The Philadelphia Flyers will have to make the playoffs without Michal Neuvirth.

A lower-body injury will cost the often-injured goaltender the rest of the season, the Flyers announced Sunday. And that means the crease belongs to Steve Mason, now in his fourth season in orange and white.

The Flyers are three points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with two games in hand. Where it gets tricky: Philadelphia has four back-to-back scenarios out of their 12 remaining games. They'll play March 21 and 22, April 2 and 3, April 6 and 7, and April 9 and 10.

Based on his track record at this time of year, Mason can get the job done.

Season	Month	SV%	Starts	Wins
2012-13	April	.944	6	4
2013-14	March	.917	12	8
2013-14	April	.935	4	2
2014-15	March	.931	11	3
2014-15	April	.933	4	3
2015-16	March	.917	6	4

Mason's played some great hockey down the stretch as a Flyer.

"We haven't really been blessed with an easy schedule here to finish off," Mason said, according to the Courier-Post's Dave Isaac. "We've all got to come here ready to have a real strong push in these last few weeks of the season. It's tough with the back-to-backs, but you've just got to take care of yourself and get your rest.

"I'm gonna do everything I can to give this team as much goaltending as they need."

Neuvirth will be missed. He's had a stellar season, and his .925 save percentage is in the top five among all NHL goalies. But Mason can get the Flyers to the promised land. Hopefully, based on the Flyers' remaining schedule, he gets enough sleep.

"I feel really good about my game," Mason added. "You always prepare to play every single game. That's just what I'm going to continue to do here."

Backing up Mason will be 22-year-old Anthony Stolarz, who, based on the unforgiving schedule, will likely see some action in the crease. He's never played in the NHL.

"He'll be ready to go, he'll be ready to play when we need him to go in," head coach Dave Hakstol said.

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Tanner Pearson and Alec Martinez scored and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves, leading the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night. Los Angeles' 11th victory in 14 games, coupled with the A...

The Los Angeles Kings are heading back to the postseason, clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.

The Kings needed only a point against the Bruins to clinch, following the Arizona Coyotes' loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Los Angeles became first team in the Western Conference to book a playoff spot this season, doing so for the sixth time in the last seven campaigns.

The Kings won their fourth consecutive game, and sixth in the last seven.

They lead the Pacific Division with a 44-22-5 record and 93 points.

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PHILADELPHIA - Trevor Daley, Carl Hagelin and Chris Kunitz each scored and Marc-Andre Fleury made 16 saves Saturday, sending the Pittsburgh Penguins past Philadelphia 4-1 and six points ahead of Philadelphia for one of the final two Eastern Conf...

Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin is on the road to recovery, and continues to provide photos to prove it.

After undergoing a procedure to mend a rather gruesome Achilles injury, Seguin addressed the media for the first time since the announcement was made that he'll be out of the lineup for three-to-four weeks.

"Yesterday was a little bit better than today," he told reporters. "(I'm) starting to get a bit more feeling in the foot today after the surgery."

Seguin admitted he was concerned following the incident, especially as he thought of scenes from the horror flick "Hostel." He considers himself both unlucky that it happened and lucky that it wasn't worse. While there's no firm timeline for his return to the lineup, he has an idea of when he'll be back.

"I can't really picture myself missing Game 1 (of the playoffs)," he said. "Even if I come back for the last game of the regular season, that'd be quite the goal for me. There's a long way to go until then and I'm looking forward to getting better."

Seguin later shared a visual update on his Achilles injury, which he said looks a bit more gnarly than the first:

"@MichaelDelZotto: @tseguinofficial aren't they the worst? pic.twitter.com/5okpwxjrHC” people like scars tho right ? pic.twitter.com/g1Yn35pZpr

— Tyler Seguin (@tseguinofficial) March 19, 2016

Look for Seguin to wear thicker socks upon his return.

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The NHL's relatively new wild-card playoff format isn't for everyone, and you can count Sidney Crosby among its critics.

"I'm not a big fan of it," the Pittsburgh Penguins captain said in a Q-and-A with ESPN, "but what are you going to do? That's the way it is. I don't like it just because I'd love to see just the top eight teams (in each conference) make it. There are definitely divisional rivalries, but at the same time, there are more teams in each division. That's the way it's done, but I prefer the top eight."

Crosby's Penguins hold down the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with their 84 points three up on Detroit's 81, and four up on Philadelphia's 80.

