Rask’s recent roll a good sign for B’s
TORONTO — The Bruins are on a decided uptick.
For the first time all season, they had all their defenseman healthy and at their disposal with the return of Charlie McAvoy Saturday night. And in the third period of the B’s 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs, it finally showed as they stifled the combustible Leafs.
They climbed to within two points of Toronto for second place in the Atlantic Division. And they’re starting to get the secondary scoring that has been missing for most of the season.
But perhaps the best sign for the B’s longterm health is the continued improved play of goalie Tuukka Rask. His 30-save performance at Scotiabank Arena was his fifth victory in as many tries since his rough outing in Carolina on Dec. 23. He’s allowed just six goals in those five games, with a .955 save percentage and 1.40 goals against, and he’s starting to look like the Rask who went 21 straight games last season without a regulation loss (19-0-2). His season save percentage is up to .921, a hair below his .922 career percentage.
“I think so,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “Listen, we weren’t very good in front of him there in the first (15 shots), he had to make some real good saves around the net and then we broke down on the power play again (in the second) with the breakaways. He gave us a chance to win there. He kept us in it in the second period and we got a couple f late ones. I thought in the third we were much better in front of him, kept it clean for him for the most part. And, yes, he does look like he’s back to where he’s on his game. He’s under control, he doesn’t seem to be getting rattled by anything. We’re like everyone else. We need goaltending to win, so it’s good to see it.”
After the game, Rask downplayed the work he had to do in the first two periods as well as any hot streak he might be starting.
“”It’s good to get wins. It’s one game at a time,” said Rask. “You try to give your team a chance. Ups and downs hap- pen and I just go game-bygame. But I feel good.”
The one-game-at-a-time mantra may be the mother of all cliches, but it is working right now for Rask, whose game has mostly been on a slow upturn since he took a short two-game leave of absence for personal reasons in early November.
“You just go out there, go game-by-game, try to get the wins and not let your mind wander too far ahead. That’s the key for the whole team,” said Rask.
Mixing it up
Whether it’s a sign of things to come or not, David Backes did not see much ice time in the second period after the B’s fell behind 2-1. He also lost a couple of late shifts when the B’s were killing the clock and the Leafs had their goalie pulled. He played only 10:39.
“A little bit of mixing it up,” said Cassidy. “I didn’t like our effort, so we just, as you know with me sometimes, we’re going to get down to three lines, get guys more involved. He was one of the guys in the second where there was a slot play that we need to be better on on their goal. We had some breakdowns there and he was part of that. At the end of the day, it was just a decision I made.”
Heinen on hunt
One player who saw his time bumped up was Danton Heinen, who had a good night hunting pucks even if his scoring touch remained among the missing.
“He played a real good game for us,” said Cassidy. “He’s the old man on that line (with Ryan Donato and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson) who’s doling out the advice there to those younger guys and I think he’s doing a real good job away from the puck. Even in the last minute, I thought he did a terrific job on the 6-on-5. I’m trying to incorporate him a little more on the kill with him losing some power-play time now to Donato.”