Mason starting for Flyers; Hakstol says others need to step up for Simmonds

Goalie Steve Mason will make his third straight start when the Flyers host St. Louis tonight in their final game before the Christmas break.

"We definitely want to come up with a great effort and get the two points," Mason said after Monday's morning skate at the Wells Fargo Center. "We've been playing pretty solid hockey lately, but we want to go into the little break here feeling good about ourselves, and hopefully we can carry the momentum when the break ends here."

The Flyers, who are on a 7-2-2 run, will practice Tuesday and then be off the ice for three days. After tonight, they won't play again until Sunday in Anaheim.

"Obviously, it sticks with you a little longer," coach Dave Hakstol said of tonight's result.

Mason has been superb in his last two games, lowering his goals-against average to 2.71 and raising his save percentage to .914.

Michal Neuvirth leads the NHL with a .937 save percentage and is tied for fifth in goals-against average (2.06).

Neuvirth is tied in GAA with Jake Allen, who will start for St. Louis tonight. Allen, who will be making his first appearance against the Flyers, is 15-7-2 with a 2.06 GAA and .927 save percentage.

2d line producing.  In the three games it has been a unit, the Jake Voracek-Sean Couturier-Wayne Simmonds line has been productive, combining for 10 points.

"They seem to have some chemistry, regardless of who's in what spot," Hakstol said.  "They're finding each other, using each other pretty well, and in the (offensive) zone, there's a little more puck possession with three guys that protect it pretty well and they generate some offense that way."

Simmonds and instigation. Simmonds has two instigator penalties this season. The next one would trigger a game misconduct for that matchup and an automatic two-game suspension.

Hakstol was asked if Simmonds needs to show restraint the next time one of his teammates needs assistance.

"That one is for the rest of his teammates to realize. I'll leave it at that," Hakstol said. "They have to get in and take care of it. If something needs to be addressed, somebody else needs to address it. We can't afford to have him out for a couple of games."

Simmonds is third on the Flyers with 17 points.

Breakaways. After Monday, the Flyers don't play at the Wells Fargo Center until Jan. 5 against Montreal. ... Claude Giroux is fifth in the NHL in faceoff percentage (58.2 percent). He will try to end a season-high three-game point-less streak Monday. ... The Flyers are 7-5-4 at home, 7-7-3 on the road. ... St. Louis has a better record on the road (9-4-2) than at home (11-6-2).