Boston Bruins: Tuukka Rask Starting To Show Vezina Form
Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins are 5-0-1 in their last six games after starting the season 0-3. Additionally, the team remains undefeated on the road with a perfect 4-0-0 record. If that wasn’t assuring enough for fans of the Bruins, then Tuukka Rask‘s play as of late should certainly do the trick.
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After starting the season by allowing 22 goals in his first five games, Rask has recovered nicely by allowing only one in his next two games. Rask made multiple huge saves to keep the Bruins alive in their 3-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Friday as he appeared to look more like the Tuukka Rask of the past than the Rask that boasted a 4.40 Goals Against Average through his first five games of the season. The Bruins are going to be relying heavily on Tuukka Rask throughout the season as a result of their young and inexperienced defensive group, and he will need to be up to the task if the Bruins have any hope of making the playoffs this season. The Bruins have actually been one of the best offensive teams in the league to start the year, which bodes well for Tuukka Rask if it keeps up. If the Bruins can provide consistent goal support for their netminder, he won’t be required to post ridiculous statistics every game for his team to win, he’ll need to merely be good enough to bail out the defense from time-to-time.
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Rask has been able to drop his Goals Against Average to 3.29, which is still a far-cry from his usual 2.00-2.30 Goals Against Average, but it’s still a significant improvement. Rask’s record has also improved to 3-3-1 after starting off 0-3-0, and his save percentage is still sitting at a sub-0.900 mark, currently recorded at 0.889. The Bruins likely don’t have to worry about Rask’s numbers to start the season as he’s consistently been one of the best goalies in the league for the past few seasons.
The Bruins will be taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday and the Bruins could be giving Tuukka Rask the night off in favor of Jonas Gustavsson due to the back-to-back nature of the situation. Head coach Claude Julien has not shied away from playing Tuukka Rask in both the front and back-ends of these games in the past, but Gustavsson has played well enough to start the season to provide Rask some time off after his stellar performances against both the Coyotes and the Panthers.
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