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Mason plays like last season, carries Flyers past Bruins

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The Flyers squeaked out a victory over the Bruins thanks in part to Shayne Gostisbehere's goal in the ninth round of the shootout and Steve Mason's 45 saves.

After riding great goaltending to a playoff spot last season, most of the Philadelphia Flyers’ best 2016-17 moments have come despite Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth.

Mason turned back the clock about a year against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. It’s one of those performances that might prompt optimistic Flyers fans to wonder if Mason will turn things around going forward.

In a way, his enthusiastic celebration after a 3-2 shootout win seemed a little over-the-top, yet can you really blame him?

For one thing, it’s been a rough ride for Mason, who came into Tuesday with an ugly .892 save percentage and 5-8-3 record. He deserves an enormous share of the credit for this win as the Bruins rattled off a gaudy 47-21 shots on goal advantage.

Mason and Tuukka Rask (19 of 21 saves) were tested often in an exciting shootout after the Bruins stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to send this game beyond regulation.

With two straight wins and home games in four of their next six, this is an opportunity for Mason and the Flyers to build up confidence and standings points. They probably can’t count on Mason to do this every night, yet it was a nice thing to see nonetheless.