If you missed Thursday night's Flyers game against the St. Louis Blues, you didn't miss much. It was a re-run of an episode played far too often this season.
Steve Mason made 35 saves, many of them of the highlight-reel variety, before taking the loss as the Flyers fell to the Blues, 1-0, in a shootout.
Stop me if you've heard this before. If it sounds all too familiar, it's because it's not the first time the rest of the Flyers left Mason out to dry. It also was an exact replica of the Flyers loss to the Blues in St. Louis on April 1 last season.
Throughout the entire game, you could sense how alone Mason must feel on the ice. He had no help, reminiscent of almost every game since his stellar performance in a win over the New York Rangers to close February.
Mason has taken the loss in five of the six games the Flyers have played in March, three in overtime or a shootout.
You would be hard-pressed to find a goalie with tougher luck on the road. Mason has one road win this season, a 38-save performance in a 2-1 win in Los Angeles on Dec. 6. Twice more, Mason has recorded a shutout on the road – Thursday night and Nov. 24 against the Islanders – only to fall 1-0 in shootouts.
It makes you wonder how good of a team the Flyers could be if they had the something extra that Mason brings in goal in front of him. Help is coming soon enough.
With all the defensive prospects the Flyers have waiting for the call. There is definitely some potential in the prospect field on the offensive side as well.
There is no quick fix, unless the Flyers are somehow able to free up some cap space and potentially grab a scoring winger. Even then, it doesn't come close to solving all the problems.
If anything, the last month has affirmed Mason's place in the NHL as a top goalie, not just the Flyers primary goalie. Mason has proven – time and time again now – that he can carry a team to more than a few wins. The Flyers have 28 wins this season. How many of them can be credited to the play of Mason?
With just 13 games left in the Flyers season, there isn't much left to do but wait for the offseason. Maybe it will bring the help that Mason needs.
The Flyers will be looking to fill plenty of holes and have plenty of offseason needs. Goalie is not one of them.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
