The Flyers will be without goaltender Brian Elliott for the next 5-6 weeks as he recovers from core muscle surgery, the team announced Tuesday ahead of their game against the Devils.
Elliott, the team's No. 1 goalie, suffered the injury Saturday after he made 24 saves playing through regulation and overtime against the Coyotes. However, he was hit in the mask by Arizona's Clayton Keller's stick on the follow-through during the shootout and then slumped to the ice and was taken out of the game.
The Flyers initially said Elliott suffered a lower body injury while Michal Neuvirth filled in as goalie. Neuvirth was able to secure the 4-3 win for the Flyers Saturday.
"It's pretty unfortunate what happened to (Elliott)," teammate Shayne Gostisbehere said, per the Boston Herald. "But for Neuvy to step in there pretty cold and make big saves for us was huge."
Due to Elliott's injury, the team recalled goaltender Alex Lyon from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers' AHL affiliate, to serve as a back-up for Neuvirth.
This marks the second time this season Elliott has missed time due to an injury as he missed four games from Jan. 25 - Feb. 3. Despite the setbacks, Elliott has received a majority of the starts in his first campaign with the Flyers, and he is 15-5-1 with a 2.51 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.
