Steve Mason allowed three goals on 31 shots and was saddled with a loss as the Blue Jackets were defeated by Nashville by a 3-2 score Friday. Mason has failed to distinguish himself at the NHL level after his remarkable rookie season, but without major competition for playing time in Columbus at the moment due to an injury to Mark Dekanich, he should be expected to play the majority of games for the foreseeable future.

Steve Mason will get the start in goal for Columbus on Friday. Mason is coming off two mediocre seasons after being named the NHL's Calder Trophy winner in 2008-09 The Blue Jackets play three games in four nights starting tonight and if Mason plays well in each game, he may stay between the pipes. Stay tuned as Mason is a third goalie at best in deeper pools fantasy-wise at this time.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have given goaltender Steve Mason a vote of confidence with their offseason. There was speculation that the Jackets would either deal a lot of prospects for Ilya Bryzgalov or deal for another 'tender. With the moves to bring in James Wisniewski and Jeff Carter, the Jackets were relaying a message. Mason is their man, he just better act like it. We expect Mason to put up a decent season, a sort of rebound from his horrible 2010-11 campaign.

The Blue Jackets made a number of significant changes to their roster this off-season, but GM Scott Howson chose to stick with Steve Mason as the team's starting netminder. The 23-year-old keeper has posted poor statical seasons the last two seasons after he busted onto the NHL scene with a superb rookie campaign. Columbus is hoping that a new goalie coach, in Ian Clark, and an upgraded offensive attack will help get Mason more settled in the crease this year. He is a risky option given his recent struggles, but a new direction and fresh faces in the organization could make him an interesting player to gamble on in 2011-12.

The Blue Jackets don't anticipate making a major change in goal for the 2011-12 season. "We're always looking for ways to improve the team, so we're open to any discussion," Columbus GM Scott Howson said. "But I never thought Steve wasn't going to be the guy." Although Mason has struggled for two consecutive seasons, Columbus doesn't plan to bring in anyone who will serve as tough competition for him and haven't ruled out the possibility of bringing back Mathieu Garon.