All eyes are on Tuukka
Rask must maintain lofty standard or watch Swayman take over in net
Tuukka Rask has owned the Boston Bruins’ net since Tim Thomas decided to go his own way in the summer of 2012. Despite his status as the B’s resident lightning rod, the club has been the better for it. His 306 wins are tops in the organization that has been around for nearly a century, he’s been instrumental in the team making two Stanley Cup finals.
But for the first time since Rask took over the net, the club has a viable option behind him in rookie Jeremy Swayman. And the leash should be a appropriately short.
Do not be mistaken. This is not, and has never been, a Rask-bashing space. The level of criticism he’s received in this town has been ludicrous. His .921 career save percentage in the regular season puts him among the greats that ever played the game. He’s been better in the playoffs, posting a .926 save percentage. Did he get sick and miss an important regular-season finale? Yes. Did he put his family first and leave the bubble last year? Yes. Those are mere blips on what has been a stellar career.
But this is not about the 34-year-old Rask’s past, nor is it about the UFA-tobe’s murky future.
This is about the here and now and winning the Stanley Cup. The B’s are not the favorites, but there aren’t many prognosticators who’d be the least bit
surprised if they were the last team standing. GM Don Sweeney did a terrific job at the deadline, bolstering the back end with Mike Reilly (the winner and loser of the decision to let Zdeno Chara walk will finally be determined in the next two weeks) and then fixing his forward lines with star-once-again Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar.
We’ve said this before, but this just might be the last kick at the can for a while.
Rask can’t be merely good. History shows he must be great. In his two runs to the Cup finals, he posted a .940 save percentage and 1.88 goals against average in 2013, then two years ago his GAA was 2.02 and save percentage was .934.
In his Vezina Trophy-winning season of 2013-14 and playing behind a President’s Trophy-winning team, his .928 save percentage and 1.99 GAA in the postseason did not cut it. The B’s were bounced in the second round.
Whether he can reach back to 2013 or even 2019 is anyone’s guess at this point, but there are reasons for concern. From March 7 to April 14, he played only one period of hockey, on March 25, when he had to leave the game
after one period in his comeback attempt. It was believed that he had some sort of back ailment, though he was seen in one postgame Zoom call with ice on his hip.
His second return went much better, through the first seven games at least. With the exception of a rough start in Buffalo in which he did not get a decision,
Rask went 6- 0 with a pair of shutouts. But he didn’t exactly finish strong. He allowed five goals on 23 shots to the Rangers when the B’s collapsed in the third period, then gave up two on 18 shots to the Islanders, needing to go to OT for the win in a game in which his team had pretty much dominated. The two goals weren’t exactly the tip
your-cap, perfect type of shots.
Enter young Swayman. The organization was understandably cautious with the kid fresh out of Orono, Maine. His magnificent college career put him at the top of their prospect list, but the road to NHL stardom is littered with early flameouts. The B’s have been mindful of that, so much so that despite Swayman’s
meteoric rise in Providence, they gave the more experienced Daniel Vladar the first crack when both Rask and Jaroslav Halak (COVID) were unavailable.
But once given a chance, Swayman did not disappoint. He posted a 7-3 record with a .945 save percentage and 1.50 GAA.
Both in actions and in words, it is clear the B’s are ready and willing to play the kid if need be. If they were going to live or die with Rask, the easiest thing in the world would have been to name Halak, who’s been a good veteran sounding board for Rask, as the backup. Instead, coach Bruce Cassidy went with the more uncomfortable decision to name Swayman as the backup. No argument here.
And earlier this week, president Cam Neely expressed his confidence in Swayman.
“Just based on the short sample size that we got and the way he’s played, from my perspective and probably the players’ perspective, they’re going to be confident playing in front of him,” said Neely. “You don’t get experience until you start playing, so that’s how you gain your experience. So, we’ll see what happens here in the playoffs.”
When the B’s kick off their first-round series against the Washington Capitals tonight, it will still be Rask’s net. Excellence, it seems, is the only thing that guarantees he keeps it.