
Avery topples Rask/By S. Bradley
BOSTON — Relegated to second-banana status behind Tim Thomas since he lost the Bruins’ season-opener Oct. 9, Tuukka Rask made the start tonight and was the victim of the types of bounces that would make some goaltenders wish they stayed home.
The New York Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals just 27 seconds apart en route to a 3-2 win at TD Garden.
The first goal was batted out of the air with a backhand swing by Rangers forward Artem Anisimov, whose stick was close to being too high in the air. The second goal looked like a pinball, as defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Mark Stuart (with his glove) both got a piece of it and Rask flailed at it to no avail.
“You haven’t played in two weeks and then that happens,” Rask said after the game, “you’re like holy shit, but you can’t start thinking about it. You’ve got to keep the game tight and try to save the next one, but obviously, tough breaks.”
With Thomas off to a hot start with four straight wins since the second game of the season, Rask has been left to watch and practice without knowing when he might get a chance to play again. Since his arrival in North America three years ago, he has mostly been “The Man” in the net for Providence and Boston, so this situation is a bit new to the former first-round pick.
He admitted to some rust early in the game.
“In the third, I actually got some shots and kind of got into the flow a little bit,” said Rask, who finished with 27 saves. “You know, the first two [goals], [it’s] just different because you’re kind of questioning where you’re standing and where your angles are. That’s obvious when you haven’t played, but as the game went on I felt better, yes.”
Just based on the Bruins’ schedule, and not on his performance compared to Thomas’ play, Rask might not play again for as long as two weeks. The Bruins’ next game isn’t until Thursday, and that starts a stretch of just three games in seven days. So Rask might want to hone his ability to shake off the rust earlier in a contest.
“Nothing really you can do, nothing you can do, just work hard and do the same things,” explained Rask. “No matter how much you think it’s a game-like situation in practice, it’s not the same when the game starts, it’s always different and we’ll see.”
I don´t think Tuuka was that bad. Games like that happened last year and it wasn´t much of a deal for the young kid. He needs more playing time wich he´ll get later on the season. For now I would go with Thomas as my number 1. But what was really nice to see last night was Jordan Caron. What a game but the youngster. And how about Brad “on your face” Marchand? Damn i love that kid.
I agree with GR90 – I hope fans (esp the bandwagon ones) are not too quick to judge Tuukka by two games. Last season he proved he is able to compete with the best goalies in the league. For some reason Tuukka has had the misfortune to have a team that isn’t playing it’s best in front of him. The team I saw play last night was not the same team that I saw in the opener. Maybe he needs a little more time to really settle into his game, but he’s just too good for anyone to justify any negative comments about him.
Timmy took way too much grief at the end of last season and over the summer. I do not want to see the same happen to Tuukka.
i’m a big tuukka fan, but timmah stops one of those two wonky goals and shuts down mark staal’s breakaway (thanks, recchi).
bottom line, the team is playing with more confidence in front of timmah.
GR- I completely agree. The two first goals were pretty weak and he really didn’t have a chance. He’s played two games and the season is only 6 games old for us. Let him start next game and get rolling.
I feel so bad for Tuukka… he carried this team into the playoffs last year, and kept them alive even when everyone else was breaking down. He gets zero support in the season opener in Prague, even though he plays incredibly (The defense was porous, and he stopped two outright breakaways before he gave up the third) and ends up with a loss. Then tonight, two odd bounces find their way into the net… that’s tough. Completely not his fault… let’s hope he doesn’t get down on himself.
I for one do not want to see people crapping all over Tuukka like they did to Timmy last year, blaming him for losses. People need to understand that their team will not win every night, and it’s not usually the goaltender who blows it for them (unless you’re the Blue Jackets)… but I guarantee you, some ignorant drive-by fans are going to disrespect Tuuk anyway. Tuuk is an incredible goaltender, and deserves as much respect as anyone on the team… people better not forget what he did for this team last year.