Even with lighter workload, Tuukka Rask staying focused on overcoming slow start

If Tuukka Rask was viewing Monday’s matchup against the Stars as his chance to seize back a majority of the Bruins’ reps in net — it didn’t go exactly as planned.

At least, not in the first couple minutes of play.

During a first period that saw the Black and Gold outshoot and out-chance the Stars by 13-4 and 22-6 margins, it only took Boston 3:25 before it found itself on the power play — with Roman Polak sent to the sin bin for interference.

But a little over 30 seconds into the B’s man advantage, the Stars were the ones to capitalize — as Radek Faksa skated into Boston’s zone to fire off a shot or kill some time, cruising down the boards and outside the left circle as Torey Krug kept tabs on him out in front.

Even from a tough angle, Faksa’s volley in towards Rask somehow found twine, sailing past the netminder’s glove to give the Stars an early 1-0 lead and prompt boos to rain down on a goalie desperately trying to get back on track after some porous performances in October.

https://twitter.com/DallasStars/status/1059602645911027712

For Rask, making his first start for the Black and Gold since Oct. 27, that shorthanded strike very well could have led to a complete unraveling — with the 31-year-old netminder relinquishing consecutive goals within two minutes of each other five times so far this season.

But not on Monday.

He might not have been tested early against the Stars, but Rask rebounded as the tilt carried on — turning aside the following 24 shots that came his way en route to the B’s 2-1 win at TD Garden.

For Rask (4-3-0, .909 save percentage), it was a step in the right direction as he looks to get into the groove that eluded him for the first weeks of the season.

“I felt good, there’s been some funky goals I’ve let in,” Rask said. “I felt pretty good so that part hasn’t really changed or affected me. Obviously, when you’re not playing you have time to think, that might get tough on you. But as I said that’s the mental battle I’m trying to win with myself, be sharp out there. Tight game like today, I thought we were the better team. Khudobin kept them in the game there and I just try to give us a chance to win, I’m happy it paid off today.”

Rask never tends to get too high or too low postgame, but he’s almost always refreshingly candid — noting that it can be hard for a goalie to get into a rhythm when his regular rotation is put into flux.

Now, that’s not him downplaying the effort that Jaroslav Halak has showcased in net — with the free-agent signee posting two shutouts through seven starts while leading all goalies in both save percentage (.952) and goals-against average (1.45).

“The schedule hasn’t been crazy and Jaro has played unbelievable, that’s how it goes,” Rask said. “If you’re a hot goalie like that then you gotta let him play, I totally get it, it hasn’t affected me mentally really that much.  

“You just try to practice hard and feel that rhythm and feel the puck in practices, when you’re playing try to put your best out there and get the wins.  It’s going to be a busy week this week so I think both of us are going to see a lot of action so go day by day, just practice hard when asked to.”

Even though Rask has averaged 60.6 starts per season over the past five years — he is no stranger to getting some extended stretches on the shelf, with Anton Khudobin at one point starting in five of seven games — including four straight — last November while Rask was stuck in a rut.

Sitting out can get to a goalie — with most being creatures of habit when it comes to their routines and preparation. But in a role where so much can vary off of one bad angle or slide off the post, Rask tries to remain steady even as his workload drops.

“When you're playing as many games in a row, you kind of get that feel. ... The challenge is when you're not playing as many games in a row or you're rotating,” Rask said. “Then you start thinking too much and that's when things fall into pieces. Every game is a new game."

In Monday’s matchup, Rask shook off the early shorthanded goal and came up big down the stretch — stopping all three shots that came his way during a Stars power play in the closing minutes of the third period.

It was more of the same in overtime, with Rask turning aside shots from both Jamie Benn and Miro Heiskanen in the opening minutes of the extra stanza — setting the stage for Brad Marchand’s 5-on-3 strike with 31 seconds left on the clock.

Even with the rough start, two points can go a long way in restoring a netminder’s confidence.

“He needs wins. He’s a goalie,” Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s what he gets judged on, alright, so the first goal is an outside shot from a bad angle. I don’t know if Torey redirected it, but good for the guys to pick him up right away on the power play.

"We win as a team and we lose as a team. We’ve always felt that way. After that, he settled in, Tuukka played well, made a nice stop there in overtime. He wasn’t that busy, so it was a good day for him to sort of get his bearings again.”

There’s no doubting that Rask has left much to be desired to start the 2018-19 season, but it’s all just part of his recent trend of slow starts?

Aside from a fantastic start in the 2016-17 season (.958 save percentage through four games), Rask has slumped out of the gate, posting a sub-.900 save percentage in three of the past five seasons in the month of October. As he proved last season, Rask is more than capable of a bounce-back — going 31-6-3 mark and a .923 save percentage over his final 40 games.

"I'd like to get off to a hot start every year and be the best goalie in the league,” Rask said. “But I think, when it doesn't happen, you just have to try to get better and try to fix what you did wrong and figure it out and then get better as the season goes on.

“I'd rather take that then start hot and keep getting worse. … The last couple of years that hasn't been the case, but maybe next year."