In search of some stability in net, Bruins weren’t bailed out by Jaroslav Halak on Saturday

Ahead of the start of Boston’s four-game homestand leading into the Christmas break, Bruce Cassidy opted to tip his hand when it came to the Bruins’ ongoing rotation in net. 

For at least three of those four matchups at TD Garden, Boston would roll with Tuukka Rask as the club's starter, breaking an order that has primarily seen the B’s regular netminder swap scheduled outings with backup Jaroslav Halak. 

Well, that was the plan for at least a little while — with Cassidy amending his previous sentiments when asked ahead of Boston’s matchup with the Predators on Saturday. 

With the B’s looking to stop the bleeding during a stretch that has seen Boston drop seven out of its last eight games, Cassidy noted that Halak very well could get another look early next week with a strong showing against Nashville. 

After all, both Rask and Halak have been trending in very different directions as of late. While Rask has posted an .897 save percentage through six games in December, Halak entered Saturday’s start with a record of 4-2-2 and a .937 save percentage over his past eight starts. 

“We talked about playing Tuukka three of four this week,” Cassidy said. “We’re not necessarily running away from that. But it’s also that time of the year with the players, with the D, with the forwards and now with the goalies, we got to allow them to have an extended run if they deserve it. 

“We’ve talked about that. Until that happens, when one dominates, then we’re going to stick with our rotation. But we’re certainly not afraid to do that. We’d just like to see one take off here.”

If Saturday was a chance for Halak to seize such an opportunity for more reps, let’s just say it went about as well as a goalie challenging a breakaway bid in the high slot. 

Speaking of which ….



On a night in which Boston desperately needed a strong showing in net to bail out a slumping club, Halak wasn't able to provide much of a respite from the poor play and luck that has plagued the Bruins for close to a month now —  relinquishing four goals on 29 shots in what was a 4-3 OT victory for the Predators. 

Halak’s night was best summed up at 8:10 in the third period, with the B’s and Preds knotted up in a 2-2 deadlock. After an ill-advised shot from Torey Krug was blocked near Nashville's blue line, Roman Josi countered with a breakaway bid of his down the other end of the sheet. 

Halak, looking to challenge Nashville’s captain, left the crease in order to beat the defenseman to the skittering puck. Halak made it there first, but was unable to corral the biscuit. With Halak out in no-man’s land, Josi snagged the puck, spun around and fired into an open net, giving Nashville a 3-2 lead. 

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 "I was first to the puck,” Halak said postgame. “Just one of those plays. Bounced the other way and he was able to put it in. Made a simple mistake, but it happens. It happens to everyone. When a goalie makes a mistake, there's nobody that can actually cover him most of the time. Too bad it ended up in the net.”

The tally is going to be one of the lowlights of what has otherwise been a fantastic tenure for Halak in Boston over the last year and a half — but Nashville’s other two tallies weren’t great looks for the veteran netminder either. 

Just 35 seconds before Josi fired into an empty net, Filip Forsberg tied things up on a delayed penalty. It wasn’t quite Andrei Svechnikov’s lacrosse goal, but Forsberg’s tally — tucked past Halak while leaning toward the near post — was a tough hit for Boston. 

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Josi also managed to get the better of Halak at 12:14 in the second stanza, putting Nashville on the board by way of a backhand attempt from the slot. Even though Halak ranks 12th among NHL goalies (min. 800 minutes played) in terms of goals saved above average at 6.94 — Cassidy lamented the number of  pucks that managed to find twine in the B’s net on Saturday.  

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“Well, I never question that, he’s been in the NHL a long time,” Cassidy said of Halak’s decision to challenge Josi on his second goal. “He got there first, he just, unfortunately …  He made some good saves, but, listen, I’ve tried to be honest up here. I believe we have two number one (goalies) in there, but those were three goals that were very saveable.

“Pucks that probably shouldn’t end up in your net. So a little bit of that is our goaltenders have to push through that right now. We’re not scoring that much, or we’ve got to start scoring more, finishing some plays to allow them to play out. It’s one or the other if you want to get in the win column.”

For now, Boston appears to be between a rock and a hard place when it comes to finding the best avenue to break out of this midseason malaise. Up front, Boston isn't generating nearly enough offense — both at 5v5 play and on the power play (now 6-for-42 since Nov. 27) — to give the club some breathing room. And with Rask in a slump and Halak putting forth a stinker on Saturday, the B's two options in net aren't getting it done, either.

Mix those two shortcomings together — sprinkle in some poor puck management and defensive lapses — and you have this current losing skid for the Bruins, one that doesn't look to be turning the corner any time soon, especially with the Capitals coming to town on Monday.