The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Elliott takes ‘important step’ but not ready to return yet
VOORHEES, N.J. » The Flyers have another one of those better-win-or-else games looming, this one an Easter bash with those East beasts from Boston. So it was an intriguing sight, surgically repaired Brian Elliott practicing like a rehabilitating player on a pending mission Saturday at the Skate Zone, then pronouncing himself as fit as he’s been in several weeks.
All hopes for a miraculous goalie resurrection story ended there, however.
Petr Mrazek will be in net against the Bruins, and rookie Alex Lyon will be manning the gate at the Flyers’ bench when the teams meet Sunday at 12:30.
As for Elliott, who remains the best hope to orchestrate a first-round Flyers playoff victory over any team they might face — if they get the chance to play anybody — well, he’s trying.
“Just slowly, slowly, every day doing a little more,” said Elliott, who had been skating on his own and working with coaches for a couple of weeks before this first real post-op practice. “Some days not having good days, and some days having really good days. So it’s just been a constant kind of ramping up of intensity.
“You start off very careful because every little thing hurts. You just keep going until you’re pushing the boundaries each time and you just make sure you don’t go too far. Today was a big step being able to come out against the guys and feel like you’re pretty much there, but it’s just getting back the timing and the quickness. That’s what has to come back.”
Where it goes from here, then, remains a question.
“It’s going to take a little time to get back into it,” Elliott said. “But I felt a lot better than expected and hopefully it keeps trending in that direction . ... I felt pretty good; stopped a lot of pucks. That’s fun for a goalie.”
But Elliott wasn’t fooling himself. This extended practice was, as coach Dave Hakstol put it, “a real important step” in an ongoing effort to see if Elliott is far enough along in his recovery from a significant “core muscle” operation to not only play, but perform at a playoff level.
There are three more games this final week beyond the Bruins challenge: Tuesday in Brooklyn, Thursday at home against Carolina and Saturday at home against the Rangers.
All are obviously winnable. All would be good chances to see if Elliott is at least close to being up to speed.
But with the Flyers locked in a jammed dance for playoff positioning and still not having confirmed any spot, it’s not the best of times for Elliott experiments.
“Every game right now means so much,” he said of the possibility of playing this week. “So it’s kind of hard to judge. Hopefully we have a couple of games and we solidify our spot, can’t move up or down or someone can’t pass you. So depending on how I feel, that would be great, and that’s been our goal, to get me in at least one or two of these and see how things go.”
It’s uncertain whether that’s really a club agenda or just wishful thinking on Elliott’s part. For the Flyers, it wouldn’t be such an open question if injuredagain goalie Michal Neuvirth could somehow stay healthy for longer than a couple of games (or periods), or if Petr Mrazek was more consistent than he’s been almost since being acquired last month ... or if Lyon simply was a more accomplished, experienced goalie.
Right now, none of the four choices are sure things.
“It’s an abnormal situation,” Hakstol said. “I guess I haven’t looked back and studied any past history, but injuries are always part of the game. Sometimes it seems like when you get one at the particular position, some others follow. But I’ve never had it at the goaltender position quite the same. Yet I think that speaks to the quality and the depth of goaltending in the organization.
“Obviously the move by (general manager Ron Hextall) to bring Petr in was an important one for us, and I think what it speaks most loudly to is just everybody, including the goaltenders, doing their part and doing as much as they can.”
To that end, Elliott says he’s doing what he can, too.
“Never had a surgery before,” the 33-year-old said. “So it’s a new process for me and it’s a tough time of the year where there is a possibility of coming back at the end and you’re shooting for it, but (the injury) was pretty traumatic. But everything’s strong in there and things are holding up; now it’s just a question of feeling comfortable in vulnerable positions out there and as a goalie, you’re always in those positions.”
*** The Flyers’ stretch of seven games without a regulation loss hasn’t put them over the top when it comes to a playoff spot, but it has put them in a much better position. So has the sudden three-game losing streak by the Florida Panthers, whose 5-1 setback to the Bruins Saturday has them treading water.
With five games remaining, the Panthers (86 points) have played one fewer game than the Flyers yet trail the seventh-place Flyers by six points. The Panthers were three points behind eighthplace New Jersey, with the Devils scheduled to host the Islanders Saturday night.
Then again, the Flyers were still just two points shy of Pittsburgh (94 points) and one tick behind the Columbus Blue Jackets before those teams were to play Montreal and Vancouver, respectively, Saturday. So, bottom line...
“You still have to play with urgency,” Wayne Simmonds said. “You still have to have points. As good of hockey as we’ve played as of late, we still have to play just as good or even better going down the stretch. We’ve got four games this week. That’s a lot of hockey and we have to make the best of it.”