Until recently, Steve Mason has been playing with goaltending equipment that didn't fit him. "There were times with the old stuff when I was getting hit in the ribs and was full of bruises," Mason said. "You almost become scared of getting hit with the puck so you're turning your body, and . that's not the right way to play. With the new stuff you have confidence that pucks aren't going to hurt you, and because it is larger, some pucks that might have squeaked through before are now hitting a piece of equipment." So if the old equipment was so bad before, why didn't he make the switch sooner? Well, the answer to that is simple: he didn't know he could and no one ever told him. That's...well, on the plus side, he has a 7-3-1 record, 2.67 GAA, and .922 save percentage since making the switch. After three rough seasons, he might finally rebound in 2012-13.