Mathieu Garon helped the Blue Jackets rebound from one of their worst losses with two straight wins. But coach Ken Hitchcock believes it's time to give Steve Mason a chance to regain his goaltending equilibrium.

Mason will start tonight at Dallas coming off the poorest outing of his short career, yielding eight goals in a 9-1 loss to Detroit on Nov. 11.

"He needs to get back in and get some wind in his sails," Hitchcock said. "He played four great games (in a row) and he, like our team, had a stinker."

After winning NHL Rookie of the Year, Mason has struggled at times in his second season. He surrendered six or more goals on three occasions.

During the weekend, he developed back spasms but was pain-free in practice yesterday.

"Hopefully, he hasn't loss the momentum that he had," Hitchcock said.

Hitchcock plans to play Garon, who has won four of five starts, Saturday at Nashville.

Torres hopes to return

Winger Raffi Torres hopes to return to the lineup after missing two games because of a broken upper jaw bone. He was struck in the face by a deflected puck against Detroit.

He practiced yesterday while wearing a face shield that protected his jaw and mouth area.

"If I say I'm ready to go, I will try to play the same game I'm used to playing," Torres said. "I'll finish hits and go to the front of the net."

Injury update

Center Sammy Pahlsson's ailing elbow is much improved, but back spasms might keep him off the ice against the Stars. He began feeling pain Tuesday in practice, Hitchcock said. Defenseman Mike Commodore, out the past two games for conditioning reasons, is likely to play. Commodore's fitness level dropped after having the flu, a pulled groin and a charley horse.

treed@dispatch.com