Right around this time two years ago, a young 20 year old rookie net-minder by the name of Steve Mason was called up by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Jackets were in a tight squeeze in net when starting goaltender Pascal Leclaire went down with an ankle injury. Mason started his first game on November 5 against the Edmonton Oilers, and led Columbus to a 5-4 victory. He would go on to win rookie of the month for both November and December and was selected to represent the West in net for the Young Stars Game, though he declined.
Mason would end up getting a majority of the starts in net for the Jackets that season, having a record of 33-20-7, and leading Columbus to it's first playoff berth in franchise history.
But that was then, and this is now.
Steve Mason has not been the same since that time, and he has gotten off to a rocky start start this season. When the Blue Jackets opened in Stockholm, Mason was looked at as the #1 goaltender with Mathieu Garon serving as the backup. The Jackets lost the first game as Mason gave up three goals on 28 shots. However, the Jackets would not go back to the states e ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Patrick Drottar
Why Mathieu Garon Should Be the Blue Jackets #1 Netminder Over Steve Mason
November 3rd, 2010 by Patrick Drottar Leave a reply »
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