On Goaltending

All Flyers fans have opinions about the team's goaltending.  Here's one of mine.

Steve Mason's .925 save percentage has him in a three-way tie for fifth best in the NHL.  He's only played 34 games this season due to injuries.  But when he was healthy, Berube often, and in my mind, inexplicably, chose not to put Mason between the pipes.  

Why are the Flyers the only team in the NHL that does not consistently start its starting goalie?  Night after night, all across the league, you'll see the same names in net . . . but Flyers fans are often left scratching their heads why, why, is our (finally) consistently excellent goalie sitting on the bench?

I know some people will say, oh, he needs to rest, blah blah blah.  Spare me.  He's a professional athlete.  Playing every game is his job.  Who was Bernie Parent's backup goalie?  What other teams in the NHL have embraced a "rest a good goalie" strategy?  When a goalie's hot, he wins, end of story. 

I think if Berube had played Mason as much as he could while he was healthy, the team may not have fallen into quite as deep a hole in the standings.  

But only time will tell where the rest of this season goes.  Mason seems to be on the mend from his recent knee surgery, as some of the latest reports are pegging his return as early as Saturday.  In the meantime, Zepp continues to rise to the occasion.  

Onward to Carolina.  Flyers should be able to pick up two tonight.