Haggerty: Tuukka Rask At The Forefront Of Vezina Trophy Discussion
BOSTON (CBS) - Your Boston Bruins are 12-2 (including 12 in a row) since returning to action from the Winter Olympic break and through their efforts have climbed atop the Eastern Conference standings and currently hold the NHL's best record at 49-17-5.
None of which would be possible without the outstanding goaltending from Tuukka Rask this season.
The 26-year-old Finn is top five in nearly every goaltending category, and in a winning streak where defensive breakdowns and odd-man rushes have resulted in the benching of Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug, it's been the goalies - particularly Rask - that have carried the load.
"If there's one thing that still needs to be fine tuned it's the young guys on defense. They've been good, but you're talking about goaltenders in Chad Johnson and Tuukka Rask whose save percentages have been at .950 and above during this winning streak. Tuukka Rask has been amazing in some of these games and that's really covered for some of the breakaways and really nice chances that have been given up."
According to Joe Haggerty, Rask has played himself into the Vezina Trophy conversation - an award given annually to the league's best netminder.
"[Rask's] numbers have been off the charts during this winning streak. He's put himself at the forefront of the Vezina Trophy discussion with the way that he's played lately."
The Bruins return home tonight to face Montreal after a three-game road trip, and Haggs says Rask might have to "steal" the game and continue to dominate between the pipes in order to keep the streak alive.
Listen below for the full discussion:
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