EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - There was no question when the Flyers started this season that the starting goalie was Robert Esche.
There is a definite question now.
Esche is now in the sixth week of nursing a groin injury, and has played in only two games since Dec. 3. Meanwhile, rookie Antero Niittymaki has played impressively in his 24 games, so the lines between starter and backup are as blurred in Philadelphia as they have ever been in recent years.
And it is safe to say there is no obvious starter now.
"The decisions are difficult because Esche had to give up the job because of injuries," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "It's a little bit different if someone beats you out.
"But what complicates it a little bit more is we have to pay respect to [Esche's] injury, and that's going to mean that we have to use two guys on an ongoing basis. I don't know that we can sit there and say, 'He's the starter and he's the backup,' because of Esche's injury."
Esche is now back on the ice, working with the coaching staff and just beginning to stop pucks. According to Hitchcock, Esche is at least 10 days from even considering rejoining the team.
But Hitchcock won't even entertain the question of what will happen when this season winds down and the playoffs begin.
"Everybody's all revved up about what's going to happen," Hitchcock said. "We're halfway through our season. We have a ton of time to go and I'm not in any hurry to make any decisions.
"And the reason is, I've got a young guy's career on the line here and I mean that not from a playing standpoint, but an injury, rehab, recovery standpoint.
"So that's more where my focus is. When Robert's to come back, I've got to do what's best for Robert and that is there are a number of things: There's the health issue, which is paramount; there's the recovery issue, which is paramount; and there's the confidence issue, which is just as important."
And there is winning. The Flyers have been on a roll and Niittymaki's play is one of the biggest factors. At times, he has been unbeatable and at other times he's been ordinary.
He's had a lot of help in front from a team depleted with injuries that's using the energy of young call-ups to complement the skill players.
But Esche was not a problem when he was in. He won 11 games and had two overtime losses before the injury. That means he has helped the Flyers earn at least a point in 13 of 18 starts.
The problem is the injury. He went out for three games, came back for two and went out again before the second one even ended. And now he is faced with taking as much time as necessary to get healthy again.
"The situation with Esche is you have to tread very carefully on this whole situation," Hitchcock said. "We have to make sure that he's healthy, that he feels really good pregame, that he feels the same postgame, and then we have to just nurse this thing along."
But is Esche the starter when he comes back?
"I don't know that you can even tell that until you just continue down the path," Hitchcock said.
Niittymaki had played so well in the first eight games of this 11-game trip that the league named him and Colorado goaltender David Aebischer the co-defensive players of the week.
Aebischer last week led the Avalanche to three victories with a 1.30 goals against average and a .955 save percentage. Niittymaki backstopped the Flyers to three wins with a 1.33 goals against average and a .953 save percentage.