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Mason gets pulled, Pavelski scores hat trick in Flyers vs. Sharks

Steve Mason

Philadelphia Flyers goalie Steve Mason reaches for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

AP

Philadelphia goalie Steve Mason and Sharks forward Joe Pavelski are on two very different paths right now. They intercepted tonight and the results were disastrous for Mason.

The Flyers netminder had been struggling for weeks before he posted a 33-save shutout against Detroit on Jan. 28. That looked like a turning point for him as he went on to allow just three goals over three February games.

Then the Olympic break started and it looks like his forced vacation came at an inopportune time for him. His hot streak now a distant memory, Mason surrendered four goals on 13 shots before being pulled midway through the second period of Philadelphia’s game against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

Mason’s fate was cemented after he allowed three goals over the span of 6:24 minutes, including two markers within 35 seconds of each other:

He was replaced by Ray Emery, who wasn’t immediately able to stop the Sharks’ onslaught. Joe Pavelski found the back of the net against him to score his third goal of the second period.

With the hat trick, Pavelski has set a new career-high with 32 goals and plenty of time to spare.

Update: Emery didn’t fare much better, so with a little more than nine minutes left to play, Philadelphia went back to Mason.

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