Bruins Notebook: Tuukka Rask heads to IR; Donato, JFK look to round out games down in Providence

Halak next man up in net

The Bruins’ mandated bye week came at a good time for Tuukka Rask in wake of a concussion he suffered back on Jan. 19 against the Rangers — but Boston’s netminder still isn’t quite ready to return between the pipes.

Boston announced Monday morning that Rask was placed on injured reserve retroactive to last Saturday’s game, which means that he will be able to return whenever he is fully cleared from the concussion protocol.

For the time being at least, it will be Jaroslav Halak in net for the B’s, while the club also recalled Zane McIntyre up on emergency basis from Providence.

While Rask will sit out of Tuesday’s matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, Bruce Cassidy did note following Monday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena that the team doesn’t expect Rask to be out for an extended stretch.

That’s good news for Boston — as Rask was playing some of his best hockey prior to his collision with Rangers winger Filip Chytil. In his last eight outings, Rask is 6-0-1 with a .939 save percentage.

“I don’t think it’s long-term,” Cassidy said of Rask’s absence. “He won’t play tomorrow. Hopefully he gets on the ice tomorrow. That’s kind of the plan with where he’s at. Obviously, it’s day to day right now. That’s how we see it playing out and then if he’s on the ice tomorrow, then Thursday becomes a possibility.”

Until Rask gets a clean bill of health and returns to practice, goalie duties will fall on Halak — who has seen his production in net dip since a blistering start (.936 save percentage in October-November).

Halak is just 1-3-0 with a .856 save percentage in four appearances so far in January, but the veteran goalie didn’t spend much of his break reflecting on what has been a bit of a downturn in his play as the months have dragged on.

"During the break, I think everybody needed time off to get away from hockey and refresh, come back and be ready,” he said. “That’s kind of my approach.”

If Rask’s absence extends beyond Tuesday’s tilt against the Jets, Boston has some insurance in McIntyre. While the 26-year-old goalie’s numbers may not jump off the page so far down in Providence (.887 save percentage), he has been on a roll as of late — winning his last eight outings before getting the call back up to the NHL.

Still, if Rask continues to respond well to treatment and is cleared to practice Tuesday, the ball is in his court to reclaim his starting role in short order. 

“If (Rask) is ready to go, he’s going back in there, if he feels he’s ready,” Cassidy said. “Until he’s out there for a full team practice, it's hard to speculate. Until then it’s Jaro’s net. If we feel Zane deserves to play because Tuukka’s not ready, then we’ll deal with that.”

Donato, JFK head down to Providence

Rask’s IR designation didn’t come as too much of a shock, but a flurry of other roster moves were a bit unexpected.



Even if it was a given that Peter Cehlarik was going to get another spin with the big club after an encouraging three-game stretch, the recall of Trent Frederic is set to mix up a Bruins third line that has continued to be an enigma for the B’s to solve in terms of personnel.

With Frederic’s recall and Joakim Nordstrom’s return to practice after suffering a leg fracture during the Winter Classic, Boston opted to send both Ryan Donato and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson back down to Providence for more seasoning in the AHL ranks.

Some more time in the minors will be beneficial for a player like Forsbacka Karlsson, who tallied nine points (three goals, six assists) over 28 games while primarily centering the third line. While the usual issues with JFK (compete on the puck, timid play) have sprouted up at times during his extended stint up with Boston, Cassidy did note that the Swedish center did show signs of improvement up in the NHL ranks.

As a whole, the “Kid Line” of Forsbacka Karlsson, Donato and Danton Heinen may not be a bombastic trio, but they were hardly a liability in the defensive zone —  with the group holding a goals allowed per 60 minute rate of 1.5, lower than the team average of 1.94 at 5v5 play.

“He’s a good 200-foot player,” Cassidy said of Forsbacka Karlsson. “He was mindful of his defensive assignments. ... I think the only time they really got in trouble was when they had to ice pucks and then the top line comes out and they’re a little fatigued.

“That was probably the only time you get truly worried. I think JFK was fine defensively, he really was. We talked about his assertiveness on puck battles, faceoffs some nights that didn’t go his way, but other that, I didn’t worry too much about him.”

While JFK focuses on rounding out his play in the offensive zone, Cassidy added that the spiel remains the same with Donato when it comes to his development goals with Providence.

“Strong on the pucks, strong on his skates, win some puck battles,” Cassidy said. “All-around game. I think he had some tough luck here, I think he generated offense with his shot, scored some of them, rang some off the post, some didn’t go it. So a little bit of tough luck for him.

“It’s just a matter of working on his overall game. Making the plays that are available to him, get better on the walls, all the little things. I know it sounds repetitive, but all of the guys through it. Jake (DeBrusk), Heinen, Cehlarik, they’ve all done it. It’s his turn to go down there and when we need him, he’s a better player for it.”

Sure enough, Donato’s expected goals calculate to about two more tallies than he currently has, but the promising winger will need to add a little more strength to his game before becoming more than just a spark plug in the offensive zone.



(Stick tap to Sean Tierney at @ChartingHockey for the shot map.)

Back from break

After sitting out for a week plus during the bye week, the Bruins jumped right back into the swing of things with an hour-long, physical practice at Warrior Ice Arena Monday. Boston doesn’t have much time to shake off the rust, as the club currently sits in the first Wild Card spot with 59 points.


Montreal leapfrogged Boston last week with 61 points on the year, while the Habs have played two more games than the Bruins. However, there is a bit of breathing room outside of the Wild Card, with the next team jockeying for a playoff spot standing four points back of Boston in the slumping Sabres.

The road doesn’t get any easier for Boston down the stretch, with 17 of its final 33 games set to be played against teams currently in playoff spots — including three against a loaded Lightning team. Still, Cassidy has to be pleased with where his club is at going into the final two-plus months of the regular season.

“I thought guys were in pretty good spirits,” Cassidy said. “This is a tight-knit group, so I’m sure they were happy to see each other and be back together. Some of them I'm sure vacationed together, the younger guys. A few of them skated here a little bit, I believe. I don’t know how to describe 33 (games) — is a home stretch, is it a second half? Is it somewhere in between?

“I’d like to think we’re excited now about how there’s a finish line ahead and see where we are. Get back to our game. I hope that’s what’s going through through their minds. Especially tomorrow  when they come to the rink. We’ve got a good opponent, good challenge right out the gate. We're almost as close to full health — obviously the Tuukka one set us back a bit, but assuming Nordy is ready and Tuukka is not long, it’s kind of the first time we’ve had a look at our full complement of players together and see what we look like.”