Elliott to miss 5-6 weeks for Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Goaltender Brian Elliott is expected to miss 5-6 weeks after having surgery to repair a core muscle injury, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Tuesday.

Elliott was injured while facing Clayton Keller in the second round of the shootout during a 4-3 victory at the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. He slumped to the ice and had to be helped off after being hit in the mask by Keller's stick on his follow-through. Michal Neuvirth got the win in relief after he denied all five shooters he faced.
Neuvirth, who started against the New Jersey Devils at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday, is expected to get the majority of the playing time in Elliott's absence. Alex Lyon, who was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Sunday, will be the backup for the foreseeable future, Hextall said.
"We believe in Michal Neuvirth," Hextall said. "We signed him because we believe in him. He's shown at times that he's a very good goalie. Hopefully, [Neuvirth] can take the assignment and do a good job for us. Alex Lyon is playing very well lately in Lehigh Valley, and at some point here, he's probably going to have to give us some minutes. We believe in both guys and we'll get through it."
Hextall compared the situation to what happened to the Vegas Golden Knights earlier in the season when goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury, Malcolm Subban and Oscar Dansk each was sidelined by injury, leaving them with Maxime Lagace, who started the season as the fourth goaltender on the organization's depth chart.
"They get two guys down, three guys down, and everyone says Vegas is done," Hextall said. "You know what? They're not done. What are they, second in the League? It can be done with a fourth guy, so we're pretty confident [Neuvirth] is a guy that can carry us in the next short-term future."
The Flyers entered Tuesday on a four-game winning streak that has pushed them to third in the Metropolitan Division with 65 points, one behind the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins but five ahead of the sixth-place Columbus Blue Jackets.
Neuvirth, 29, is 7-7-2 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in 18 games (14 starts). He made 38 saves in a 4-1 win at the Golden Knights on Sunday, but in his previous two starts, he allowed 10 goals on 42 shots.

"[Neuvirth] is very capable," Hextall said. "He's played some really good games for us this year, some other ones that haven't been that great. But if he can get on a roll here and get some consistency and do a good job for us, we'll be fine."
With the NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 26, Hextall said he'll examine all options. However, he said if he were to pursue a trade for a goaltender, he'd want one with little to no contract term remaining beyond this season.
"You don't know what's going to come up," Hextall said. "If we can make our team better at any position, we'll look at it."
Lyon, a 25-year-old rookie who made his NHL debut in relief of Neuvirth in a 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Jan. 31, is 0-1-0 with a 3.93 GAA and .860 save percentage in three games (two starts). In 26 AHL games, he's 15-8-2 with a 2.83 GAA and .911 save percentage.

"We've seen enough of Alex at the minor league level, some preseason games, he's done a pretty good job," Hextall said. "Up here, I think he's been OK. He can play a little better than he's played for us up here. There's no doubt in my mind he'll play when called upon."
Five weeks from Tuesday is March 20, when the Flyers play at the Detroit Red Wings; they will have nine games remaining.
Hextall said Elliott's injury was related to the lower-body injury that kept him out four games Jan. 25-Feb. 3.
"We knew he was going to have [surgery] done at some point," Hextall said. "But you can never determine or have the foresight to see when, so we knew at some point it would have to be corrected. … We were kind of hoping that (it could be avoided until after the season), but no such luck."