Rask a finalist for Vezina Trophy
Won award for top goaltender in 2013-14
While the best news for Tuukka Rask and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins was that he was back on the practice sheet at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday morning, the goaltender also received a nice kudos from the league’s general managers, who voted him in as one of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top netminder.
It was not a surprise. Rask posted a 26-8-6 record while leading the league in goals against average (2.12) and save percentage (.929) among goalies with at least 30 starts and was tied for second in the league in shutouts with five.
Rask, who made the final three with Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, won the award previously for his work in 201314, a year the B’s also finished first overall in the regular season.
The Finn already earned — with teammate Jaroslav Halak — a share of the William Jennings Trophy, given to the goalie tandem that allows the fewest goals. And if there’s a soft spot in his rock solid Vezina candidacy, it would be that he shares his workload with Halak more than Hellebuyck
and Vasilevskiy did with their respective backups. Hellebuyck (2.57 GAA, .922 SV%) went 31-21-5 while Vasilevskiy (2.56 GAA, .917 SV%) went 35-14-2.
Hellebuyck, who led the league with six shutouts, also played behind a defense that was decidedly weaker than the B’s.
The tandem arrangement that gave Rask ample inseason rest certainly helped him last season when it came to the playoffs, but that advantage is out the window now. Rask also believes he and other starters probably won’t play every playoff game, as he did last year.
“As far as the playoffs are concerned, you never know,” he said on a Zoom call.
“You lay off for four months and then you go right into playoff hockey, there might be some nagging injuries that are going to happen, your groins, your hips. And I think that’s part of the reason teams are allowed to have an unlimited amount of goalies on their roster now … I’d be surprised if you see goalies play every minute of every game during these playoffs because the situation’s so different. But you never know. Looking forward to it to see what happens.”
Rask said he doesn’t think he’ll be adversely affected by the layoff.
“I took a long break and I didn’t think about hockey at all. Now since we’ve come back into training camp, I haven’t noticed any difference in my game,” said Rask. “I think it helps to have some years under your belt and you know that it might take a couple of weeks to get back in your rhythm. But then again I think the key is not to do too much out there. And I think that has helped me in the past week or so, just give myself a break and get back into the groove slowly. I know the games are going to happen quickly and I guess we’ll find out how this break worked out. I’m not too worried about it, as long as you keep your mind sharp and keep your head in the game while you’re taking a break, I think that will work to your benefit.”
Meanwhile, Rask returned to full practice on Friday. On Tuesday, he left briefly but finished practice.
On Thursday, he left practice early and did not return. As to what was bothering him, the mystery may have been solved, as he was seen with a splint on his middle and ring fingers on his left, catching hand.