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Philadelphia Flyers’ Michal Neuvirth in the Spotlight

By Regina Ham

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The Philadelphia Flyers seem to have a strong backup goalie on their hands.

There is no doubt that when your starting goalie is sitting on the bench there are bound to be questions. Is he hurt? Is Steve Mason losing his touch? Was it a coaching decision? While there is no doubt that Philadelphia Flyers goals Steve Mason isn’t enjoying sitting on the bench, there really isn’t much else for him to do. Number 2 goalie Michal Neuvirth has been in the spotlight and his performances have been what the Flyers have needed.

Mason was pulled by the Flyers head coach Dave Hakstoll in his dismal performance on December 9th against the New York Islanders. He allowed the Islanders to score three goals and put them up 3-1 over the Flyers in the second period. Mason hasn’t been in goal since then and Flyers fans have enjoyed the talents of Neuvirth.

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Neuvirth has started the last three games and the team has gone 2-1-1. Granted, the 3-1 loss wasn’t one of the best games the Flyers played but it was a strong performance from Neuvirth. His performance between the pipes has been strong enough to where Neuvirth is the leader in save percentages. He has a .937 save percentage, 2.06 goals-against average and three shutouts to his name during his time as a Flyer. Neuvirth also have a record of 8-4-2, not too shabby for his first season. That should be good enough to keep him where he is and for him to keep performing at this level.

Mason himself even commented on the performance of Neuvirth during his first season with the Flyers. According to the Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, he admitted that “Michal deserves the net. He’s playing extremely well. He’s probably one of the hottest goalies throughout the entire league, the entire season. That’s a credit to him.”

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    • Steve Mason isn’t doing terribly poorly himself. Granted, his stats aren’t telling a good story. He has a .905 save percentage, 2.95 goals-against advantage and an 5-8-4 record. The team has also suffered when Mason was in the. With Neuvirth in the net, the Flyers average about 2.32 goals per game. With Mason, the number dips a bit to 1.83 goals per game. He’s itching to get back in the net. He’s young and has the drive to perform well, which will be a boost for him as he furthers his career.

    Neuvirth will have other opportunities to show his mastery of the goalie position. News came out Thursday that Steve Mason will be starting in goal. While that might seem like a bad stroke of luck for Neuvirth, it won’t be the last time Hakstoll will be putting him in. Statistics alone show that Neuvrith is capable of being the stopping power that the Flyers need. There will be good things ahead for him and could be a long-term positive note when it comes to minding the Philadelphia net.

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