Bruins goaltending roulette lands on Tuukka Rask for Winter Classic

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Bruce Cassidy had a tough call to make ahead of Tuesday’s Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium. But at first glance, the decision appeared cut and dry when it comes to who starts in goal for the matchup against the Blackhawks, at least from a stats-based perspective. 

Tuukka Rask has been a mainstay between the pipes for over a decade with the B’s (and boasts a sweet new mask for the outdoor event) — but it’s hard to overlook the lift Jaroslav Halak has provided since inking a two-year deal with the B’s this summer.

Whereas Rask found himself mired in another slow start to the year (4-4-0, .901 save percentage through eight games), Halak kept the Bruins afloat — posting a 7-3-2 record with a .935 save percentage during that same stretch.

Among NHL netminders that have logged at least 10 appearances this year, Halak ranks first in save percentage at .928 and sixth in goals-against average (2.28) while recording three shutouts.

Even looking a bit deeper, Halak has answered the call during the situations in which the skaters in front of him have left him out to dry — ranking third among goalies (min. 600 minutes played) in high-danger save percentage at 87.23.

Still, when it came time to make a call in goal, Cassidy announced on Monday that it will be Rask in net for the matchup.

“Tough decision, obviously, the way Jaro has played. (Tuukka) played well the other night," said Cassidy. "We’re trying to get him some consecutive starts to get him feeling good about his game on a regular basis. I think it’s been not as consistent as we’d like. This is an opportunity for him to take another step so that’s the biggest reason. I talked to Jaro today about it. He understands. He had a great first half for us, but that’s the decision today. Hopefully, it plays out well.”

While Halak has been one of the top goalies in the league this year, that’s not to discount how Rask has rebounded, especially as of late.

Since returning from a leave of absence in mid-November, Rask is 5-4-2 with a .919 save percentage. Even with his slow start, Rask’s showing against Grade-A chances has also improved with a high-danger save percentage of 84.38 — up from the 80.37 he posted last season during a year where he rattled off a 31-6-3 run to close out the regular season.

So no, this isn’t as egregious as say, the Blackhawks opting to roll out Cam Ward (3.90 goals-against average, .886 save percentage) over youngster Collin Deila, who has filled in admirably (3-0-0, .957 save percentage) since Corey Crawford’s latest stint on IR.

After a strong showing against Buffalo on Saturday in what might be Boston’s impressive win of the season, Rask has earned another look — adding another headache (or luxury, as he often tends to word it) when it comes time to doling out reps for a pair of goalies operating at a high level.

“When both are playing well, you want to keep both playing sharp,” Cassidy said. “So that’s the biggest challenge. The schedule takes care of that in that sometimes if you have four games in a week, they’re all going to get the net. When you don’t, it gets a little tougher

“Reading when one needs a break, goalie (coach) Bob (Essensa), that’s kind of his area of expertise. He usually gets back to me, ‘Hey, this a good time to give him a night off.’ But I think the biggest challenge is keeping them both competitive when you only have one net. Like I said, there’s no great answer there. You just hope on their end, they’re ready there.”

Could there be a chance that both Rask and Halak get a look in net at Notre Dame Stadium? Barring a meltdown — such as when Rask relinquished five goals against the Habs during the 2016 Classic — it looks as though No. 40 will be in for the long haul.

“I told Jaro that. I said it’d be nice if I could split ya. But is that realistic? Probably not," Cassidy said. "If Jaro gets in, it probably means it didn't go well for Tuukka, right? So we don’t like to think of that. We expect him to go in and pay well and for the team to play well in front of him. Maybe there’s some strange circumstance where he’s able to get in just to be a part of it. But I hope, like I said, Tuukka there, start to finish, playing well.”