Sometimes I have to wonder if Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask is his own worst enemy.
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Boston Bruins Tuukka Rask has a lot to prove this season. He has to make up for his woefully inadequate .915 save percentage last year. He has to prove he can be a Vezina-caliber goaltender again. Finally, he’s got to prove he can be the reliable netminder in critical games for the Black and Gold.
Tuukka Rask bowed out at the last minute in the Bruins final game of the 2015-16 season. Some Bruins fans still haven’t forgiven him for leaving the team high-and-dry with the B’s playoff hopes on the line. The Ottawa Senators handily trounced Niklas Svedberg and the B’s 6-1 and gave the final playoff spot to the Detroit Red Wings.
The fans remembered it, and so did the media. The radio waves offered many unkind thoughts about the Finnish netminder and how the Bruins organization were crazy to give the one-time Vezina winner a seven million dollar contract.
So far, Rask has worked hard to earn back some of the fans’ good will. He’s gone 3-for-3 in the crease at the start of the season. He’s put up a .947 save percentage and a 1.68 goals against average. He’s also got two assists, good enough to put him tied for fourth in points. He’s been impressive so far to date.
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Tonight, the Montreal Canadiens come to town. At the moment, the Bruins and the Habs are among the top teams in the Atlantic Division. It’s an important game for the Bruins and they need their best goaltender out there. (Anton Khudobin looked awful early on in the B’s 4-1 loss to Toronto, where he let in three of the first seven shots for the Leafs.)
Unfortunately, Tuukka Rask may bow out tonight. According to the Bruins website, Rask has been dealing with some lower body issues that have plagued him since opening night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“The general soreness he had last week is still there,” offered Bruins bench boss Claude Julien on Rask after the B’s win over New Jersey. “[The medical staff] will see tomorrow how he’s doing.”
As a fan of the Boston Bruins, I have to say that letting Tuukka Rask sit this one out is a royally bad idea. Like inviting Matt Cooke to Marc Savard’s birthday party bad idea.
The Bruins will be going up against Carey Price who seems to have the B’s number. He’s currently one of the best goaltenders on the planet. P.K. Subban may be gone, but there are plenty of Canadiens on the roster that will have no problem doing all they can to draw penalties against the B’s. The Bruins will need their best goaltender on the ice to stop them.
If Rask sits out tomorrow, it’s going to bring up a lot of ill feelings from some of the fans. It will definately be open season on Tuukka in the media. If you’re from the Boston area, you know most of the big names in this area want Tuukka traded, moved, and possibly deported. It will only get worse if Khudobin has another bad game and the B’s are blown out at home.
I don’t want to see Tuukka Rask hurt. But I want him to show the same kind of determination players like Patrice Bergeron bring to the game every night. He needs to start this game at the very least or he’ll lose a lot of the respect he has recently earned.
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