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 Center Sean Couturier had a goal and assist, Mason made 34 saves
and the Flyers beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Thursday night.
"Guys are doing a great job blocking shots, clearing lanes and
making my job easier," Mason said. "The last couple games have
definitely been a lot cleaner and the results are there for it."
Defenseman Michael Del Zotto, right winger Jakub Voracek and left
winger Pierre-Edouard Bellemare also scored goals to help
Philadelphia (6-5-2) win its fourth straight home game.
"We played very good defensive hockey," Voracek said. "Yeah we gave
up 35 shots but most of them were from the outside. It was very
positive for us."
Center Nick Bjugstad had the lone goal for Florida (4-3-4). The
Panthers had earned a point in their previous seven games, going
4-0-3, and hadn't lost in regulation in their first six road games
(2-0-4).
Mason posted his first win of the season on Tuesday night against
Edmonton and followed with another strong effort.
 "It's huge to come out quick and get a two-goal cushion and give you
something to work with," said Mason, who has stopped 101 of the last
104 shots he's faced. "When you don't have goals, it gives a
goaltender no room for error so when you get ahead, you're relaxed
and it gives you that much more confidence."
Couturier gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead by deflecting left winger
Brayden Schenn's slap shot around goalie Roberto Luongo's left pad
3:53 into the game. It was only the fourth time in 13 games this
season the Flyers scored first.
Del Zotto made it 2-0 less than three minutes later with his first
goal since joining the Flyers. Couturier won a faceoff and Schenn
made a cross-ice pass to Del Zotto, who lifted a shot into the upper
half of the net.
The Panthers hadn't allowed two goals in the first period until that
point.
"I thought we had a few good shifts, got some pucks to the net but
just didn't get bodies there for rebounds and stuff," center Rocco
Grimaldi said. "There were some pucks sitting there we just didn't
get to. It's a credit to their defense. They boxed us out pretty
good and their goalie played well."
Bellemare scored his third goal of the season on a snap shot 2:50
into the second period for a 3-0 lead.
Bjugstad's power-play goal cut it to 3-1 later in the second period.
He put the puck in the net on a rebound of left winger Jimmy Hayes'
backhander. It was the first power-play goal scored against the
Flyers in Philadelphia this season.
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But the Flyers answered 39 seconds later when center Claude Giroux
fed Voracek a perfect pass on a two-on-one breakaway. Voracek tapped
it in for his sixth goal of the season.
"It's big after we score a goal, you have to come out hard the next
few shifts and kind of change the momentum, and it was tough,"
Bjugstad said. "It was kind of a weird deal. I think someone got
tripped up and turned into an odd-man rush. Tough goal but we will
learn from that mistake."
Despite several injuries and a tough October schedule, the Flyers
are 6-3 since going winless in their first four games.
"Everyone has to step it up when you have a few injuries," Couturier
said. "It's opportunities for others to show what they can do and
take advantage of it."
NOTES: Flyers LW Michael Raffl is expected to miss six weeks with a
lower-body injury. Chris VandeVelde replaced him on the top line
with C Claude Giroux and RW Jakub Voracek to start the game, but RW
Wayne Simmonds moved over to the left side and took VandeVelde's
spot after the first period. ... Flyers D Braydon Coburn and Andrew
MacDonald took part in the morning skate. Both players remain
sidelined by lower-body injuries but are closer to returning. ...
The Panthers were without LW Jonathan Huberdeau (illness), C Dave
Bolland (lower body), LW Sean Bergenheim (lower body) and C Brandon
Pirri (upper body). ... C Aleksander Barkov returned to Florida's
lineup after missing three games with a lower-body injury. ...
Panthers D Aaron Ekblad was back in Philadelphia for the first time
since the 18-year-old Ekblad was selected first overall in the NHL
draft in June, which was held at the Wells Fargo Center. ... The
Panthers beat the Flyers 2-1 in Florida on Nov. 1.
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