Kyle Phillippi
Raise your hand if you foresaw the save percentage leader in the NHL after two months of play to be the Philadelphia Flyers’ backup goal?
No one?
Fair enough.
It’s been a pretty remarkable season so far for Michal Neuvirth after signing as a free agent in Philadelphia this offseason. The seven-year veteran has calmly went about his business with his new new club to the tune of a .939 save percentage, a 2.05 goals against average mark and a record of 5-3-1. Oh yeah, he also has racked up three shutouts.
He leads the league — ahead of Henrik Lundqvist ever so slightly — in save percentage and is tied for the most shutouts with three.
With Neuvirth playing so well, the Flyers — who are starting to figure things out — have the best goaltending tandem they have had in quite some time. While Neuvirth is getting a lot of attention, Steve Mason has really picked it up as of late with a 2.34 goals against average and a .920 save percentage in November.
Between the two of them being so reliable in net, the Flyers offense just needs wake up (and stay up); once that happens, this team could start surprising some people.