From Goalie to Goalie: Mason Thrilled for Rinne on First NHL Goal

Up until about 10 p.m. CT on Jan. 9, 2020, Chris Mason had the distinction of being the lone goaltender in Nashville Predators history to score a goal.
He was on the call for the second.
Now a color commentator for the Preds on FOX Sports Tennessee broadcasts, Mason was high above the ice at the United Center in Chicago, when he watched Pekka Rinne lob a shot high into the air and into an empty net to seal a 5-2 victory against the Blackhawks on Thursday night.

The feat is incredibly rare - only 11 other goaltenders have ever done it, and not even all of them have shot the puck themselves. Just ask Mason.
His goal with the Preds back in 2006 came because a member of the Coyotes made an errant pass and put the puck right into his own net. Because Mason was the last member of the Predators to touch the puck, he received credit.

"Mine was brutal," Mason laughed. "I just got credit for it. I was the last person to touch it, so I don't even really count that I actually got one. And then I got another the same way in the American League in Milwaukee. I didn't touch it, I just was the last person that touched it, so I got lucky like that."
There was a bit of luck involved in Rinne's tally too, but it sure does take a ton of skill, poise and wherewithal to try and pull it off in a game.
It wasn't the first time the big Finn has tried to score either. Rinne shoots pucks into empty nets in practice all the time, and he's had many conversations expressing his desire and dream to do it one day.
Well, dream no more, Peks.
"He's been open about wanting to score, he's thought about it and he's very honest with those types of things and those accomplishments," Mason said of Rinne. "To see it was just, it was just a perfect shot. And when he handled the puck at first, I'm like, 'He's going for it.' The way he lined it up, he had the time and he just launched a perfect shot over everybody. When it went in, it was just crazy."
The excitement is infectious between Mason and his broadcast partner, Willy Daunic, on the FS-TN broadcast, and the jubilation is equally satisfying between Voice of the Preds Pete Weber and Hal Gill on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network.

"Willy and I were just screaming, and I just could not believe it," Mason said. "You see that the bench and Pekka's reaction, you saw him still smiling when we got on the plane after the game, and it was just so awesome to witness in person. It was one of the best moments I think I've ever witnessed as a player or a broadcaster. It was a pretty special night."
Indeed it was, and as Mason and every single individual involved with the Nashville organization would tell you, it couldn't have happened to a better person.
It may have taken him 650 career games, but better late than never, right?
"I must've watched it over 50 times at least," Mason said. "There's some great views of it, and the reactions - it's just one of those special things that just doesn't happen a lot in sports. When it does, it's just awesome… Now he's only got one thing left to do, and that's hoist Lord Stanley."