McDonald: If Bruins were going to have a stinker (Rask included), this was the time

TAMPA, Fla. – Believe it or not, the Bruins now have a chink in the armor.

Before anyone gets too nervous, it’s actually a good thing the iron is dented a bit. The Tampa Bay Lightning played Stanley Cup playoff-style hockey and the Bruins did not. As a result, the Lightning finished with a 4-0 victory Tuesday night at Amalie Arena. It’s only the third time this season the Bruins have been held scoreless.

The timing of this lackluster effort could serve as a major wakeup call for Boston with only three games remaining in the regular season. The Bruins can’t simply cruise into the postseason and expect to have success.

“We’ve said all along that it’s going to be this type of hockey for the rest of the year and it’s part of realizing that you can’t take a night off,” said Patrice Bergeron. “You have to be at your best and we didn’t do that tonight.



“It’s one of those games you learn from and you move forward. We have three games remaining and we have to make sure we play at our best until the end.”

Bruce Cassidy preaches to his players, especially the young core, that if you don’t have your ‘A’ game on certain nights, then you have to deliver a ‘B’ game.

“We had some ‘C’ games tonight, we really did,” he said. “Not enough ‘A’ games to beat a hungry team in that type of battle. There were guys that needed to be better and they weren’t.

“A lot of our young guys got an education tonight on what it takes. I’m not putting this on them, I’m just saying the experience they gained tonight, understanding the urgency level is very good for them in the long run. Right now, we lose and they weren’t as sharp as they have been in the past, in terms of their compete and what to expect. It’s good for them to learn that because that’s what they’re going to see (in the playoffs) and they need to be able to play in those types of games if they expect to be in the lineup. So, it’s not all bad for them to go through that.”

The same can be said for the team's veteran goalie.

Tuukka Rask entered the game with a 10-0-1 record in his last 11 starts, and he’s dominated the Lightning this season. That wasn’t the case and he allowed a couple of tough goals. He didn’t get any help in front of him and as a result, the Lightning finished with 36 shots on net, including 33 after the first two periods.

“It was a good workout – at least for me,” Rask said. “They got the better start. You look at the score – 4-0 – they were definitely the better team. I don’t think it was necessarily a 4-0 game, but I donated them a goal. They were definitely the better team.”

This could have been a situation where, whether he believed it or not, Rask should have taken all the blame for the loss. It would have been a veteran leadership move by taking the onus while giving his teammates a break for a sleeper.

“I thought I played pretty good,” Rask said. “Yeah, keep it going.”

Cassidy didn’t concur.

“He’s been better,” said the coach. “He’d be the first to tell you that; two goals from (long) distance. The second one might have been through traffic, but the first one can’t go in. Having said that, we didn’t score, so it might not have mattered. I don’t think he was as sharp as he has been of late.”

It's likely Rask will play his last regular-season game against the Florida Panthers on Thursday at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla. The Bruins have back-to-back games against the Senators and Panthers on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at TD Garden. Unless Rask wants more work, backup Anton Khudobin is scheduled to play both of those games. After Tuesday's effort against the Lightning, maybe it'll be good for Rask to play in another game over the weekend, especially with the playoffs beginning a week from Thursday.

Overall, the loss should serve its purpose. It should serve as a wakeup call. All season long, the Bruins have responded when needed. Thursday needs to be another one of those games if Boston wants to sprint into the postseason and not crawl.

“They came to play playoff hockey and we didn’t,” Rask said. “Those things make a difference this time of year when other teams are going to put everything on the line and you’re playing on your heels a little bit and that makes a difference. Just wasn’t our day today.”