The Curse Of Dale Weise? Tuukka Rask Needs To Overcome Montreal Woes To Stick In Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins' recent massive struggles against the Montreal Canadiens can't be drilled down to one player. It's been a team-wide systematic failure as the Canadiens have consistently outplayed and out-worked the Bruins in all three zones for the past two-plus seasons.
They've also been severely outplayed in net: Tuukka Rask, that of the infamous 3-14-3 career record against Montreal, has been outclassed by Carey Price. These woes may be unfairly skewed in the negative direction and aren't necessarily all Rask's fault - but it's a struggle he needs to overcome if he wants to remain in net for the Bruins long-term.
It's not that Rask isn't worthy of the role. He's still one of the world class netminders in the league. It's just an unfortunate reality that the Bruins will often need to get past the Canadiens in the playoffs if they want their next crack at winning the Stanley Cup, and need a goalie who is up to the task. Rask hasn't performed up to his potential against the Canadiens in recent years. A Bruins goalie is of little use if he can't figure out how to even steal a win from the Habs.
It should be noted that these struggles for Rask against the Canadiens aren't career-spanning. It has mostly manifested in the past three seasons, starting with the Bruins' supremely disappointing Stanley Cup quarterfinal defeat at the hands of the Canadiens in 2014, when the Bruins had entered the postseason as the Presidents' Trophy winners for the league's best won-lost record.
The Bruins were 1-3 with Rask in net against the Canadiens in the 2013 lockout-shortened season, but not necessarily because of the performance of the goalie. The Bruins were 1-1 in their two games at Montreal while Rask compiled a 1.51 GAA and .940 save percentage. The Bruins scored 3 goals in those two games. Rask didn't play well enough to beat the Habs in those spots, but he certainly kept the Bruins in position to win.
But when the 2014 quarterfinal started, a different story began unfolding. As the Bruins failed to capitalize on numerous scoring chances, clanged off countless posts, and couldn't even get a lucky bounce to go their way, Rask allowed 7 goals in the final two games of the series to blow a 3-2 series lead.
Rask got little help from the Bruins, but he allowed his share of stoppable pucks to get by him too. And when it came time to make big saves and bail his defense out - as an elite, highly-paid goaltender should be expected to do - he didn't consistently deliver in those moments.
It's not like Rask let up all his goals to Montreal's star players, although P.K. Subban was a force in those seven games. He gave up 3 goals to Dale Weise, who only scored once in 10 career playoff games entering the series. Is it The Curse Of Dale Weise?
The woes have only continued since that painful series. Rask was 0-3 against the Canadiens in 2014-15 with a 3.31 GAA and .886 save percentage - dismal numbers, regardless of how the defense played in front of him. And if you needed any proof that the team itself was concerned about Rask playing in Montreal, you got your answer when Claude Julien benched him in favor of Niklas Svedberg, who played all 60 minutes and allowed 5 goals. It's been nearly two calendar years since Rask beat the Canadiens in Montreal, and it has carried over into 2015-16 with Rask getting benched against Montreal in the second game of the season.
Despite that, the Bruins' losing streak against the Canadiens doesn't fall entirely on Rask's shoulders. They also gave the puck away to Montreal's swarming defense, had plenty of their own defensive lapses, got beaten to the majority of loose pucks, and allowed too many odd-man rushes for Rask to hold up. Despite Rask's ghastly numbers in 2014-15, 7 of his 9 goals allowed came from shooters either in the slot or right in the crease. Can't expect your goalie to make a hero play every time when he's getting peppered down low that much.
Montreal's Bell Centre is undoubtedly a tough place to play, but it's hard to explain Rask's abnormal struggles in that building. He's lost some good games there, and also had his share of trainwrecks. He's had some bad defenses in front of him, but hasn't helped his case with some of the softies he's given up. He needs to make up for the team's issues, not add to them.
The Bruins' recent futility against Montreal is a problem that Rask needs to fix, and it extends to the rest of the Bruins roster. Like the Red Sox can't afford a pitcher who can't beat the Yankees, or the Patriots need a quarterback who can beat the Jets, the Bruins need a goalie who can perform when he plays the Canadiens. It's a tough task, considering the Bruins' roster is even worse off than in the past two seasons.
Rask has proven in the past that he can play well in Montreal; it's just a matter of regaining that magic.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
