Former Predators goalie Chris Mason talks Nashvilles Stanley

Posted by seestyle on August 4th, 2022

What a difference a month made for the Predators.

At one point in the season as late as a 6-3 lo s to the Lightning on March 13 things looked bleak for the Predators' playoff hopes. Nashville was 11-16-1, and all signs pointed to a trade deadline firesale. But then, things began to turn around. When fans awoke the morning of April 14, the Predators had gone 13-3-0 since the lo s to Tampa Bay, and were five games above .500.

Even for Chris Mason, who has seen it all in Tenne see, this was a new one. The ex-NHL netminder who spent 146 games and seven seasons of his 11-season career Laviska Shenault Jr. Men Jersey sporting the saber-toothed tiger crest has been in the broadcast booth since 2015-16, when he joined the Bally Sports South radio team as a color analyst. In 2017, he joined radio partner Willy Daunic on the television side.

The duo are now set to call Predators Stanley Cup playoff action, as the scrappy team goes toe-to-toe with the Central Division champion Carolina Hurricanes. Sporting News recently caught up with Mason to chat about the Predators' run to the postseason, their chances to lift Lord Stanley's Cup and more.

NHL PLAYOFFS 2021:

Editor's note: The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Sporting News: How would you describe this Predators team?

Chris Mason: It almost is really a tale of two seasons. I think at the beginning of the year, there was so much turnover in the offseason, not only on the roster but the coaching staff. They brought in two new coaches into the mix. I think they brought in about seven or eight new players; It's the biggest turnover they've had in many, many years and it really took a while for everyone to gel.

They really got off to Tyrell Williams Men Jersey a slow start in terms of trying to be the team that they said they all wanted to be, which was physical, hard-working, hard team to play against because of their attention to detail defensively. There's a point the season they started getting injuries, guys weren't playing up to their potential and their capabilities and it just seemed like it was going to be: alright, well, when the trade deadline comes we're gonna have to move this veteran player and start trying to acquire a sets and play all the young players. But it was almost this magical thing that happened when all these guys got hurt and they were down and out and they had this eight-game road trip against three of the best teams in the league ... and it just seems since that road trip that their identity was forged.

They became a team that you instead of kind of shrugging your shoulders and saying, 'You know, what are you guys? What kind of team is this?' to this is a team that's willing to work and play the right way. ... It just kind of snowballed from there and it's a team that once they got that belief, they could go up against anybody. There were a couple bumps along the road but nothing fazed them and for them to get in the playoffs, it's really a miracle.

SN: (Predators coach) John Hynes was on our list of coaches on the hot seat halfway through the season. What caused the turnaround? Was it that players were finally buying into the systems?

CM: I think one thing that I have been impre sed with, with John Hynes is when things were going bad Garrett Bradbury Jersey and every single game you have to answer the same questions over and over again and it becomes a broken record. But he never wavered in his me sage, in his demeanor and I think for players, I think that goes a long way in helping the guys say that, you know, what, it's bad right now, it's not going well but our coach isn't going to throw us under the bus. He believes in us, he believes in the me sage. ... I think once they started to really commit to that, because sometimes it's hard to get offensive players to really commit to that defensive mindset because they Colin Kaepernick Men Jersey want to score goals and they want to get on the attack and they have a certain skill-set that sometimes playing that way as a forward it takes you out of your comfort zone. But once they started doing that, they started winning, and then they started scoring more goals and they started to play more offense because they were playing better defensively. I think once you play that way and the results follow and you're scoring more goals as a team and you're winning hockey games, I think that's how you get buy-in.

SN: Juuse Saros is having a spectacular year. What is it about him that makes him so strong in net for this team? Is it the system in front of him or is this all him? What has impre sed you the most about him this year?CM: Well it's both. Once they started turning it around, you're obviously not getting as many of the Grade A chances against you. I think the game becomes a little more predictable, there's not as many breakdowns. You're playing against some awesome teams every single night (and) you're going to give up chances, you're going to give up the odd odd-man rush; but if you can cut those down and make them more predictable, it gives a goaltender a better chance to make saves.

And the thing that's impre sed me the most with him is: Steve Largent Jersey He's one of the most sound technical goalies in the NHL. He's almost robotic. His ability to read, anticipate plays and then proce s that information and react, it's almost instantaneous. I think the thing that is most impre sive about this is how long he's kept that level of play up. ... And for the last two months, since they started this run and he came back from injury, he's been lights out.

SN: Pekka Rinne is the Predators. Was last week's game his last in Nashville?CM: You know what, I think there is only one man that can answer that question if it's his last game and I know from being in that situation, that's usually not a decision that's made until the offseason. I know that he loves the game. I have a feeling he's gonna play. I have a feeling he'll think about this long and hard after the season. I feel he wants to play that's just me. I just know how much he loves the game. I played with him. He's such a competitor and he's always pushing himself and I know he could still play, and play well at this level.

STANLEY CUP PREDICTIONS:

SN: In the last two games of the regular season, the Predators played the Hurricanes and won both. How important was it to get those wins and set the tone for their first-round series?CM: I think it was extremely important. I think if you ask Carolina because they didn't play well and they sat a lot of guys. ... I think if you hear the me sage out of their dre sing room: Eh, doesn't matter, it was a nothing game, we're just glad nobody got hurt Devin Singletary Youth Jersey . That's the spin that they'll put on it.

But I think for the Predators, the last time they played them before t