Boston Bruins: Is Tuukka Rask better than Carey Price?

When the Boston Bruins meet the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, we’ll see two of the top goalies in the NHL square off.

Boston comes to town with Tuukka Rask, who currently is in one of the best stretches of his career. Rask doesn’t have a regulation loss this year. In eight starts, he has seven wins and one overtime loss.

Rask also sports a .949 SV% and a 1.49 GAA, both of which lead the league. With these numbers, it’s safe to say Rask is an early Vezina favorite.

Montreal counters Rask with Carey Price. Price has been one of the league’s top goalies for the better part of a decade now. He continues to be a solid in goal for Montreal

Price is 6-4-1 in 11 starts this season, and he has a .915 SV% and a 2.64 GAA. These numbers are below his career average, but Price nonetheless is above-average.

Above-average, however, doesn’t cut it in Montreal…especially not for the goaltender. Price faced some questions this season, and some people even say that Price could lose his job sooner rather than later.

All this appears to be hyperbole. Price, although he started slow this year, is still one of the best goalies in the league. But, is Price better than Rask?

Right now, the answer is obvious: Rask is the better goaltender. He has more wins in fewer starts, and his statistics are simply way better. If I need to win a game tonight, no question I’ll pick Rask over Price.

That’s how things look now though. For all we know, Rask can cool off and Price can turn it on for the rest of the year. Would anybody be surprised if Price looks like the better goalie at the end of year?

One thing is for certain though: Rask and Price face much different workloads for their respective teams.

Rask is part of the best goalie tandem in the NHL with Jaroslav Halak. Because the Bruins can trust Halak, Rask doesn’t have to play every game. In 14 games this year, Rask only has eight starts.

With this reduced workload, Rask can stay rested during the season. And, more importantly, he’ll be fresh and poised for a long playoff run.

Price’s workload is much different than Rask’s. Because Montreal doesn’t have a reliable backup like Halak, Price needs to play as much as possible. As such, he’s one of the few true workhorses left in the game.

Price started 11 of Montreal’s 14 games this year. At this rate, he’ll start 64 games in goal. Compare that to Rask, who’s on pace for 47 starts.

A lot of this has to do with Price’s cap hit. Price currently counts for $10.5 million on Montreal’s cap. This is more than Rask and Halak combined!

Such a heavy workload isn’t sustainable year after year, not even for a goalie as talented as price. It’s no surprise Price looks rather pedestrian in goal this season.

So, to go back to our original comparison of Rask and Price. Rask is in better form right now, but in a vacuum, Price may be the more talented goalie.

That said, based on Rask’s and Price’s respective workloads, it’s almost certain that Rask will be the better goalie at the end of the season. And honestly, that’s all that matters.