Ryan: Justified or not, Tuukka Rask's candid comments aren't going to do him any favors this postseason

Love him or hate him (and … yep, somehow both sentiments are still present in all corners of New England), you can’t knock Tuukka Rask for this: he’s always been a straight shooter. 

Win or loss, the candid B's netminder is often rather blunt in his assessment of his play, sometimes to a fault. And while Rask is always willing to take his own game to task, his straightforward musings can oftentimes be examined through the wrong lens — with his laidback persona misconstrued for apathy at times.

Still, for as much as Rask's postgame comments can occasionally sound about as earnest as Tony Soprano mourning his dear Livia, those quotes rarely coincide with a player who's built a pretty established reputation as a ferocious competitor between the pipes.

That being said — the Bruins' top goalie didn't do himself any favors at all when he took to the podium following Boston's 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes in Game 2.

When asked about the growing number of scrums developing so far in this first-round series — namely the scraps found down low around his crease — Rask opted to instead expand his thoughts on this revamped playoff format, focusing more on the atmosphere, or lack thereof, at Scotiabank Arena.

"To be honest with you, it doesn’t really feel like playoff hockey," Rask said. "There’s no fans. It’s kind of like you’re playing an exhibition game. Obviously, there are some scrums after the whistle. I haven’t noticed that they would be targeting me or whatnot. Things happen, people falling on you and whatnot. But it’s definitely not a playoff atmosphere."

When asked a follow-up later on during his Zoom conference, Rask doubled down — reiterating the challenges that all players up in Toronto and Edmonton are currently facing. Fair or not, there's only so much energy one can draw from without having 16,000 raucous fans cheering/screaming above you.

"You’re trying to play as hard as you can," Rask said. "Obviously, you’re playing a best-of-seven series so there's going to be some battles going on and what not. But when you play at your home rink, you play at an away rink, and there’s fans cheering for you or against you and that creates another buzz around the series. There’s none of that, so it just feels dull at times. There’re moments that, ok, there’s little scrums and whatnot. But then there might be five minutes and its just coast to coast hockey and there is no atmosphere. It just feels like an exhibition game."

Not exactly what a Bruins fan wants to hear — especially on a night following a pretty crummy postseason loss. And a Red Sox blowout. And a three-homer night for Mookie Betts.

Again, there's absolutely some truth to Rask's comments. Yes, this entire tournament, as great as it is for hockey to back and the Stanley Cup up for grabs, is weird as all hell. Beyond the bubble accommodations, the daily testing, and whatnot, having no spectators in the stands for full-speed, NHL action is something these players have not experienced in ... well, ever, at least at the pro levels.

Yes, of course, you're going to be heated up when someone socks you in the face or you're club is pushing for that tying goal. But methinks you'd find very few NHLers that would say with 100% conviction that this Cup run offers the same rush as what we're all used to come the postseason.

But that being said,



Rask, always a conduit for criticism in this town, isn't doing himself ANY favors with comments like this, especially just 20 minutes after a loss.

Yes, the atmosphere might be strange, but an exhibition game? Brad Marchand certainly doesn't feel that way.

"These are playoff games; playoff atmosphere and we’re going to compete. We’re going to compete," Marchand said. "It’s definitely different. There is no question. It doesn’t have the same atmosphere and there is no home-ice advantage. It’s just straight-up hockey at this point. Unfortunately, that is the playoffs this year and at least we’re playing."

Marchand, who also tried to bail out his teammates by adding that Rask might have been talking about the round-robin games, certainly didn't treat Thursday night's matchup as an exhibition game. Along with a power-play goal and assist, Marchand made his presence felt across the ice — dominating on a potential momentum-swinging PK shift in the third, while also routinely trucking opposing skaters in the neutral zone.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1294068179162013696

Rask was not the lone reason that Boston came up short on Thursday night, with defensive breakdowns, poor clears and general malaise in the defensive zone giving a frantic Carolina forecheck a chance to build some sustained pressure — culminating in three absolute snipes off the sticks of Teuvo Teräväinen, Andrei Svechnikov and Dougie Hamilton.

Still, relinquishing three goals in consecutive games isn't going to cut it. And a Bruins fan base glued into front of their TVs and laptops — fretting, stressing and shrieking with every loose puck skittering near in the crease or roofed shot on a rush — isn't going to be too thrilled with Rask's thoughts now that playoff hockey (the real deal or not) is finally back.

https://twitter.com/NHL_Nosebleed/status/1294098085879193600

"I’m just trying to have fun and play the game," Rask said. I’m not stressing too much about results and whatnot. It’s August and I haven’t played hockey in forever. Just go out there and have fun and see what happens for me."

Unlike plenty of other pro hockey talent across the league, Rask is often not afraid of being open and frank with his thoughts. But, just this once, the Bruins netminder would have been better off with sticking to the same, tired ol' script.