Tuukka Rask faced only five shots in the first period of Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden. Many wondered if the lack of work to start the game would have a positive or negative effect on the struggling netminder.
Actually, it was his willingness to play the puck that helped him. It’s an aspect he’s never been comfortable with or one of his strengths, but Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy and goalie coach Bruce Essensa spoke with Rask during the offseason and asked him to focus on playing the puck more.
While he faced only five shots against the Lightning in the first period, Rask left his crease and played the puck five different times. It allowed him to settle into the game and stay active. It proved crucial because Tampa increased its scoring chances in the second and third periods. The Lightning finished with only 21 shots, but Rask made the timely saves to secure the win. It was his active first period that helped.
“We’ve asked him to be more active when it’s appropriate,” Cassidy said. “It helps the breakout. He’s getting more comfortable. It’s not something he naturally gravitated towards. He has good hockey sense, so we’ve encouraged him to do it and get out there and make it part of his game. In the long run, it will make us better in the long run.
“When he’s more engaged in the game, more active, he’s (playing with) confidence. Sometimes if there’s not that many touches, he doesn’t feel as confident with less activity. We’re trying to get him to be comfortable every night. It’s a work in progress.”
Rask has outstanding hockey sense. He reads the plays so well and he’s so good at adjusting his depth, knowing when to be aggressive and when to dial it back and be less aggressive. He has the ability to beat plays, meaning he doesn’t slide into a save. He makes hard plays look easy. Rask is strong on his edges and combined with the ability to read the play, it allows him to get into good position with good lines on the puck. His post-to-post play is also efficient. Finnish goalies thrive on position. It's a tenet of their development programs. It has everything to do with their whole process. They are so far ahead of everyone now. It's a science to them.
During his earlier struggles, he wasn’t reading the play that well, and had difficulties with his post play. In the last two games, Rask improved in those areas.
It was evident he was dialed in during the first period by his positioning on the shots and shot attempts he faced. Here’s a quick breakdown of those first-period chances.
- Anton Stralman shot from the top of the circles on the power play. Shot went through four players, Rask, in the butterfly, makes a left-pad save atop the crease and kicks the rebound into the corner.
- During a four-on-four, Steven Stamkos took a shot from the slot through a screen of Kevan Miller. Rask, at the top of his crease, butterflies and is square as the puck hits him in the logo. The rebound drops right in front of him and he covers it.
- Attempted shot by Ondrej Palat from the top of the left circle. Rask was square to the shooter, went down in the butterfly, but the puck went over the net.
- The Bruins had a 1-0 lead when Victor Hedman took a wrist shot from the point through three layers of a four-man screen. Rask was standing at top of the crease, saw the shot, dropped to his knees and made the glove save. It was a much more difficult save than what it looked like. What made it even more impressive was veteran Chris Kunitz, who's made a successful career in the dirty areas, was right in Rask's face when he made the glove save.
- Hedman had another shot late in the first period. He took a wrist shot from the left point through three layers and a five-man screen. Rask was up at the top of his crease when Hedman released, then the goalie dropped and caught the puck square in the logo.