Steve Mason has picked a good time to go into a zone.
Just like during last year's run to the playoffs, the 28-year-old goalie has been a difference-maker, keeping the Flyers afloat in the Eastern Conference's crowded wild-card race.
"It's an important stretch here," Mason said after Saturday's feisty 2-1 overtime loss to powerful Washington, "and you have to bring your best."
In his last three starts, Mason has done just that, compiling a 0.96 goals-against average and a .969 save percentage, helping the Flyers get five of a possible six points.
Mason, a potential unrestricted free agent who struggled earlier in the season, says his main focus is getting the Flyers into the playoffs for a second straight year. He is also playing for a contract, whether it's with the Flyers or a free-agent suitor.
"He's made that extra save for us," coach Dave Hakstol said about Mason's improved play recently.
If the Flyers sneak into the playoffs as the Eastern Conference's final wild-card team _ they were three points behind the New York Islanders heading into Sunday's action _ Mason's sensational glove save Thursday on Aleksander Barkov's ticketed blast with 18.2 seconds left in regulation may be viewed as the turning point. If the puck gets past him, the Flyers lose to Florida, 2-1, and get no points. Instead, they earned two critical points in a shootout win.
Mason was also impressive against a Washington team that is among the league's highest-scoring teams, and he could get all of the starts on the four-game road trip.
After practicing Monday in Voorhees, the Flyers resume their trip Tuesday in Buffalo before playing Thursday in Toronto and Saturday afternoon in Boston.
All three opponents are among teams that, like the Flyers, are wild-card candidates.
The Flyers would have returned from the Verizon Center with two points Saturday if their power play had connected. The power play went 0 for 6 and, for the most part, looked disjointed and predictable.
"They're pretty aggressive," winger Jake Voracek said of the Capitals' penalty-killing unit. "We had a couple chances. Maybe if we get that one, it makes a difference."
Stopping the Flyers' power play, Capitals goalie Braden Holtby said, is a recipe for success.
"You have to limit their zone time, and we did that for a majority of the time," he said.
The Capitals' penalty killers went 15 for 15 against the Flyers in four meetings this season, and 22 for 23 in winning last year's first-round playoff series in six games.
Since the Flyers are one of the league's worst five-on-five teams _ although they have looked better in the two games they have played since Valtteri Filppula was acquired from Tampa Bay _ they need their power play to be clicking.
On Tuesday, they will face a Buffalo team that entered Sunday ranked 29th out of 30 teams on the penalty kill with just a 76.3 percent success rate.
The Flyers' power play went 3 for 4 against the Sabres in a 4-3 shootout win Oct. 25, and it was 1 for 2 in a 4-1 loss in Buffalo on Jan. 10.
