Is Steve Mason an Elite Goaltender?

As the Philadelphia Flyers’ winning streak came to a grinding halt Saturday afternoon against the Dallas Stars, one constant still stood strong.

Let’s take a look back at the catalyst during the entire run: Steve Mason. He started eight games during the 10-game winning streak, allowing 19 goals on 256 shots.

Prior to the torrid stretch, Mason had a save percentage sub-90%, which wasn’t sustainable if the Flyers wanted to put themselves in a position to make the playoffs.

During the streak, Mason had a few outlier games – specifically against the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche – the only two games that he posted a save percentage below 90%. Luckily for Mason, the Flyers scored six goals to make up for Mason’s five against the Oilers and, even though his save percentage was 89.7% against the Avalanche, he kept his team in the game. That included an onslaught in the final two minutes of the game, in which Mason kept the Flyers’ one-goal lead intact.

Back in 2013 when the Flyers traded Michael Leighton and a third-round pick pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Mason, Flyers fans were slightly disappointed because Mason had fallen off every year since his Calder Trophy winning rookie season. Once Mason put on the Orange and Black, he became a completely different player. In the six games he started after the Flyers acquired him, he had four wins, two losses and posted a save percentage of 94.4%.

Since being traded to the Flyers, Mason has not had a season where his save percentage dipped below 91.7%, with his highest being 92.8% in 2014-2015. That season, he started 48 games and only won 18 of them, which was on the team as a whole and not on Mason. In that season, Mason was third behind Carey Price and Devan Dubnyk in save percentage of goalies who started 25 or more games.

That’s some elite company.

Last year, Michal Neuvirth took the reins and posted a save percentage of 92.4% compared to Mason’s 91.8%. Mason started almost 20 more games, but Neuvirth had the better all-around statistics.

This year is a different story. Part of that is because Neuvirth suffered an injury and Mason’s been given a chance to regain his top form. While his save percentage of 90.5% and goals against average of 2.76 do not scream elite numbers, Mason has consistently kept his team in games this year.

It seems like Mason has put his Blue Jackets days behind him and is going to continue to be a staple in the Flyers’ crease for years to come. Both Mason and Neuvirth have expiring contracts at the end of this season and it seems clear to me that Mason will continue to be the guy here in Philadelphia. He can clearly play with the best of the best when he can get out of his own head.

Mason has proven that he is able to carry the load for a team that is going to be a playoff contender, while Anthony Stolarz has proven that he can be a capable backup racking up two wins during the Flyers’ 10-game winning streak. The Flyers have not skipped a beat with Neuvirth out of the lineup and that does wonders for the mental stability of a goaltender such as Mason.

He knows he’s the guy and the Flyers should keep it that way.

It would not be surprising to see Neuvirth traded to a team like the Stars once he is healthy, but I don’t expect to see him play another game for the Flyers.