WATCH: Tuukka Rask Saves Bruins With Clutch Stop On Penalty Shot
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Thankfully, Tuukka Rask saved Boston from a world of controversy with his save on a penalty shot from the Flyers' Jakub Voracek on Tuesday night. If he could not make the stop, the penalty shot call by the officials would be dominating the conversation on Wednesday.
Rask made the clutch save on Voracek's penalty shot, which came just 39 seconds after the Bruins scored twice in a span of 1:18, ultimately salvaging the point the Bruins would earn in their eventual shootout loss. The problem, however, is that Rask should not have been put in a spot to have to stop a penalty shot in the first place.
As you can see briefly at the start of the video, Voracek arguably didn't even shoot the puck on his breakaway while Bruins defenseman Joe Morrow barely made contact with him with his stick, if any. There have been many egregious attempts to stop players on breakaways that have led to understandable calls for a penalty shot; this was not one of them.
Considering how well the Bruins played for long stretches on Tuesday night - they out-shot the Flyers 47-21, won 55 percent of faceoffs, and had four power play opportunities - they should have been able to get out of Philadelphia with a win. But they simply could not solve Flyers goalie Steve Mason and had to settle for one point. And if not for Rask's big penalty shot save, the result could have been even worse.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.