No. 1 effort Tuukka good
Tuukka Rask was not the whole story for the Bruins at the Garden last night, not on a night when the B’s delivered a dominant performance against one of the NHL’s most elite clubs.
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But Rask did what a No. 1 goaltender is paid to do: He made the big saves at big moments, critical contributions in the Bruins’ improbable 3-2 victory over the conference-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
Rask did a nice job silencing his critics, some of whom have opined that his personal four-game losing streak meant that coach Bruce Cassidy should hand the starter’s job to Anton Khudobin. That was nonsense, of course, but it didn’t mean Rask wasn’t delighted to get the ‘W.’
“It’s great,” he said. “It’s awesome. I needed that one.”
Cassidy knew very well that a win was needed by the 30-year-old netminder.
“He’s a goalie, he’s a pro, he’s a competitor,” the coach said. “Need is a strong word. I think at some point as a goalie you need wins. Was this the time? Probably.
“There was lot of chatter lately. So for him to step up and get it done and for us to play in front of him — so he did not have to stand on his head — deep down I think he’s going to feel good about this and sleep well.”
That’s exactly what Cassidy envisioned when he opted to come with Rask for a second successive start after his loss to Edmonton Sunday. Rask was glad to get the call.
“It’s good to get consecutive games,” he said. “I thought I played a good game against Edmonton. We didn’t get the win, obviously. But it was a good thing that we had another opportunity. We felt as a group like we didn’t have our best game (vs. the Oilers). We wanted to bounce back. And (last night) we definitely did.”
Cassidy has spoken frequently of a team’s need for one more goal and one more save to get wins. The B’s had that, as they moved to a quick 3-0 lead and Rask made the saves that ensured the momentum did not swing Tampa Bay’s way.
There were several instances during the game, but two stood out:
With 31.2 seconds left in the second period and the B’s up 3-1, the Bolts broke in 3-on-2. The pass went to sniper Nikita Kucherov on left wing, and he swept a quick, hard forehander on net. But Rask was quicker: Sliding across to block his shot.
“It’s one of those saves you slide in there and try to get everything possible in front of it,” Rask said. “Those are the saves that people expect you to make.
“You talk about it after (some) games that he should have saved that to keep the lead. And now we’re talking about it was a timely save. You want to do it, you try to do it and hopefully more often than not you save those.”
The Lightning cut the lead to 3-2 on Steven Stamkos’ very familiar power play one-timer early the third.
Then big moment No. 2 with 2:50 left: Rask made another game-saver when Ryan Callahan deflected a Dan Girardi point shot in the slot. He made a terrific stop with the right pad.
“We talk about the goaltender needing to make saves and the team playing well in front of him, that’s what got away from us,” Cassidy said. “That’s where (Rask) helped himself big-time (last night). That’s what we need. It’s an imperfect game. We’re not going to be mistakes-free every night.
“He was really good there. I’m sure (the Kucherov save) affected his confidence between periods. It has to when you make big saves. I mean, that’s what you’re paid to do, right?”
Rask’s teammates understood his 208th career victory was not just another on a long list for him or for the team.
“We played a pretty good game in front of him,” said defenseman Torey Krug. “But we’re playing one of the best offensive teams in the league. They had their push and they had their chances. And when they did, Tooks made a lot of big saves.”
In other words, Tuukka Rask did his job.