Chiarelli On Toucher & Rich: No Comment On Rask Rumors

BOSTON (CBS) – With all the Tuukka Rask trade rumors that are swirling around, there is one person you will not hear from regarding them.

"I don't comment on rumors guys," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher and Rich Thursday morning.

With both Tim Thomas and Rask playing well to start the season, there has been some talk of team's inquiring about Rask. While Chiarelli would not talk rumors, only saying Columbus' Rick Nash is a "good player," he did stress the importance of a good backup netminder.

"It's very important; it's depth," said Chiarelli. "With our situation, where you don't want to overplay Tim and you want to make sure Tuukka gets his games, for that reason it's important. When you look across the league, if your number-one is struggling, if you don't have a strong backup it's a double whammy. And there are teams around the league going through that situation."

The Bruins won their sixth straight Tuesday night, beating the Devils 4-3 at the Garden thanks to three third period goals. Chiarelli said the win, which moved the B's to ninth in the Eastern Conference, felt like a playoff game.

"Last night was a real heavy game. New Jersey is a good team and they play like us; they're heavy and they're strong on the puck," said Chiarelli. "It was like a playoff game last night. It's a good game for our guys, and then our depth guys come in and score."

Next week, the Bruins and Buffalo Sabres will meet for the first time since Milan Lucic and Ryan Miller collided on Saturday. Miller is still talking about the incident, upset that Lucic was not punished by the league.

While they may be talking off the ice, Chiarelli is not expected much to happen on the ice come next Wednesday.

"Often times these things build up and nothing happens. I can understand them being emotional about it. In a physical sense they were outmatched. We're a physical team and teams engage us. When that happens, a lot of other things happen. I wouldn't anticipate anything, but we'll see what happens," said Chiarelli.

The Bruins are hoping to have both Andrew Ference and Daniel Paille back by the time they face the Sabres. Chiarelli said both are "day-to-day" and could return Thursday or Saturday.

Listen to Peter Chiarelli's interview with Toucher & Rich in its entirety, including his thoughts if this year's team is better than last...

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• Boston Bruins
• Ryan Miller
• Tuukka Rask