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Boston Bruins: 3 stars of first-round series against the Capitals

By Matt Hawkins

May 19, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Brad Marchand (63) celebrates his game tying goal against the Washington Capitals with defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) and center Patrice Bergeron (37) during the third period in game three of the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
May 19, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Brad Marchand (63) celebrates his game tying goal against the Washington Capitals with defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) and center Patrice Bergeron (37) during the third period in game three of the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 17, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (40) makes a save on the shot by Washington Capitals left wing Carl Hagelin (62) during the second period in game two of the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (40) makes a save on the shot by Washington Capitals left wing Carl Hagelin (62) during the second period in game two of the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Boston Bruins 3 Stars of First Round
First Star: Tuukka Rask – Goaltender

After struggling a bit in this four starts last postseason and then leaving the Toronto Bubble for a family emergency, Tuukka Rask‘s ability and loyalty were once again questioned.

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However, despite the noise around his name, Rask was very good during the regular season posting a 2.29 goals-against average (GAA), .913 save percentage (SV%), two shutouts, and .667 quality start percentage (QS%) in 24 games.

Rask continued his strong play and elevated it to the next level in the first round against Washington, saving 159 of the 169 shots he faced (.941 SV%) and having just a 1.81 GAA. Rask made at least 35 saves in three of the five games and only had one start not count as a quality start (Game 1).

Furthermore, despite what some may say, he didn’t let in any goals that would be considered soft. He may the easy saves and he made most of the difficult ones (of course not the 10 shots that went in but these were all either deflections or scored on 2-on-1’s).

Overall, Rask was huge for the B’s when he needed to be and is just one of the reasons why they were able to shutdown the Caps’ high-powered offense. While rookie Jeremy Swayman was phenomenal when called upon during the regular season, there’s no telling if he would’ve been able to handle the pressure of Games 1 to 3 as Rask did.

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