The wild-card format sees the top three teams from each division make the playoffs, and the two best teams after that, regardless of division. Right now, the Penguins, as the first wild-card holder, are scheduled to face the Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. Were the playoffs to feature the top eight teams in the conference, the Penguins and Panthers would still face off in the first round, as the Penguins have the seventh-best point total in the East, while the Panthers rank second.

The division's best teams face the wild-card teams, with the division leader with the most points (the Washington Capitals, in this season's case) facing off against the wild-card team with the fewest points (currently the Detroit Red Wings).

Check out the rest of the Q-and-A for Crosby's thoughts on fighting in the game, performance-enhancing drug use, the World Cup of Hockey, and more.

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The Philadelphia Flyers are certainly peaking at the right time.

Radko Gudas scored the winner midway through the third period as the Flyers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Wednesday night.

The Flyers leapfrogged the idle Detroit Red Wings and moved into the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot with the victory. Philadelphia dispatched Detroit 4-3 on Tuesday and still has a game in hand.

The Flyers won their second straight game Wednesday and picked up their eighth victory in the last 10 contests. Their most recent wins haven't been against bottom-feeders, either.

The Blackhawks lost their fourth consecutive game and fifth in their last six.

Philadelphia hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins in an interstate matchup on Saturday before embarking on a four-game road trip, while the Blackhawks travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Friday night.

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CHICAGO - Defenceman Radko Gudas scored on a deflected shot in the third period, and the surging Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Wednesday night to move into position for a wild-card playoff spot. Michal Neuvirth made 2...

Since dropping their second game in a week to the Anaheim Ducks earlier in March and losing their spot atop the Pacific in the process, the Los Angeles Kings have looked nearly unstoppable.

The Kings have retaken their division lead with a five-game point streak (4-0-1), including a pair of commanding wins on back-to-back nights. They beat the reigning Cup champion Blackhawks 5-0 on Monday, before a 5-2 win against the West-leading Stars on Tuesday.

#LAKings now 10-4-2 versus the Central Division.

— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) March 16, 2016

Captain Anze Kopitar and newcomer Kris Versteeg led the way for the Kings, with three points each over the past two games. Jonathan Quick shut out Kane, Toews and Co. on Monday, before Jhonas Enroth led the way with a 24-save performance against the Benn- and Seguin-led Stars.

Related: VIDEO: Kings' Kopitar dances around Kris Russell, scores

Despite their dominating past two nights, those wins may not have been their most impressive in the past week. Jeff Carter provided the overtime-winner on Wednesday to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3, after the league's top team scored three third-period goals to send the game into extra time.

With their recent run of high-powered offense and impressive goaltending against the league's top teams, it's hard not to consider the Kings as Stanley Cup favorites if the season ended today.

But if they plan to take on the Blackhawks, Stars, or even the Capitals in a future seven-game series, they'll need to figure out a way to beat the red-hot Ducks. The final regular-season meeting between the crosstown rivals is scheduled for April 7 at Staples Center.

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The Philadelphia Flyers now sit just one point shy of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot after picking up a 4-3 win Tuesday against the team currently sitting in the second wild-card position, the Detroit Red Wings.

Michael Raffl recorded the second multi-goal game of his career - both coming against the Red Wings. Wayne Simmonds scored his 25th goal of the season, while a backhand from rookie phenom Shayne Gostisbehere would serve as the eventual game-winner.

Gostisbehere can't help but score goals. #FlyersTalk https://t.co/8WgJZUnlt1

— Comcast SportsNet (@CSNPhilly) March 16, 2016

Steve Mason now has a personal five-game point streak in the Flyers' net, making 34 saves on the night to pick up his 17th win of the year. He's 4-0-1 with only 10 goals against in his current run.

Red Wings netminder Petr Mrazek was even busier, allowing only two goals in a first period that saw the Flyers outshot 23-3. He finished the night with 42 saves.

Andreas Athanasiou, Pavel Datsyuk, and Tomas Tatar provided the goal-scoring for Detroit.

Wild-Card Race

The Flyers now have two games in hand as they sit just one point behind Detroit in the standings, but will face two tough tests later in the week. They visit the Blackhawks on Wednesday, before hosting the Penguins - who currently hold the other wild-card spot in the East - on Saturday.

The Red Wings next three games all come on the road, including stops in Columbus, Florida, and Tampa Bay.

Rnk	Team	GP	Pts
1	Penguins	69	82
2	Red Wings	70	79
3	Flyers	68	78

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