Rask back with B’s
Returns following two-game absence
Tuukka Rask returned to Bruins practice yesterday morning following his leave of absence.
The Bruins goalie wasn’t at practice last Friday following the Bruins’ 8-5 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at home the night before. The team announced that day he would take a leave of absence.
Yesterday, he was ready to put that behind him.
“I have a job. My job is to be a hockey goalie for the Boston Bruins, and I also have another job title, and that’s a family man,” Rask said. “This was a time when deep inside my heart I felt like I needed to take time to be with my family and make things right. That took three days. I’m back to work, and I’m ready to battle with these guys.”
Rask said he didn’t consider retiring at any point during his time away.
“Resigning and quitting the job wasn’t in question,” he said. ‘I think in the big scheme of things, if you take two or three days and get back out there, it’s not going to affect your career that much. But if you just decide to quit, I don’t think that’s the right decision.”
After Sunday night’s game, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said he believed Rask would return yesterday, in time to make the Bruins’ road trip that begins tonight in Colorado against the Avalanche.
“He’s been here a long time, he’s a big part of the team, so it’s good to see him back,” Cassidy said. “Hopefully the time away was what he needed to be squared away and he’s ready to get back to work. That’s kind of the approach we’re going to take with him, and see how it plays out.”
Rask missed the weekend back-to-back with the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights, in which Jaroslav Halak played admirably, saving 77of-79 shots in a pair of victories.
Rask was a full participant in practice yesterday morning.
In eight games this season, Rask has posted a 3.05 goalsagainst average and .901 save percentage. He allowed three goals in relief of Halak in the loss to the Canucks.
Halak played well in Rask’s absence. He is second in the league with a 1.77 GAA and .945 save percentage overall.
Halak will start tonight, with Rask likely to play one of the back-to-back contests in Dallas (Friday) or Arizona (Saturday).
“We’ll look at a certain amount of starts, but we have to balance out how well Jaro’s played,” Cassidy said. “Jaro’s been hot, we still have a lot of hockey left.”