The Boston Bruins are set to play the Montreal Canadiens for the second time on Tuesday night. That games marks the beginning of a stretch in which the Bruins play five games in seven nights.
After the game in Montreal, the Bruins head to Ottawa on the second night of a back-to-back.
Boston then heads home to take on the Rangers in a special Black Friday matinee. The Bruins will don their new jerseys.
The Bruins take on Montreal again on Sunday (this time in Boston), before they finish up this stretch next Tuesday against the Hurricanes.
With only a few days off in this stretch of five games, the Bruins will rely heavily on goaltending. Fortunately, both goalies should be up to the task.
Ideally, coach Bruce Cassidy will continue to split time with the goalies over the next week. One should get three starts, while the other should get two.
Jaroslav Halak will likely get the nod in Montreal if he’s healthy. He missed his last expected start against Minnesota with an illness.
Halak’s been great this season in the backup role. He has four wins and only one regulation loss in eight starts.
He hasn’t played in over a week now, so the Bruins hope there’s no rust in his game. Halak’s last start was on Saturday the 16th, and it was one of his best; he stopped 42 out of 44 shots against Washington.
If Halak starts against Montreal, Tuukka Rask will get the nod in Ottawa. After a brief rough patch, Rask has been his usual self over his last few starts.
Rask currently is on a four-game winning streak. In those four games, he stopped 122 of 131 shots.
His hot streak comes at the right time for the Bruins given the upcoming schedule. Rask will see a lot of the net over the next week, and Boston him at his best.
Stretches like this are when Boston’s two-headed monster in goal really comes into play. The Bruins can comfortably rely on both goalies; they don’t have to overwork the starter to maintain their place in the standings.
All this will pay off down the line, as Rask will likely be rested and ready to go for another late-season push. At this point, that’s all that matters.