Bruce Cassidy has plenty on his plate this training camp when it comes to tweaking his roster ahead of what should be a grueling 2019-20 campaign.
Some of the challenges?
Who slots in on David Krejci’s line?
Do you break up the 63-37-88 combination?
How does the right side of the D corps pan out without McAvoy and Carlo?
One area that Cassidy and his staff have not had to fret over?
Arguably the most important cog in Boston’s entire operation — the players between the pipes.
“I haven’t even considered having to worry about (them),” Cassidy said of Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak. “Both are healthy, both came off great seasons. I think early on, we tried to share the net equally and then as the season progresses, you try to go with the hot hand periodically, but no worries there. I think the players feel the same way — whoever’s in net, we’re going to have a great chance.”
While Boston came up just three periods short of hoisting the Stanley Cup back in June, it's hard to fault Rask's performance throughout the postseason, with the veteran netminder closing out the Bruins' run with a .934 save percentage and two shutouts over 24 playoff outings — leading all goalies during that stretch with a goals saved above average mark of 5.97.
When looking for the source of Rask's lockdown play in the postseason, the netminder himself would tell you that a huge portion of the credit has to go to a player that didn't log a single minute of playoff action in Halak — who allowed Rask to stay fresh by appearing in 40 games during the regular season.
"It helps a lot, obviously," Rask said Friday. "Your body feels good, mentally you’re fresh and you feel like your game is in a place that it needs to be, so you’re ready for a long run. I think that’s what every hockey player wants. Like I said, we accomplished that last year. ... It was great the way that we split the games and we had two goalies playing and competing and pushing each other. I think that’s what every team wants and we accomplished that last year. Trying to do it again this year."
When Rask struggled out the gate during the regular season with a .901 save percentage through his first eight games, Halak kept Boston afloat — posting a 6-1-2 record with a .945 save percentage and two shutouts in his first 11 appearances. The veteran's strong play in net allowed Rask to finish off the regular season with just 45 games played — standing as his fewest since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season (36 games played) and his lightest workload as a full-time starter for Boston.
Boston's plan to cut down on Rask's minutes by adding a legitimate starter in Halak as a "1B" option has been a trend that multiple teams have followed over the past couple of years in order to keep their top option in net fresh for the playoff push.
Over the last two Stanley Cup Finals, the most appearances that any of the starting goalies had logged in the regular season was 54 games by Braden Holtby.
2019 - Rask (46 GP) / Binnington (32 GP)
2018 - Holtby (54 GP) / Fleury (46 GP)
The last Cup Final netminder to log over 60 games in the regular season was Nashville's Pekka Rinne (61 games), who posted an .888 save percentage against the Penguins during the 2017 Cup Final en route to a loss.
While this year's workload may not exactly hover around a 50/50 split, Rask once again expects his partner in net to once again earn a healthy amount of minutes. And given the track record of such a workload, the results should be beneficial for all parties.
"Yeah, see — where did I finish? 46 (games) or something like that? It doesn’t really matter if it’s 46 or 55. It’s just a matter of that you’re not playing 15 games in a row and then playing catchup," Rask said. "That’s the biggest thing. I don’t think the numbers really matter that much. Now, obviously, if you’re starting to get to 60-plus (games), then you’re going to have a lot of consecutive games. … I felt great and Jaro played unbelievable. We had a great competition going so that was awesome.”
OTHER NOTES
Bruce Cassidy said it himself on Monday: "I wouldn’t read too much into the lines right away."
Sure, it’s only the first day of on-ice practices at Warrior Ice Arena, but let’s totally overreact, shall we?
Here is how the Bruins lined up for both of their practices at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday.
PRACTICE 1
Bjork – Coyle – Ritchie
Marchand – Studnicka – Senyshyn
Carey – Shen – Pastrnak
Cehlarik – Steen – Lantosi/Koppanen
Krug – Kampfer
Vaakanainen – Petrovic
Zboril —Breen/Zech
Rask
Keyser
Vladar
PRACTICE 2
DeBrusk – Krejci – Kuhlman
Blidh – Kuraly – Backes
Fitzgerald – Gaunce – Heinen
Lauko – Lindholm – Wagner
Asselin
Chara – Andersson
Grzelcyk – Didier
Lauzon/Sherman – Clifton
Halak
Lagace
Patrice Bergeron (groin), Joakim Nordstrom (foot) and Trent Frederic (lower-body soreness) all skated ahead of practice as limited participants due to their respective injuries. Cassidy noted after practice that Frederic could practice with the main group on Saturday, while Bergeron can return whenever he feels ready.
Perhaps the most noteworthy injury occurred during the first practice, as PTO defenseman Alex Petrovic collided with Cassidy during a drill — dropping the B’s bench boss to the ice. Cassidy, who underwent knee replacement surgery during the offseason, needed to gather himself for a minute before getting back on his skates, but he noted later that he was no worse for wear.
"Took a wipeout,” Cassidy said. “It actually hit the tendon on the side, so I couldn't put any weight on it at first. So I couldn't get up. ... Anyway feels good now. Good to find out I can take a hit."
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Absolutely flowing.@JDebrusk | #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/4OMyWEuLK4
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 13, 2019