Can Flyers goalie Mason thwart the Caps like Halak did in 2010?

Not many people give the Flyers much of a chance in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the class of the NHL, the Washington Capitals.

The Capitals have more talent, better special teams, and a veteran bench boss, Barry Trotz, who has coached 64 more Stanley Cup games than his counterpart, Dave Hakstol.

All of that should trump the added emotion the oh-so-focused Flyers will bring into the series as they play the games to honor their beloved founder, Ed Snider, who died Monday at 83.

Washington won the Presidents' Trophy, awarded to the league's top team, with 120 points, 24 more than the Flyers.

That said, there is a way for the Flyers to steal the series.

From here, goalie Steve Mason is their best hope.

Oh, he doesn't have to play like the second coming of Bernard Marcel Parent.

But if he plays against the Capitals like Jaroslav Halak did in the 2010 playoffs, well . . .

You remember the 2010 playoffs. That was the year the Flyers, after qualifying on the last day of the regular season, made a stunning run to the Finals before losing to Chicago on an odd-looking goal by Patrick Kane.

Washington felt its playoff pain much earlier that year, losing to Halak and Montreal in the first round after winning the Presidents' Trophy.

Fast forward to this year's playoffs, which start Thursday in Washington under similar circumstances as 2010.

Like this year, the Flyers needed a win on the last weekend of the 2009-10 regular season to earn a playoff berth.

Like this year, the Capitals finished as the NHL's top overall seed, with 121 points in 2009-10. They took an opening-round series lead of three games to one before Halak led the eighth-seeded Canadiens to three straight wins. In the last three games, Halak stopped 131 of 134 shots, including 41 of 42 in a 2-1 victory in Game 7.

Thanks to Halak, Montreal advanced that year despite collecting just 88 regular-season points, 33 fewer than the Capitals.

Mason is in a rhythm and has the ability to turn into this year's version of Halak. He carried the Flyers to their playoff berth, starting 17 of 18 games down the stretch.

It's been an odd season for the easy-going Mason. In October, he went through some difficult family matters and left the team for a week, and he later temporarily lost his No. 1 job because Michal Neuvirth was playing lights-out.

"The last couple years I spent in Columbus was the most challenging, mentally, that I've ever gone though," Mason said Wednesday. "It better equipped me to handle things this season."

Overall, his .937 save percentage in five-on-five situations this season was second in the NHL among goalies who played more than 40 games, according to Puckalytics.com.

But his save percentage dips to just .900 when the Flyers are shorthanded, placing him 19th among goalies with more than 40 appearances.

And, so, yes, the Flyers need to stay out of the penalty box if they want to orchestrate an upset against an Alex Ovechkin-led Capitals team that has the NHL's fifth-best power play. Ovechkin had a league-best 19 power-play goals.

Mason will go against Braden Holtby, a contender for the Vezina Trophy that is awarded to the league's top goalie. Mason, who was better than Holtby in the season's second half, downplayed the goalie matchup.

"He had one of the all-time great seasons, which is a credit to him," he said, mindful that Holtby tied an NHL record with 48 wins. "But I can't worry about what he's going to do. I have my own job to focus on, and it's tough enough as it is."

The Caps averaged 3.02 goals per game, second in the league. Mason beat them, 2-1 (in a dreaded shootout no less), in the team's last meeting March 30.

Washington won the other two games against him, 5-2, and 3-2.

"They have big bodies, and they have a real strong net-front presence," Mason said. "They have so many talented offensive players, and they can come at you from all different angles, so you have to be prepared for everything. We have a good pre-scout here, a good couple of prep days to get ready for a real tough series."

Mason should benefit from finally getting a night off. He had played 12 straight games before resting in Sunday's meaningless game against the Islanders.

"It was nice," he said. "It was good to step back and recharge the batteries a little bit."

Recharged enough to channel the 2010 Halak?

Stay tuned.

scarchidi@phillynews.com

@BroadStBull www.philly.com/flyersblog