Breaking: Playoff contender loses their goaltender to injury.

He will miss several weeks.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 8 years ago
Breaking: Playoff contender loses their goaltender to injury.

Losing any player on your roster when your in a very tight battle for a playoff spot is devastating, but losing a goaltender is particularly awful.

The Philadelphia Flyers' have lost arguably the best of their two goaltenders, Michal Neuvirth for at least the next three weeks according to an official announcement on the Flyer's website this morning that cited general manager Ron Hextall as the source.

From the Flyers' official announcement:

Flyers GM Ron Hextall announced to the media today that goaltender Michal Neuvirth will be out for three weeks with a lower-body injury.

Neuvirth was slated to start in yesterday’s game vs. Pittsburgh at the Wells Fargo Center but did not play after not feeling right. He last appeared in the Flyers’ 3-2 win over the Blackhawks at Chicago where he stopped 24 of 26 shots.

The Flyers do have a solid option to go to in Steve Mason but Neuvirth has betters numbers this season, putting a .925 save percentage which ranks among the best in the NHL, compared to a respectable .915 save percentage from Mason. In fairness to Mason, Neuvirth has played 31 games this season, while Mason has shouldered the heavier workload with 43 games played.

The loss may have already impacted the Flyers, who were defeated in the match up Neuvirth was scheduled to start on Saturday, a 4-1 loss to the Penguins.

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