Boston Bruins

Tuukka Rask steps up for big win over Preds
March 29, 2017, 2:33 AM ET [40 Comments]
Ty Anderson
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Bruins interim head coach Bruce Cassidy was not afraid to demand a better compete and effort from his No. 1 goaltender last week.

And based on Tuesday’s results, maybe he should do it more often.

The message undoubtedly got through to the 30-year-old Rask, as he delivered a sensational outing that helped propel the Bruins to a 4-1 home victory over the Predators, with 24 stops on 25 shots against.

The bounceback did not go unnoticed by the B’s bench boss, either.

“I loved it,” Cassidy said of Rask’s game. “He really worked hard to find pucks in traffic, they created some good opportunities, and even the goal against, he found it. They just tipped it at eye level, so it was going to be a tough one, and we need to be better in the shooting lane on that one. But I thought he was terrific. Very pleased with his performance.”

The Bruins spotted Rask a two-goal edge through 20 minutes, but given the trouble the Bruins had with leads in Rask’s last start, there was no way that you were going to find comfort without No. 40 stepping up to the plate and shutting the door for the full 60.


He did that in a second period that saw the Predators pepper Rask for nine shots against (while allowing just five at the other end of the ice), helped cool a Nashville power play that entered action with goals on five of their last 25 opportunities to an 0-for-3 finish on the night. His best save of the period came with a denial on the Preds’ Viktor Arvidsson where Rask stayed with the shooter with the patience and poise that made him a Vezina favorite in the first three months of the season.

“Well that was the one he had the most time, you know, he had time to take a look but there was a couple,” Rask said of the Arvidsson stop. “There was that one deflection right in front, he got the rebound and I didn’t see where the puck was. There was a couple tips and stuff, but that was the one maybe that stands out for people because he had so much time.”

Rask carried that over into the second period, too, as he stopped all but one of Nashville’s 10 shots in the final frame (a perfect tip-in putaway from Craig Smith in front of Rask) and finished the night as the game’s winning goalie and the No. 1 star.

“I think he did,” Cassidy said when asked if Rask upped his compete when the Preds cranked up the heat later in the game. “I think there was a lot of traffic, there were a lot of plays behind the goal line where you’re going post-to-post. That’s where it gets a little more strenuous, your game, as opposed to just having great technique. If you’ve got to track pucks, you’ve got to find pucks, you’ve got to fight through bodies, and he did a real good job with it.”

This was one of those areas that you wanted to see Rask rebound in, as there were few ‘leaky’ pucks around him, even with the breakdowns that happened in front of him at times against a Preds group that loves to create those kinds of chances.

“I thought we played well in front of him, but like I said, when we broke down, it seemed to be in those areas where we couldn’t break the puck up below our goal line, and a lot of bodies going on, a lot of point shots too,” Cassidy continued. “And this is the type of team, [Ryan] Ellis, [P.K.] Subban, [Roman] Josi, they rely on that part of the game and traffic. It was going to be a test for them there. I thought he answered the bell, and in a terrific manner.”

It’s also no secret that nearly a week of rest had to help Rask, too, in what was his 60th start of the season. (Even before tonight Rask was straight-up lethal on more than three days rest this year, with nine wins and a .931 save percentage in 13 games.)

Oh, and there’s also the whole snapping the crunch-time losing streak narrative that Rask has been saddled with in recent days.

“Personally, I mean, I’ve lost four games but played a couple good games there and we just didn’t get the bounces,” Rask said after the victory, refusing to take the bait. “But, you know, we kind of got in winning habits there in Long Island and me stepping in there, I just wanted to make sure that I gave us a chance to win and the guys did the rest. So, it was a great team effort today.”

One that may have started with last week’s callout from the coach.

And, y’know, a rest the overworked goalie sorely needed.