Kalman: Bruins Have To Think Of Future, Remain Cautious About Rask's Return
By Matt Kalman, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- After losing three straight games, allowing 14 goals in that span, losing forward David Backes to elbow surgery and then losing forward David Pastrnak to a two-game suspension, the Bruins were due to get some positive news.
Although they weren't popping any corks after practice Friday at Warrior Ice Arena, they at least had to be heartened that goaltender Tuukka Rask made it through the entire practice without incident.
Rask was on the ice with his teammates for the first time since he made 28 saves in the 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils in the Bruins' home opener. Although he started the season 3-0-0 and has a 1.68 goals-against average and .947 save percentage, Rask was bothered by an undisclosed injury from the first game (a 6-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 13) on.
Rask should be healthy enough to at least serve as the backup against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, when the Bruins start a three-game road trip that continues against Florida (Tuesday) and Tampa Bay (Thursday) and will have major implications for the Bruins' spot in the Atlantic Division standings.
"It's good enough that I feel comfortable skating and being out there, so that's a good sign," Rask said. "It's very tough to be 100 percent without taking a month or two off with these kind of things. But I feel good enough and comfortable to be out there."
The enthusiasm about Rask's second day on the ice (he skated with just goaltending coach Bob Essensa on Thursday) should've been tempered by the above statement. From the sound of it, Rask wasn't planning on being 100 percent this season. When asked to clarify, however, he said "I expect to be 100 percent at some point."
The contradictory nature of his two statements told you all you needed to know about Rask's situation. It's in his best interest, and the best interest of the Bruins, to get back into the lineup because with Anton Khudobin (upper body) also injured, the Bruins have been leaning on rookies Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre and received disastrous results.
But rushing back and possibly making his injury worse would be worse than the Bruins losing a bunch more games. Although the Bruins and Rask won't reveal what the injury is, as per club policy, it's obviously something unpredictable. After beating the Blue Jackets and showing signs of the injury in the third period, Rask didn't skate for two days and backed up Khudobin against Toronto Oct. 15. Two nights later, he was back between the pipes and made 34 saves in a win against the Winnipeg Jets.
Rask said he felt fine against the Jets but that he was laboring three nights later in his win against the Devils.
So the only conclusion that can be drawn here is no one knows what the immediate future holds for Rask. He's determined to not be a part-time participant in team activities and make maintenance days a regular part of his routine.
"I think hopefully we're past that ... because it's not good for anybody that I play a game and then I'm off for a day and then I play a game and off for a day," Rask said. "You need to have quality practice time and then still stay healthy. So I think that's behind us and we can just focus on just doing the things we have to do."
Rask probably thought the same things prior to the Winnipeg game and maybe leading up the game against New Jersey. There's no way to gain any amount of certainty until he gets back into action and we see how his body responds. We also don't know how well Rask will be able to play with the possibility of re-aggravating the injury filling his mind or some pain distracting him. Although it's hard to believe after watching Subban and McIntyre flop in their recent starts, the Bruins could be worse off with Rask in net if he's not in the right frame of body and mind.
And let's face it, although they've never admit it, this Bruins season is more about the future than the present. Ownership and the president can talk all they want about a long playoff run, but even with a healthy Rask this team wasn't built to challenge for anything more than a wild card spot. Sacrificing a few more points in the standings might put a crimp in Jeremy Jacobs or Cam Neely's plans for spring, but could pay off in a health, high-caliber Rask playing later this season and in the seasons ahead.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @MattKalman.
