VOORHEES, N.J. - By sunrise, the symbolic cloud hanging over the mysterious Robert Esche situation seemed to dissipate Monday.

Sunday night ended with the Flyers uncertain if their starting goalie had a concussion or was merely suffering from flu-like symptoms.

It turned out to be the latter and he's expected back in net for tonight's Game 6 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre.

The news was not so good for Vladimir Malakhov. The defenseman left Sunday's game after a hard hit from Toronto's Darcy Tucker and is listed as "doubtful" with what is being unofficially described as a concussion.

Esche lasted only one period of a 7-2 win over Toronto before complaining of dizziness and lightheadedness. On the advice of team doctor Gary Dorsheimer, coach Ken Hitchcock pulled Esche from the game.

After the game, the Flyers refused to divulge the nature of the problem, which led to some wild speculation - everything from reports of a groin pull to a head injury.

But the Flyers doctors believed Esche was suffering from dehydration, a byproduct of a flu bug that has been making its way around the locker room.

So they gave Esche medication to combat that problem and it seemed to work.

Monday, Esche was feeling better and made his way back on the ice to face shots at the Skate Zone. Afterward, he seemed to suffer no ill effects from the workout.

Hitchcock hopes - and believes - that, barring a setback, Esche will be ready to return to action tonight. The Flyers hold a 3-2 lead in the series and with a win will advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2000.

Since Esche does not speak with the media on days off, it was left to Hitchcock to discuss his goalie's health.

"When you're dealing with lightheadedness and dizziness, you have to look at both aspects of it," Hitchcock said. "Is it from a blow to the head or flu-like symptoms? So we had to go through both paths.

"We're not really sure what it is. (The doctors) went down one path (Sunday) night with the medication. Robert came back today and felt much better. So we're on the right course."

Hitchcock believes Esche is suffering from the same flu that hampered Mark Recchi in Toronto during Games 3 and 4.

"It was the same thing with Mark," Hitchcock said. "That's why we pulled (Esche) out. Looking at the game, Mark didn't play very many minutes in Toronto. Stayed basically bedridden for 24, 36 hours. Came back here, felt a little bit better in (Sunday's) game.

"There's nothing you can do about it. You go through these things in the course of the season. You don't want them in the playoffs. It usually starts in somebody's family and kind of goes through the locker room."

With Esche perhaps at less than 100 percent, the pressure on the Flyers defense is raised. And that's before the likelihood of playing without Malakhov.

If Malakhov can't play, Sami Kapanen moves back to defense and Branko Radivojevic gets promoted to the Keith Primeau line.

The Leafs tried to target Kapanen from a physical standpoint when he filled in for Kim Johnsson earlier in the series.

"Maybe because I'm a smaller player," he said. "I'm a forward playing defense. Any team that has a forward playing defense, we try to go after him and make it a little harder for him.

"That's the nature of the game. There's not a lot I can do about it. Just try to adjust and play well enough."

Sean Burke said he's ready to step in for Esche should that be the case.

For someone who hadn't played in a month, Burke looked pretty sharp in the last two periods Sunday, surrendering only one goal.

"Right now, I don't know what the deal is going to be but I practiced (Monday) like I was preparing to play (tonight)," Burke said.

Burke and Esche are good friends and Burke played off that when asked if he was more concerned about playing than Esche's health.

"Well, my first option will be to play and then see Robert healthy," he said with a smile. "Obviously, he's played well for us and he looked good out there (Monday)."

Hitchcock said Antero Niittymaki was being called up from the Phantoms and brought along on the trip just in case Esche "takes a turn for the worse."

But that doesn't seem likely. Hitchcock acted as a "pool reporter" to get a comment from Esche. The coach didn't even need a notepad or tape recorder to come back with a statement.

"I felt much better this morning after I woke up," Hitchcock recalled Esche telling him. "And my energy level was back to normal."

The coach also said that statement didn't include several salty modifiers employed by the goaltender.

Wayne Fish can be reached at (215) 949-4215 or wfish@phillyBurbs.com.