The Case for Tuukka Rask

Photo courtesy of Dan4th, Flickr

In 2006, the Boston Bruins traded away goaltender Andrew Raycroft to the Toronto Maple Leafs just one year removed (sans lockout) from winning the Calder Trophy for the league’s best goalie. In return, the B’s acquired a young Finnish goalie named Tuukka Rask, the Leafs’ first round pick, 21st overall, in the 2005 entry draft. Now, almost three and half years later, Tuukkamania is becoming a growing trend.

On Monday night, the rookie started his fourth straight game as Tim Thomas’ backup. By Tuesday morning, Rask was anchoring the team amidst their longest winning streak of the year: three games. Is it any surprise that the goaltender has made such an impact this early in the season, playing second string to this past year’s Vezina recipient? Nope. Not at all, actually.

Tuukka Rask was slated to become a restricted free agent once July 1 hit but became one of the two (and perhaps three if Marc Savard signs next) that Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli locked up prior to the offseason.

“It’s relieving to get out of the way,” remarked Rask on November 5, the night that his two-year, $2.5 million extension was announced. “I was glad that they wanted to keep me here and I really wanted to stay here too. It’s good to have that under the belt.”

Rask’s numbers are similar to Thomas with two glaring exceptions: one tally more in the win column in five less games played. Rask has only appeared in nine games all season but already has a winning record of 6-2-1 compared to Thomas’ 5-6-3. Sure, Thomas has two more shutouts, but it’s hard to make an argument when one of the shutouts came in a 1-0 shootout loss. And while on the topic of shootouts, Rask’s record is 2-1, Thomas is 1-2. In the extra period of overtime, Rask’s overall record is 3-1 while Thomas’ record is 1-3.

Could Rask just be getting more goal support than Tim Thomas is? Perhaps that’s it. Of the 14 games when Thomas starts, the Bruins’ offense scored only 29 goals, including being shutout twice, while the team has allowed 31 pucks in their own net. In Rask’s nine games, the Bruins have scored 25 times and allowed 22 goals against. Rask’s G.A.A. as of Tuesday morning stands at 2.27, a few points higher than Thomas’ 2.31 while their save percentage is almost identical and just under .920. Simply put, the numbers are just in Rask’s favor.

In the 2008-09 season, Rask was given just one start in Boston in which he turned away all 35 shots from the New York Rangers in a shutout win. The game turned out to be sneak peak of what Rask could be capable of. Rask spent the majority of the season with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, winning 33 of his 57 games started with four shutouts and a 2.50 G.A.A.. He was also responsible for this little outburst, which nearly cost him a suspension.

I mean, come on. How passionate is the guy? Nothing gets a team fired up like having their goalie throw a bag of pucks on the ice after giving up the game-winning goal in a shootout.

But as many great things as there are to say about Rask, there are plenty of criticisms on his gameplay as well. For one, the amount of rebounds that Rask gives up is frightening at times, often leaving loose pucks in front of the net for opposing forwards to pepper in. In his second game of the season against Colorado, Rask was beaten twice by the Avs on loose pucks in front of his own net. His confidence level is sometimes shaky, and he is easy to get down on himself when a mistake is made. But once he’s in the zone and focused, it’s hard to shake Rask.

Whether you’re a Thomas fan or not, you have to admit that Tuukka Rask is one of the most exciting prospects that the Bruins have had in awhile. If one netminder is off for Boston, it’s good to know that the other is capable in picking up the slack and could hand a helping hand in winning games. This could be the best goaltending tandem that the Bruins have had in years since both are capable starters.

The goalie will continuously challenge Thomas for the starting spot, sometimes even giving him a run for his money. Right now, Tuukka Rask is doing just that. So whatcha’ gonna do when Tuukkamania runs wild over you?

Sorry, it had to be done.

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