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BOSTON - Down to their third goaltender less than two weeks into the season?
Probably not how the Boston Bruins drew it up.
With
Tuukka Rask out with what’s been dubbed “general soreness” and
Anton Khudobin injured early into a Monday practice at Warrior Ice Arena, the Black and Gold will take to the TD Garden for a Tuesday night head-to-head with the Minnesota Wild with
Malcolm Subban in the Boston net and
Zane McIntyre as his backup.
Between the two, there’s a combined 31 minutes of NHL experience to their name. All by Subban, too, in a disastrous NHL debut back on Feb. 20, 2015, a night in which he was pulled after he allowed three goals on six shots against by the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center.
But with almost two years to think about the nightmarish start to his pro career, the 22-year-old Subban is ready to go, even if it’s by default, for another NHL crack.
“Ready to go,” Subban said when asked about tonight’s start with the Wild.
“Over the past couple of the years I’ve been eager to get back in that net, and this is my chance.”
The start to Subban’s fourth season in the organization has been anything but pleasant, however, as Subban arrives to Boston with zero wins and an .846 save percentage in four games for the Providence Bruins this season. But the Black and Gold do not want to focus on the negatives or the past in the former first-round draft choice (24th overall in 2012), but rather the opportunity.
“I just want him to go in tonight and play a real solid game because we know he can,” B’s coach
Claude Julien said when asked about Subban’s struggles in the AHL. “He’s a good goaltender. Just because he had a bit of a rough outing doesn’t mean he has to have one tonight.”
Subban will go against Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk, who has two wins and a .912 save percentage in four games this year, but enters play without a win and an .865 save percentage in five career head-to-heads with the Bruins from his time with the Wild and Edmonton Oilers.
Already two NHL goalies, the Bruins will also be without the services of top-six forward
David Backes, who will miss tonight’s contest with a “minor injury” that’s been dubbed day to day. The 32-year-old Backes has two goals and four points in five games for the B’s this season.
It’s not all bad for the Bruins, though, as
Adam McQuaid will make his season debut for the team, and slot into the club’s second pairing opposite
Torey Krug.
Still, their gameplan remains the same.
“Adjusting to injuries is not quite what we’re looking for,” Julien continued. “What we’re looking for is a solid performance from our team and I think that will trump any injury that we have.”
The Bruins won both of their games against the Wild last season.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010 and has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013. Ty is also the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com and can also be found in the New England Hockey Journal. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
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