Boston Bruins: We don’t need an injured goaltender this play-offs
By Luke Ryan
The Boston Bruins had countless injuries by the end of last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. They may well start these with a key player nursing an injury.
Tuukka Rask is recovering from a broken finger and this isn’t the best news for Boston Bruins fans. Not only is he part of the William M. Jennings Trophy winning tandem, but he should be a strong bet for the Vezina Trophy too.
Last season’s run to the Stanley Cup Final at times certainly rode on Tuukka Rask’s shoulders. In fact, it’s fair to say him being at full fitness is vital to any chance at glory this post-season.
Of course, the Boston Bruins have a strong backup goaltender in Jaroslav Halak. He should be able to fill-in comfortably, but you really want your first-choice in fairness.
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A broken finger might well be a lesser injury for a defenseman or a forward, but for a goaltender it could be the reason to hesitate that extra split-second on a save and that could cost a game or indeed a series.
Dan Vladar will be determined to prove himself a worthy back-up to Halak should Rask not be ready to go in the round-robin tournament and this in itself is great for the goaltending future of the Boston Bruins.
A little extra experience isn’t going to hurt Dan Vladar going forward and a little extra rest surely wouldn’t go amiss for Tuukka Rask.
Between a training camp where the Boston Bruins don’t seem to be able cop even the smallest amount of luck around ‘unfit to play’ players and now with our first-choice nursing a finger injury, it really isn’t going to plan right about now.
In a season where we expect the Stanley Cup to be harder than ever to win, the odds are starting to stack against us, even if Vegas doesn’t seem to think so.
No more box jumps for Tuukka Rask, you’d think, and a definite focus on not stopping too many shots on that side in practice. Maybe that will do the trick.
Two players return, another 'unfit to play'. dark. Next
A team lacking in goaltending doesn’t often go far in the Stanley Cup; here’s hoping Tuukka somehow pulls it out of the hat and recovers to give the same level of performance we got last summer.