner before introducing him to the crowd.

Therien called Desjardins the top defenseman in franchise history and the best player he had played with, saying, "You were my Wayne Gretzky."

Desjardins received three standing ovations during the ceremony, and several of his former teammates attended, including Shjon Podein, Eric Lindros, John LeClair, Therien, Keith Primeau, and Hextall.

After the ceremony, Desjardins posed for a photo with Kimmo Timonen and Mark Howe - arguably the three best defensemen in franchise history.

Andrew MacDonald was a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game, including one when he attended his grandmother's funeral services.