Could Bruins start both Tuukka Rask & Jaroslav Halak during playoff action up in Toronto?

In most NHLs campaigns, the thought of spelling a Vezina Trophy finalist during the Stanley Cup Playoffs would be viewed as lunacy.

Granted, 2020 shouldn’t fall under the same conditions as most campaigns.

And as such, Tuukka Rask isn’t expecting to be the man between the pipes for every minute of Boston’s frantic and frenzied Cup run-up in Canada. 

"I'd be surprised if you see goalies play every minute of every game during these playoffs because the situation is so different," Rask said via Zoom Friday. "But I'm looking forward to it. You never know, but I guess we'll see what happens. We've had the luxury of having a couple good goalies the last few seasons, so I feel like we're in a good spot."

Now, granted, the Bruins are in a pretty good spot when it comes to depth in net, with Rask and Jaroslav Halak standing as arguably the most dominant tandem in the league.

Still, barring severe dips in performance, it’s rare to see any club opt for anyone other than its top option in net to carry it through a grueling playoff slate.

Even with Halak’s stellar numbers in 2018-19 (40 games played, .922 save percentage, .868 high-danger save percentage), the veteran logged exactly zero minutes during Boston’s run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Of course, Boston had few objections to such a one-sided goalie rotation during the postseason considering Rask was all but a lock to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy (15-9-0, .934 save percentage) had Boston’s fortunes been reversed in Game 7 against St. Louis.

Still, given the accelerated ramp-up, loaded schedule and player-centric uncertainties given the extended break between game action — Rask believes the window could be there for a team to grant regular minutes to a pair of netminders throughout this revamped playoff slate.



"The way I look at it, all bets are off now because everybody has been off for four months," Rask said. "It's not the same situation that it was in March, April, or it would have been, or it could have been. Everybody is starting from scratch and trying to recapture the feeling you had as a team when the quarantine period started. But it's going to be tough."

Given the pedigree of Boston’s primary two netminders for the past decade-plus in Rask and Tim Thomas, it’s been quite some time since the Bruins have implemented a goalie rotation once the calendar turns to playoff hockey. 

In fact, other than a brief spell in which Anton Khudobin replaced Rask during Game 5 against Toronto back in 2018, the Bruins have only utilized one goalie in each of their last 11 playoff runs. 

The last time the Bruins opted for a regular tandem in net for the postseason was back in 2002-03, when Jeff Hackett and Steve Shields appeared in three and two games, respectively, during Boston’s opening-round ouster against the New Jersey Devils. 

“I think it's been great for us, the past two years that we've been together,” Rask said of his partnership with Halak. “We've set up a plan before the season and kind of stuck with it. And I think it's been working great, individually for me and Jaro and also for our team. Now, it's a totally different scenario going in the playoffs, because you have three to four months of doing nothing. So you just don't know how your body's gonna react when you start ramping up to the playoffs. So, I think it's a luxury that we have two good goalies that if necessary, we can share the net.”

It is indeed a rare luxury that the Bruins hold in terms of rolling out either Rask or Halak in a playoff setting, even if Halak has not appeared in a playoff game since back in 2015 with the Islanders. Still, given both his track record over two years with Boston (40-17-10, .921 save percentage) and playoff resume (.924 save percentage over 30 postseason outings), Halak stands as a more than suitable fallback option for the Bruins if needed this summer.



*As we noted in our piece on Rask last week, both of Boston's netminders have benefited from a Bruins defense that has excelled in limiting quality chances against — with both netminders posting expected goals against per 60 minutes rates (xGA60) below 2.6. While Rask might have the edge over Halak in a number of stats this season, such as high-danger save percentage, goals saved above expectation and more, you could make the case that Halak has had a tougher go of it between the two — with the B's backup more in the middle of the pack with an xGA60 rate of 2.5730. But even with Boston's defense letting a few more quality chances slip through against Halak, only four other netminders have a higher goals saved above expectation per 60 minutes than Halak's 0.151. Whether it be Rask (red circle) or Halak (blue circle), Boston has a quality goalie it can turn to in net this postseason.*

“I'm just gonna take it day by day,” Halak said. “I haven't been told anything. So I'm open-minded to pretty much anything. It's gonna be unique for everyone. Every team is in the same situation, every goalie and we all have to shift the focus right now from having the three months, four months off to kind of dial-in again and start playing real games. I think it's gonna be fun, but it's gonna take a few games to get back into that real rhythm. Whatever happens, it happens. I always say — 'We are here as a team.' Whether it's with me or Tooks in net, we want to win. And that's the case now again."

Now, granted, even if Rask opened the door for Halak to log some minutes during postseason play, Bruce Cassidy was a bit more measured when it came to mapping out the expectations for his goalies once the club heads up to Toronto. While both Rask and Halak will likely split time in net for their exhibition matchup against Columbus on July 30th, it remains to be seen how the rest of the B's reps in net will be divvied up — although Boston's bench boss did add that Halak will at least earn a look during Boston's round-robin tournament against Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Washington.

"Jaro will play in the round-robin. I think you have to get him ready as well as Tuukka. I don't know how it'll play out exactly yet, but he'll get in there," Cassidy said. "We need him ready for the playoffs as well. Both of them need to see live-action to do that. I think Tuukka understands that part of it. So how much and what we divide up? That'll be as we get closer. Let's get to Toronto first. 

"Obviously, the easiest way sometimes is to split the exhibition game. Is that going to best prepare Tuukka to start on Sunday? Again, he has to answer that. We have to see where he's at and trust his opinion as well and Goalie Bob. So we'll start with that and then work our way through the round-robin games and go from there. It's not about 'Well, this game is more important than the next.' We trust both our goaltenders, so they have to be honest with us with where they are at their game and how much they need and what they don't need." 

Ultimately, if all goes right from Phase 3 to the round-robin (a big ask, given how this year is gone), Boston would likely opt to roll with Rask as the lone option in net — with Halak standing at the ready as a more-than-suitable contingency plan if things go south. This is a very different scenario from what other playoffs clubs are facing when it comes to determining a definitive No. 1 option (Lundqvist + Shestyorkin with New York, Reimer + Mrazek with Carolina). Whereas those teams might view these rotations as a necessity for playoff success, Boston should only view their depth in net as a luxury — one that ideally won't need to be utilized if Rask is locked in up in Toronto.

"If you look at how our team's built, I think we're built for a long run in the playoffs and unfortunately, we were heading to that direction when the league came to a stop and the whole world came to a stop," Rask said. "But now, we just have to start building that same chemistry and same groove that we had when it stopped. Obviously, winning a Stanley Cup or any kind of major trophy in Boston is a big, big thing. And I think that's something we strive for and that's our goal. So that hasn't changed. But obviously, everything else around it in the world has changed. So we just have to try to adapt."