Can’t mask controversy
Rask, Khudobin in real battle for No. 1
“Tuukka is our No. 1, Anton is our backup. Our backup’s played really well, and he’s pushing our No. 1.” — Bruce Cassidy
So there.
There is no goaltending controversy with the Bruins. Tuukka Rask is No. 1. Journeyman Anton Khudobin, he of the playing “really well,” is the backup. The coach says so. And that’s fine, except Cassidy, as he was closing down the Goaltending Controversy Hotline during his post-practice media session yesterday at Warrior Ice Arena, was unwilling to reveal who’ll be in the nets tonight when the Bruins host the en fuego Tampa Bay Lightning at the Garden.
“We’ll announce that tomorrow morning,” Cassidy told reporters. “It’s still under discussion.” Hmmm.
The NHL-best Lightning have scored 87 goals, second-most in the league. Center Steven Stamkos leads the league in points with 36, and teammate Nikita Kucherov is right behind with 35.
One would think this to be an assignment for “our No. 1,” Tuukka Rask, except that’s still under discussion.
Which means what’s really going on here is the No. 1 job is up for grabs. Right?
“Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far,” Cassidy said. “What I would say is we’re not afraid to use either goaltender right now. There’s no exact science in this. We’re trying to put the best one in there we feel is best for the team and still keep the individual in mind without one sitting longer than necessary.”
This is a nice little diplomatic tap dance Cassidy is doing, and I don’t blame him. While the Bruins have won just three of Rask’s 13 starts, he is nonetheless a former Vezina Trophy winner. He started 27 regular-season games for the 2010-11 Stanley Cup champion Bruins, and though he didn’t get any playoff action that spring, he was in the nets when the B’s made it all the way to Game 6 of the Cup finals two years later.
As for Khudobin, the simple fact is the Bruins have played better with him. He’s 7-0-2 with a .932 save percentage and a 2.22 goals-against average, making him the envy of every goalie who’s been kicking around for years and years hoping for a shot.
It sounds like what Cassidy was really saying yesterday was, “We hope Tuukka is our No. 1.”
Rask has the resume and pedigree to go on a run if the Bruins find themselves in the tourney next spring, and it makes sense for the coach to choose his words carefully. Burying Rask makes no sense.
But say this about Khudobin: What a great story it’ll be if the Kazakhstan Kid, who at 31 is no kid at all, shakes off the cobwebs of career anonymity and chooses this season to emerge as a big-time goaltender. He’s already played for Minnesota, Anaheim and Carolina, along with an earlier hitch with the Bruins. He’s played in the AHL for Houston, Providence, Charlotte and San Diego, and for the Florida Everglades and Texas Wildcatters in the ECHL.
The Rise of the Vagabond Goalie is a facet of the NHL that hasn’t changed in, like, ever. The league toned down the fighting, added the shootout and plopped an expansion club in Las Vegas, but it always will be a place where long-suffering minor league/backup goalies can gain late-career prominence.
Tim Thomas, hero of the B’s 2011 Cup, toiled in the minors and in Europe for most of a decade before getting steady work here.
And, of course, there’s the patron saint of vagabond goalies, the great Johnny Bower, who seemed destined for a lifetime with the old Cleveland Barons of the AHL before he emerged as a stalwart for four Stanley Cup-winning teams with the Toronto Maple Leafs, all after turning 37. Incredibly, Bower is a Hall of Famer who actually played more games in the AHL than in the NHL.
“All I thought about coming into training camp was being in the best shape I could be in,” Khudobin said yesterday. “I never worried about playing time. It’s all about getting a chance and playing as good as possible.”
So how will all this play out? Rask does know all the scenarios.
“You have to earn your playing time,” he said. “If I play lights-out all the time, I’m sure it’s going to resolve itself. Or if I play lights-out and Dobby plays lights-out, then both of us are going to play. If I don’t play good and he plays better, then he’s going to play.”
Considering these words are being spoken by the man his coach says is the No. 1 goaltender, we do indeed have a fight for the starting job.