Improving backup a net gain for Rask
Anton Khudobin just might have saved the Bruins season. His win against the Islanders on March 25 halted a fourgame slide and catapulted the B’s to a six-game win streak that got them into the playoffs. It was also part of a personal six-game win streak.
The flip side to Khudobin’s story is that his early struggles played a big role in the B’s being in such dire straits midway through the season. They did not record their second win from a backup goalie until Feb. 11 when Khudobin beat the Canucks.
That’s not good enough, and general manager Don
Sweeney said he’ll look long and hard into making a change there. With an eye toward the expansion draft, Khudobin was signed to a two-year deal last summer. Providence prospects Zane
McIntyre and Malcolm Subban are both trying to make the jump.
“You’d love to see a guy go on a run,” Sweeney said. “We’ve said that about Malcolm since he’s been part of this organization. Zane came up and he had a couple of games where you thought ‘He’s got it’ and it slipped away from him at the end.
“Anton is firmly in the mix. You look at what he did down the stretch and how can he not be. But that’s the goalie we need. I can’t have any doubts or reservations, so we’re going to meet as a group to make sure we’re making the right decision. If someone passes Anton, whether it be Zane or Malcolm, then we move in that direction. But we’ve been patient for the development standpoint to try and look internally. But it’s a position we’ve sort of been chasing our tail on a little bit for a couple of years now. I’m very aware of it, do not run from it and I’d like it to be resolved.”
Sweeney conceded that, as a result of the backup issues,
Tuukka Rask was overworked at times.
“For Tuukka, he had a tremendous start to the season for us and we needed it. Our backup goalie (Khudobin) got hurt. Anton was off to a slow start. Zane was coming in as a young player. Malcolm played a game. We needed (Rask),” Sweeney said. “The middle of the season, I thought we rode him probably a little too hard and he broke down a little bit. Then he finished on such a high note, the player we all know Tuukka is, the competitor he is. . . . He has to be the go-to guy and I think he proved that down the stretch and in the playoffs that he can be that goaltender.”
No talks yet with Z
Sweeney said he’s not had any negotiations with Zdeno
Chara about a contract extension. Chara, who has one year left on his deal, can sign an extension after July 1 and has said he’d like one. Sweeney wasn’t tipping his hand on what he was thinking.
“I thought Zdeno had a really good year,” the GM said. “He loved the mentoring role. He elevated his play in the playoffs. He played more than we probably would have liked to have played him. He had a good year. . . . You realize he’s invaluable. Health and age? Father time gets us all. So we’ll continue to have discussions with him and where he sees himself at.”
Doctor’s office
No Bruins have been scheduled for surgery yet, but there are still medical decisions to be made on Patrice
Bergeron (sports hernia), Rask (groin), Kevan Miller (shoulder/bicep) and Frank
Vatrano (foot). . . . The B’s have three unrestricted free agents — Drew Stafford, Dominic Moore and John-Michael Liles. Sweeney has not said if they would be getting contract offers, and he did not rule out using a buyout on any player.