Be sure to 'like' Hockeybuzz on Facebook!
The Bruins are going back to Tuukka Rask.
Despise a four-game losing streak for the 30-year-old Rask (and a four-game winning streak for de facto starter Anton Khudobin), Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy is sticking with his No. 1 goalie for a pivotal head-to-head with the NHL-best Lightning at TD Garden on Wednesday night.
“I don’t know if there’s one thing in particular,… Cassidy said of his deciding factor when it came to Rask or Khudobin tonight. “[Rask] hasn’t played a lot lately, Anton [Khudobin] has, well-documented that he’s playing well. I tried to answer it the other day that we gotta get Tuukka’s game [going], and the best way to do that is get him starts, and we’ll get him one tonight.…
But the start likely comes with the B’s hoping Rask can build off Sunday’s 32-of-35 loss to the Oilers.
“I thought his game was solid. I think the first goal he’s off his angle, the second one is in off our foot, and the third one’s a good shot,… Cassidy said. “So, the first one is a stoppable puck, and as I’ve said before, I think it comes down, a lot of times with Tuukka, to one save or one goal at the other end.…
They’ll need plenty of both against a Lightning team that comes to Boston with the third-most goals for in the NHL this season and the league’s best power play. Oh, and the NHL’s top goal differential.
“It is a good challenge for him,… Cassidy acknowledged. “He’s getting back in the net and against a good hockey club, knowing the other guys [are] playing well. We’ve also said we don’t mind the competition. We’ve been looking for someone to push Tuukka. We’ve got it now.
“We’d like to see him respond as well.…
Rask will find some extra help, too, as both Brad Marchand and David Backes will return to the lineup tonight. Marchand after missing the last eight of 10 games for the B’s, and Backes after a stomach procedure that was expected to keep him on the shelf for eight weeks (he’s returned in four).
But the return of Backes and Marchand, naturally, comes with more injury subtractions, as top-six forwards Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci will miss tonight’s contest. DeBrusk, though able to finish the game, was apparently injured in Sunday’s loss to the Oilers, while Krejci re-aggravated an old injury.
And as good as getting Backes and Marchand back is, losing DeBrusk and Krejci seems worse.
DeBrusk has been on fire since returning to the lineup from his healthy scratch, with two goals and six points and 18 shots in six games played, while having Krejci back has provided a perfect one-two punch down the middle with Patrice Bergeron on line one and Krejci on line two. The Bruins have won five of six contests with both of those players in the lineup, too, which sort of speaks for itself.
Ryan Spooner, who missed Sunday’s game, will be back in the lineup as well.
This is the first of four head-to-heads between the B’s and Bolts this season.
Loose pucks: Based on the way Cassidy talked about it, don’t be surprised if the Bruins go back to an 11-forward, 7-defenseman look tonight… Both Anders Bjork and Adam McQuaid made their return to the ice today. Bjork is working his way back from an ‘undisclosed’ injury and could return for the weekend, while McQuaid is still recovering from a broken fibula, with no change on his current timetable to return… These stats are typically meaningless, but the Lightning have won just five of their last 23 road games against the Bruins, dating back to 2006.
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.