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Mason, Blue Jackets seek another shutout against Wild

Jan 10, 2009 - 11:43 AM Minnesota (20-17-3) at Columbus (19-18-4),

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Rookie netminder Steve Mason apparently can remain impenetrable even without his team's lone All-Star in the lineup.

Looking to build off yet another shutout, Mason and the Columbus Blue Jackets will likely be without captain Rick Nash again when they host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

Without the support of Nash, Mason took matters into his own hands and made 45 saves as the Blue Jackets halted a two-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory over the Washington Capitals on Friday.

Mason turned aside 18 shots in each of the first and third periods while making nine saves in the second en route to his league-leading sixth shutout of the season. The 20-year-old was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month in both November and December.

Washington outshot Columbus, 45-23, overall - and by an 18-4 margin in the opening session - but could not solve Mason, who has allowed two or fewer goals in 15 of his last 19 starts. He has yielded only one even-strength tally in his past seven games.

Such production is a major reason why the Blue Jackets have remained in the Western Conference playoff picture. In order to continue their strong play, they will have to solve the league's strongest defensive team without Nash, who sprained his right knee in the first period of Tuesday's 3-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

The Wild have yielded an NHL-low 90 goals, but are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

In that contest, All-Star netminder Niklas Backstrom stretched his shutout streak to 149 minutes, 9 seconds before the Flyers scored in the second period.