The Other Mason | 
At the start of the season no one expected the St. Louis Blues to make the playoffs especially on the back of goalie Chris Mason.
After the Blues demoted former starting goalie Manny Legace to Peoria of the AHL Mason took over with very little fanfare. The former Nashville Predator spent the first half the season tweaking his game with goalie coach Rick Wamsley, which paid dividends in the second half.
“I think once it all started to come together, it just was natural,” said Mason in a conference call. “It was just easier; instead of thinking about it, I would try to make my game a little more efficient. But the biggest thing is just getting the playing time.”
Last night the Blues dropped their series opener against the Vancouver Canucks 2-1. Mason single handedly kept the Blues in the game stopping 29 of 31 shots he faced. It’s nothing new for Mason who set a career high in wins (27) this season.
Even though Mason started the final 38 games, going a very impressive 24-8-6 with five shutouts, he insists that fatigue will not be a factor for him or his team.
“You know, I’m getting good rest on the off days, and they are taking care of me like that,” Mason explained.
“So I’m definitely saving my energy for the games, and, you know, at this point in the season, you just find the energy. It’s just when you go out on the ice and you’re playing these games that mean so much, you just find the energy.
All of the other players are expected to do it, so I don’t see why the goalies can’t, too.”
Mason’s solid play hasn’t equated to success against the Vancouver Canucks this season. In three games prior to last night’s game he allowed 10 goals and lost two of three.
“It’s nothing new for us. I think that it has not been easy,” Mason said. “We have not had an easy game for the last two and a half months, so I don’t think we are too worried – We have got our next game coming up and that’s really all we care about, and we’ll worry about the other ones after that.”
The Blues and Canucks resume their series on Friday at GM Place in Vancouver at 10:00 EST.
Topics: Chris Mason, First Round, St. Louis Blues, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Vancouver Canucks
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