Sometimes, you need your goalie to steal you one. That certainly was the case with the Boston Bruins and Tuukka Rask on Thursday night.
The Bruins welcomed Buffalo to TD Garden, but things didn’t exactly start as planned for Boston.
Buffalo jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first period thanks to a power play goal. The Sabres then continued to pour it on, to the point at which they outshout Boston 13-0!
The Bruins looked lost for a bit, but they were fortunate to tie the game in the first when Brad Marchand tipped a Zdeno Chara slapshot into the net.
Then, Boston got another goal from Marchand and one from David Pastrnak later on to take a 3-1 lead. The game turned in Boston’s favor big time, at least on the scoreboard.
Buffalo got another goal back in the third, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Boston’s offensive output. The Bruins emerged with a 3-2 victory.
Emerged, however, probably isn’t the right word to use. Escaped fits better. The Bruins escaped with a win on Thursday largely because of the play of Tuukka Rask.
Rask had one of his best games of the season against Buffalo. He didn’t have a shutout, but he was up to the task all night. He made 36 saves, which is a season-high.
And not all of these saves were easy. Almost everybody by now saw Rask’s diving save with the blocker.
We call this elite.@tuukkarask | #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/fFoR37JoBW
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 22, 2019
This save pretty much covers it all for a goalie. It requires athleticism, flexibility, awareness, ingenuity, and a little bit of luck, of course.
Rask used everything he had to make the save, and it proved to be the difference in the game.
But that other-worldly save was only part of Rask’s stellar night. As important as that save was, Rask’s play in the first period made a bigger difference.
The Bruins didn’t start with any energy, and Buffalo took advantage. The Sabres scored a goal, but they easily could have scored three. Rask, however, made sure that didn’t happen.
Rask had a tough stretch of games a few weeks ago, but he recovered nicely over last couple of starts. If he continues to play like he did against Buffalo, expect another long season in Boston.