For the fifth time in the past seven games, the Bruins are going to turn to Jaroslav Halak in net.
Bruce Cassidy announced Friday that the Black and Gold will start Halak for Saturday’s primetime matchup against the top team in the NHL — points-wise — in the Predators, with the B’s netminder coming off of a 42-save performance on Tuesday against the Hurricanes.
While Boston opened the season with a plan in place for both Halak and Tuukka Rask to share reps between the pipes, Halak has seized most of the opportunities placed in front of him — posting a 4-0-2 record and a .947 save percentage through seven games played.
Meanwhile, Rask has been mired in another slow start to open an NHL campaign, going 3-3-0 through six games with a 3.15 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage.
The numbers clearly swing in favor of giving Halak some extended looks as Boston’s top netminder, but Cassidy noted that Friday’s news is more of a recognition of Halak’s dominant start than an indictment of what Rask has offered.
"I think once we went away from the original script, then you've got to reset it a little bit,” Cassidy said. “If someone were to ask, usually I'd say that script changes for two reasons — an injury or performance. In this case, we believe that Jaro's performance has earned the right to have more starts.
"It's more about his performance than Tuukka’s, to be honest with you. He's just played really well. He's got points every time he's in the net. So you've got to ride the hot hand. I think Tuukka's game could be better, but it's still solid. It's just that Jaro has been better right now. “
BSJ Analysis & Notes
After rallying back against a tough Carolina club in a game where Halak bailed them out to the tune of 42 saves, it seemed like a given that Halak was going to get another start on Saturday against a loaded Nashville team.
Bolstered by a stacked D corps, Nashville doesn’t relinquish too many chances for the opposition, with Boston needing a netminder that can keep the club competitive in what should be a one or two-goal matchup.
Unfortunately, Rask has often let a game get away from him in a hurry to start the year, giving up seven first-period goals this season, including five within the first 11 minutes of play. On five occasions, Rask has also let up consecutive goals within two minutes of each other, putting his club in a hole early. That can’t happen against a team as good as Nashville.
This is not the first time that Rask has struggled in October, with the goalie posting a sub-.900 save percentage in three of the past five years during the first month of an NHL campaign.
“Some similarities, he’s admittedly said,” Cassidy said of Rask Thursday when asked of a reasoning for the slow starts. “A little slower out of the gate, but why is that? We’ve talked to him at the end of last year, is that a factor of conditioning in the summer? Or is that just part of how he plays?
“I don’t know if we’ll ever know the answer to that, but we’re going to control what we can control, so we’ve asked him to step up that part of it so that he’s ready to go. I don’t think you want to peak in October, but you need to be on, especially at that position.”
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