Khudobin ready to keep it going
The understudy’s time in the center stage spotlight probably came to an end yesterday.
If so, what a run it was for Anton Khudobin.
The Bruins’ No. 2 goaltender, whose play was described earlier this season by coach Bruce Cassidy as “erratic,” capped maybe the best run of suc- cess he’s enjoyed between the pipes with a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in a Garden matinee.
It was the fourth consecutive win by the undermanned, but super hard-working Bruins, all four wins by Khudobin.
“I’ll take (this stretch) as the best in (my) career,” he said.
There will likely be a groundswell of opinion around town that Khudobin should keep playing. There are those ill-informed dolts who’ll contend the B’s should move on from Tuukka Rask. But it seems close to a sure thing that Rask will reclaim his crease for tomorrow’s match against the Edmonton Oilers, and there is no reason to doubt he will quickly re-establish his credentials as the B’s best puck-stopper.
Before the game, Cassidy explained at some length his reasoning for coming back with Khudobin yesterday and, presumably, using Rask tomorrow.
“Dobby has played well (enough) to put him back in there. People can say it’s a no-brainer. To put Tuukka back in there after not practicing (Thursday), (for) an afternoon game, no (pregame) shots at all, I don’t think that’s fair, to be honest. That’s not the best situation to win. (Rask will) get a practice (today), so (tomorrow) certainly looks like a better option.
“It’s both Dobby playing well, and this wouldn’t have been the best time for Tuukka.”
Cassidy wasn’t quite ready to name Rask his starter against the Oilers.
“Now we’ll re-assess,” he said. “I know it sounds like we’re kicking it down the curb, but that’s what we are doing, to be honest with you.”
Cassidy will certainly hope that Rask, who hasn’t played since Nov. 15, will come back in peak form. But Khudobin was fabulous for a club that was very worried entering this season about having adequate backup goaltending. His solid, no-rebounds play has been, if we’re being honest, a bit surprising. There actually were a couple of glimpses of erratic play late in yesterday’s game, pucks sliding loose around the crease.
But overall, he has been great, and was yesterday right to the end when he stood his ground with 7.5 seconds left against a dangerous shot from the left boards by sniper Phil Kessel, with creasecrashing winger Patric Hornqvist in his face.
“He didn’t have as much work as he’s had,” said Cassidy of his 17 saves. “I think Dobby almost gets better with volume. We’ve got to be careful where that volume is coming from, but listen, he’s battled from start to finish in every game he’s been in. He wants to win. That’s his makeup.”
Khudobin was battling hard for the puck at 17:44 of the second period when his save off Hornqvist bounced high in the air above him. He was flat on his back when the puck dropped right onto his chest and from there was knocked in by Sidney Crosby, tying the game at 3.
The goal was reviewed at great length, and the refs took a look at goalie interference, too, and finally deemed it a good goal.
“I hear the whistle and they start celebrating,” said Khudobin. “The referees saw probably many views from different angles and they heard the whistle and they count it. There is nothing I can say about it because I don’t know if the puck crossed the goal line before the whistle or after the whistle. I don’t know. So they made the decision. That’s what they are for.”
As for Rask’s recent plight, Khudobin sympathizes.
“It’s never easy,” he said. “It’s never easy and we are partners. I wish him well, really good (in) game ahead of us. He’s going to get in games, I don’t know when. I hope he’s going to get into a rhythm, too, because we both do the same job. I’m going out there ( and) I try to get the win. If he’s going to go there, then same thing. And I wish him luck in everything. So there is nothing changed about that.”
What has changed is the team’s confidence that their understudy can, if needed, carry the show.