Flyers' goalie situation in limbo after Neuvirth injury

NEW YORK -- The cheers were easily heard outside of the visitors dressing room at Madison Square Garden, where the Philadelphia Flyers were rewarding goalie Alex Lyon for his first NHL win by giving him the Ric Flair replica robe, their prize for being most valuable player in the game.
Lyon made 25 saves in relief of Michal Neuvirth, who didn't return after the first period because of a lower-body injury, in a 7-4 win against the New York Rangers.

He wore the robe proudly as he walked around, barefoot, by the way, modestly shaking hands, humbly giving high-fives and fist bumps, signing some pucks and, eventually, addressing the media.
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He was trying his best to be reserved, which is probably why he didn't let out even one loud and high-pitched, "Woooooo." Man, that would have completed the scene.

"I'm just happy," said Lyon, who also won three times at the Garden while playing for Yale University. "Relieved, I think, more than anything."
He should be. He earned it. He deserves the attention, the reward and the celebration. Lyon is 25 years old and just got his first NHL win in his fourth game. Congrats to him.
But Lyon's storybook afternoon wasn't enough to remove the cloud that hangs over the streaking Flyers, 6-0-2 since Feb. 3 and three points behind the Washington Capitals for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
What do they do about their goaltending situation now?
Neuvirth, the oft-injured backup, was supposed to be the short-term No. 1 in the absence of Brian Elliott, who had surgery on a core muscle injury Tuesday and will be out 5-6 weeks, meaning until March 20 at the earliest, and even that might be pushing it.
Now Neuvirth, who already missed nine games this season (Dec. 6-23) with a lower-body injury, is out too, for how long is still to be determined and likely won't be revealed in some form until Monday.

If the Flyers have to go with Lyon as their No. 1, they'd be going with a goalie who is 0-2-0 with a 4.24 goals-against average and .844 save percentage in two starts this season, one of which he didn't finish (Feb. 3 against the Ottawa Senators).
The other option is Dustin Tokarski, a veteran of 34 NHL games who is 13-5-2 with a 2.94 GAA and .907 save percentage in 26 games with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League this season.
"Of course, you [think about it]," Flyers forward Jakub Voracek said of the goaltending situation. "Even if you said no, I think you do. I'm sure we're not the first team that ever happened to, but obviously it's tough if we lose two starting goalies."
If Neuvirth's status is anything worse than day to day, general manager Ron Hextall's likely first move will be to recall Tokarski before the Flyers play the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
Hextall said last Tuesday, when he was addressing Elliott's status, that he would be comfortable with Tokarski coming up to the Flyers to play some games because he has NHL experience, including five games as the Canadiens starter against the Rangers in the 2014 Eastern Conference Final.
But if Neuvirth is going to be out a while, expect Hextall to also take a dive into the goalie market before the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 26.
Hextall seemed to be open but still relatively lukewarm of the idea last week, but a negative injury update on Neuvirth could be enough to force him into action.
Petr Mrazek of the Detroit Red Wings and Robin Lehner of the Buffalo Sabres are arguably the best options available should Hextall go the trade route. They can become restricted free agents after the season, meaning they fall in line with Hextall's criteria of not taking back a goalie with much term left on his contract.

Canadiens backup Antti Niemi and Sabres backup Chad Johnson are veterans who can be unrestricted free agents after the season. Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta is also a pending UFA, but the Coyotes are playing better of late and could be in the market to re-sign Raanta.
There's also former Colorado Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard, who is playing with Toronto in the AHL. Pickard played 87 games with the Avalanche from 2014-17. He is set to become a restricted free agent.
"Maybe they trade for two guys and I'm sent down to Allentown tomorrow," Lyon said, referencing Lehigh Valley. "Professional hockey, professional sports in general, you just don't know."
One thing the Flyers do know is they have a good thing going, and all they need right now is strong enough goaltending to help them stay on the rails.
The Flyers have scored at least three goals in six of their past eight games, including at least four goals in four of them. They're 22-8-3 since Dec. 4, when they ended a 10-game losing streak (0-5-5) with a 5-2 win at the Calgary Flames.
"We feel every time we drop the puck we're going to win that game," defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said.

It's no wonder then why Hextall was hesitant to talk about trading for a goalie and why coach Dave Hakstol said the goaltending situation, as murky as it may be with Neuvirth's status TBD, can't force the Flyers to change their approach.
"We've won games as a team and we're going to continue to do that," Hakstol said.
"Whoever is in net for us on Tuesday night is going to go in and do a good job for us."
He might be right, but that he's not quite sure who it's going to be is at least cause for concern.