Boston willing to give struggling Rask some time to sharpen his game

BOSTON — The Bruins won’t sit back and let their playoff chances be affected by a shaky netminder. That’s because they think they have enough time, and cushion in the standings, to let Tuukka Rask shed that characterization.

Starting a five-day, three-city road trip Wednesday in Colorado, the Bruins (24-13-2) held a firm grip on a playoff spot. The lead on Detroit (18-18-6) is 8 points for the second wild-card slot in the East. If the race were tighter — Columbus, the next team behind Detroit, was 13 points out of the postseason, as of Tuesday — the Bruins might be thinking differently.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy reiterated the team’s support of Rask, the veteran stopper who has allowed 14 goals in four games (.844 save percentage) since returning from July hip surgery.

“We made a decision as a group when Tuukka came back,” Cassidy said on a late-morning Zoom call Tuesday. “Anybody coming back at any level, it’s going to take a little bit of time. We understood that. We’re not at that point yet where we’re going to blow everything up.”

Linus Ullmark, who has given up 18 goals in his last seven starts — all wins — will start against the powerful Avalanche (29-8-3, No. 1 in the West). Cassidy didn’t reveal his plans, but Rask could take the net Friday against the Coyotes, who are battling with the Canadiens for lottery odds.

When Rask declared himself ready, the Bruins planned to give him at least one start in the AHL before adding him to the NHL roster. Rask signed an AHL tryout contract Jan. 6, and was in line to start for Providence against Lehigh Valley Jan. 7. That game, and another one two days later, was wiped out by COVID.