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With the Oilers in town for a Sunday head-to-head, the Bruins are going back to Tuukka Rask.
That may seem like an odd move given the current hot streak of Anton Khudobin (4-0-0 record and a .945 save percentage over that span), but it makes perfect sense for Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.
See, while I’ve more than advocated for the Bruins to ride Khudobin ‘til the wheels fall off, the Bruins cannot let Tuukka Rask rot on the bench. This is a goaltender that’s accustomed to playing anywhere from 60 to 70 games a season, and a goalie that has not played in close to two weeks.
“[Rask]’s used to playing a lot of hockey,… Cassidy said of the 30-year-old goalie that’s been by all means benched since his Nov. 15 loss to Anaheim. “I guess you can say, for him, it’s a bit like coming off an injury. He’s been practicing well, and it’s his turn to go. We’re getting terrific goaltending out of Dobby, and we’d like to get terrific goaltending out of Tuukka so everything can be terrific.…
But his appearance is also important because the Black and Gold want to see what Rask still has in the tank. That’s not to suggest that they think Rask is ‘done’ at just 30, but rather an open acknowledgement that they want to see how Rask responds to this adversity. Rask has not been challenged for a No. 1 job since Tim Thomas walked away from hockey, and while Rask experienced instant success as the team’s No. 1 when he backstopped them to a Cup Final appearance in 2013, there’s no sense in denying the fact that the overall numbers have dipped year after year.
Of course, some of that comes back to the team-wide struggles of worse Black and Gold groups, but the Bruins obviously expect their $7 million goalie to step up to the challenge in spite of all that. Cassidy by all means said that when he admitted that Rask has not delivered on ‘big saves’ this year.
If Rask delivers those big saves on Sunday, too, then the Bruins are back in a situation where Cassidy will have to debate which goaltender to go with on a nightly basis, and with a Wednesday head-to-head with the Lightning looming large. It’s a scenario that he’d welcome, too.
“You create competition in your lineup for anybody, I think it makes you better,… Cassidy, who has pushed buttons across his roster, said. “It just makes you better. And we’ll have difficult decisions to make, but then they become easy if you know you can trust both of them at any position.… Rask is 3-7-2 with an .897 save percentage this season.
Loose pucks: Bruins center Ryan Spooner is a game-time decision. Spooner has skated in two games since returning from a groin injury, but was given a maintenance day on Saturday. Jordan Szwarz was recalled from Providence on an emergency basis… Don’t expect to see Peter Cehlarik in action today. Cehlarik was injured in Friday’s victory, and left the Garden on crutches. The Bruins are still assessing his situation… Brad Marchand and David Backes remain out of action.
Ty Anderson is the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com, and has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010. He can be heard on the Saturday Skate program on 93.7 WEEI (Boston), and has been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.