res·ur·rec·tion (rĕz′ə-rĕk′shən)
noun
1.The condition of having been restored to life.
In recent memory, the NHL has had some amazing rookies but it’s difficult to remember a goalie coming on the scene like Steve Mason did in the 2008-09 season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. At 20 years of age, he nearly single-handedly took one of the most moribund franchises in the NHL to the playoffs. After a short sweep by the Detroit Red Wings, the excuses began to pile up for the young netminder when he couldn’t find his form.
In 2012 he found out that he could wear form fitting pads. When asked about the mess up he was quoted as saying:
“I never knew I could, if I knew, I would have done it three years ago. I guess I was a little out of the loop on that kind of stuff. But we’ll make it work now.”
Or even most recently with the Philadelphia Flyers he said he couldn’t see the puck in the home arena due to the lighting, but he was quick to deny that was part of his goaltending woes.
So, what is ailing Mason this year? He is sporting a .905 save percentage across all situations. Is he back to his old form?
A little bit of yes and a little bit of no.
This is actually turning into one of the best years for Mason in regards to even strength save percentage as he currently stands is at .935 sv%. His pace is as good as last year which was his best year overall in the league at even strength with a .943sv%. His high danger save percentage (save percentage from a high probability scoring area) is his best since entering the league at .860 sv% which is a very good mark. So what is it? Is he getting into his own head again?
In specialized situations, Mason is having an absolutely porous year. This is his worst year on the penalty kill and his worst year on the power play. This could end up being a blip on the radar for him but the numbers as of right now are so low he may not get a chance to normalize his numbers. He has almost a 50/50 split with Michal Neuvirth, who is outplaying him across the board in any important save metric.
He isn’t playing as badly as his numbers indicate, but when people say that your goalie needs to be your best penalty killer, Mason NEEDS to be the best to get his share of ice time.
The end isn’t nigh for Mason but he won’t have much time left playing in Philadelphia.
