In goal? Wait and see
Cassidy holds off on net pick
An 82-game schedule presents its balancing acts for coaches.
Right now, the Bruins’ Bruce Cassidy has a pretty important one on his hands. Figuring it out could go a long way toward determining whether the B’s have a successful season.
Cassidy had three days between games to decide whether to stick with Anton Khudobin in net for tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils or go back to Tuukka Rask, the as-of-now unquestioned No. 1 of this team.
Cassidy has chosen to take all the allotted time. He’ll name his starter today, most likely at the morning skate in Newark, N.J., where the Bruins will try to extend their two-game win streak against the surprisingly strong Devils.
Modest though the win streak may be, it is the Bruins’ first one of the season. And Khudobin is chiefly responsible for it, earning both victories while allowing one goal in each game.
“I’ll tell you what the easy part is first,” said Cassidy. “At the start of the year, we were concerned about our backup goaltender. So we’re no longer concerned about our backup goaltending, so that’s the good news. Tuukka, we thought, has played good hockey for us and hasn’t been rewarded. One more big save or one more big goal turns a lot of his games around. So it’s a good problem to have.
“Now, do you go with your hot hand and leave your No. 1 sitting for a while? Does he start to wonder what the hell is going on? That’s it. That’s the decision. And we have to keep them both in a good place and not lose out on Doby’s good run and keep Tuukka focused and confident in his game. That’s what we’re battling against. I talk to (goalie coach Bob Essensa) about it every day and we’ll make our decision. And hopefully it’s the right one.
“Having said all that, it’s a long year, so no matter who we use, there are lot of starts (for each goalie). I don’t think Doby would all of a sudden go ice cold if we use Tuukka tomorrow. And I don’t think Tuukka’s going to blow a gasket if we stick with the hot hand.”
There would be few who’d blame Cassidy if he stuck with Khudobin tonight. Khudobin is 5-0-2 with a .935 save percentage and 2.17 goals against average. Rask is 3-7-2 with a .897 SP and 2.89 GA.
Some observers were calling for Khudobin before this point. But quite frankly, he wasn’t playing as well earlier in the season as he did in Los Angeles and San Jose. In his second start of the year, he made things interesting before the B’s eventually nailed down a 6-3 win over Vancouver. In his third start, he blew a 4-1 lead to the Buffalo Sabres and the B’s managed only the loser point when they fell in overtime.
Those were not performances that inspired confidence.
But in Los Angeles, he was as solid and under control as we’ve seen him in his second stint with the B’s, keeping his rebounds to the minimum. Against the Sharks, the play in front of him loosened up a bit and he made a few of his swashbuckling type saves in the 37-stop performance, and he did not make anything harder than it had to be.
Rask has not had the start like he did last year, which was good enough to make him an All-Star. He simply has not come up with enough big saves. What is also true is that he hasn’t gotten much support. The B’s have scored two or fewer goals in eight of his 12 starts.
But with the way Khudobin is going, one goal may be good enough for him.
Getting Rask right is certainly a long-term goal, but after the B’s lost 5-of-6 earlier this month, it would not be a shock if Cassidy continued to think shortterm and ride Khudobin just a little longer.