It was pretty much magic the moment Steve Mason put on Philadelphia Flyers uniform. He had a great rookie season in Columbus, but three and a half mediocre seasons since had erased any goodwill that bought him. Maybe he was one of those guys that needed "a change of scenery," but when does that ever really work in real life?
Well, Mason bucked that trend rather emphatically. In a seven game audition with the Flyers, Mason put up a sterling .944 save percentage. Then playing his first full season in Philadelphia the following year, Mason put up a career high save percentage of .917. For this, he received some recognition and finished seventh in Vezina voting.
After a second great year in Philadelphia last season, the numbers and games of excellence were piling up. From the date of his trade to Philadelphia in April 2013 to the start of this season, Mason was fifth in the NHL in save percentage. Only Rask, Price, Schneider and Varlamov were better. With every game, Mason put his Columbus struggles further behind him and proved that he was a different goaltender now.
Even in a "down year" last season, Mason put up some great numbers. In fact, Mason's even strength save percentage last year was a phenomenal .944. That was best in the league, even better than Carey Price's historic season.
Despite all this evidence, there are still a lot of skeptics out there. Rarely do you see people outside of Philadelphia look at Mason at a top-10 NHL goaltender, even his numbers make a good case that he is top-5. Mason's start to this season provides those skeptics with some ammunition. With a save percentage currently hovering at .905, this is new territory for Mason as a Flyer.
It certainly didn't help that Mason had a shocker in the second game of this season versus Florida. Like a pitcher getting yanked in the first inning, that stuff kills your stats. Mason left the team shortly thereafter to deal with personal issues, likely regarding a family health crisis. He admitted he was having trouble focusing, but recently said he has started to feel like himself again.
Forgiving Mason's start, we can view his stats a little differently. Turning his save percentage into a rolling five game average, he is still having trouble finding the same heights of play that we he enjoyed consistently the last season and a half.
Coach Dave Hakstol certainly noticed. Backup Michal Neuvirth started games on back-t0-back nights this week, a first for either goalie this season. Saying Mason is in the dog house would be hyperbole, but with goalie tandems becoming increasingly common in today's NHL, expect to see a split of games between the two goalies moving forward.
It also must be said how fantastic Michal Neuvirth is playing right now. As of Friday morning, he led the league in save percentage. Furthermore, in a case of deja vu, Neuvirth's even strength save percentage was almost identical to Mason's from last year, at .946. Neuvirth took the loss last night in Dallas, but he may have been the best player on the ice regardless.
Expect the Philadelphia Flyers to say Mason is still our number one goalie. Also expect Neuvirth to get as many, if not more, starts in the next few weeks. To get back to being a true number one goalie, Mason must earn that respect from both his new coach and his old naysayers. He's done it before in Philadelphia, and there's no reason he can't do it again.
Marc Naples is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter@SuperScrub47.
