Zdeno Chara Defends Tuukka Rask As Championship-Caliber Goaltender: 'Tuukka Is Boston's Wall'
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tuukka Rask has twice gotten the Bruins deep into a Stanley Cup Final, but both times, the Bruins ended up losing. Because of that, and because his tenure immediately followed Conn Smythe winner and Stanley Cup champion Tim Thomas, the world-class netminder has carried a certain level of criticism with him throughout his career.
And whether it was out of sheer boredom, or whether it generated from a moment of missing hockey, orrrr if Chara was feeling guilty about spilling the beans on his goaltender's noxious flatulence a couple of weeks ago, the longtime Bruins captain took some time on Monday to defend Rask against any doubters.
"The other day I've been asked if I think Tuukka can get us to win another Championship," Chara wrote. "This season Tuukka ranks first in goals against average among all goalies with more than 15 games played. 2.22 goals against average. With his excellent performances he helped our team to be leader in points around the NHL. So there is your answer. Tuukka is 'Boston Wall.'"
Oh, Zdeno. If only it were that easy.
Of course, despite Rask being the best goaltender in the world this year and despite Rask being a top-five goaltender of the past decade and despite Rask putting forth comparable if not better playoff stats than the aforementioned Tim Thomas, the knock on Rask has been and will continue to be that he hasn't carried the Bruins to a championship.
It'll continue that way until Rask lifts that Cup as a starter instead of a backup. Until then, all the social media postings in the world can't change overwhelming narratives in a city where the goalie bears the brunt of the blame for a Game 7 team-wide no-show where the star winger felt compelled to hop off the ice with 15 seconds left in a period and where his team failed to score a goal until just two minutes remained in the game.
But, still. Very nice Instagram post from the Bruins captain right there. Perhaps Rask will forgive Chara for last week's commentary.