TSN's Jessica Rusnak: Carey Price Using Vezina Snub As Motivation
BOSTON (CBS) - Jessica Rusnak from TSN Radio 690 joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Adam Jones Show Wednesday night to talk a little Bruins-Canadiens and provide a little perspective from the Montreal angle.
Following a Presidents' Trophy-winning season by having the best record in the NHL, three Bruins players garnered recognition for their play and were named finalists for regular season awards.
Defenseman Zdeno Chara was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy, center Patrice Bergeron is considered a lock for the Selke and goaltender Tuukka Rask for the Vezina.
Coming off a gold medal win at the Olympics for Team Canada, Montreal goalie Carey Price had a great season himself but was not named a finalist for being one of the NHL's top three goalies. Although he hasn't said so publicly, Rusnak believes he's using this perceived snub as added motivation in this series.
"Goaltending was the biggest thing talked about coming into this series, Tuukka Rask vs. Carey Price and it's gonna be this huge goaltender battle. Carey Price, as much as he didn't want to admit it, I'm sure it did bother him that he was left out of the Vezina candidacy.
"It's been [Price] that's been the goaltender to elevate his game. [Wednesday] Peter Chiarelli also spoke to the media and was asked about the performance of Tuukka Rask and he said he among other people, not just singling him out, need to be better.
"Tuukka Rask needs to bring another level to his game and be that Tuukka Rask that's a Vezina candidate, and potential winner of it this year. He needs to out-battle Carey Price," said Rusnak.
Rusnak admits it's not just a Rask problem for the Bruins. The whole team is to blame for being down 2-1 in the series and lack of consistency is the main reason.
"The Boston Bruins are very good at grinding teams out, really working them down and putting a strong forecheck and really implementing that in a game, and they haven't been able to do that on a consistent basis.
"In the third period of Game 2 you saw a little burst of that, and the game on Tuesday night the Bruins had a difficult time playing their game and making the Montreal Canadiens play their game. They've been forced to play catch up for the whole series."
Rusnak credits the sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round as a reason for the Canadiens playing with such confidence in round 2 against the Bruins.
Listen below for the full discussion:
TSN's Jessica Rusnack
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