Ryan: With or without Rask, this motivated Bruins group still has mettle necessary to settle its unfinished business

Year in, year out, there are plenty of hardships every team faces on its grueling march in pursuit of Lord Stanley's Cup. 

Look no further than last June, when a battered and beaten Bruins club stared in shocked resignation as the St. Lous Blues captured their first title in Boston's own barn. 

The price Boston paid to get to that heartbreaking conclusion was steep. 

Noel Acciari soldiered on against the Blues with a broken sternum. John Moore, skating in relief of an injured Matt Grzelcyk, logged shift after shift with a fractured humerus. Chris Wagner, stepping in front of a Justin Faulk howitzer in the Eastern Conference Final, needed wrist surgery. And Zdeno Chara, had the B's been able to best the Blues in seven games, likely wouldn't have been able to belt out a triumphant yell upon hoisting the Cup — given the stitches that were keeping his shattered jaw in place.  

One year later, the physical toll remains the same. But in a season — and year — turned completely upside down, the already daunting task of being the last club standing in the NHL is complicated by much more than than the usual grind of playoff hockey. 

And no previous injuries, slumps or other expected postseason burdens were going to prepare Boston for what transpired on Saturday morning.

Shortly before jumping on the team bus over to Scotiabank Arena, the Bruins received the news — Tuukka Rask, citing the need to be with family, had opted out of the NHL's "Return to Play" format.  Just hours ahead of puck drop in Game 3 against the Hurricanes, Boston was going to be without its top netminder, not just for Saturday's matinee, but for however long this motivated club's shot at redemption would last up in the bubble.

For Bruce Cassidy, who received word of Rask's decision from Don Sweeney on Saturday morning, there is only so much one can do upon getting dealt such news — especially just hours ahead of a playoff bout.

The only course of action? Forge on ahead.



"We can't be worried about who's out of the lineup," Cassidy said. "We worry about who's in the lineup. ... Family comes first, and that decision was made. So yes, then we move on. I know it sounds cold, but on the professional part of it, we have a job to do here. We move on, it's Jaro’s net and then be there for Tuukka. ... He's just trying to take care of his family and we're trying to take care of business here in Toronto."

Cassidy's players cleared heeded his message on Saturday afternoon.

Taking to the ice without both their top netminder and leading scorer in David Pastrnak (held out for the second straight game under "unfit to participate" protocols), the Bruins still looked every bit the same tenacious club that, fueled by the desire to rewrite last year's narrative, went scorched earth on most of its opponents from October through March.

In the minutes following Boston's 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes, the pillars of Boston's locker room, as expected, spoke highly in support of Rask, whose efforts in net have gone a long way in putting Boston back its current course toward another deep Cup run.

"We’re a tight group in this locker room," Patrice Bergeron said. "We’ve been together for a while and supporting each other. Obviously, we’re thinking about him and we’re supporting that decision. And like you said, this locker room, we’re ... doesn’t matter who is being asked to step up, it seems like guys come in and do that every time."

Jaroslav Halak, Boston's go-to netminder for the remainder of this postseason, shared a similar sentiment as Boston's alternate captain.

“We are here as one family," he said. "There are obviously more important things than hockey in life."

And even though Rask will no longer be the man between the pipes for the Bruins, Boston's collective mindset — and mission — up in Toronto hasn't changed.

Even without its Vezina Trophy finalist and "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner, this motivated Bruins team still has enough moxie — and more importantly, drive — to see this season through and capture the prize that slipped through its fingers last June.

The return of Pastrnak, which could happen as soon as Monday, will go a long way in restoring some of Boston's patented firepower on its power play and top line, while David Krejci's discovery of the Fountain of Youth north of the border (five points in three games against Carolina) offers hope that a dormant second line could start putting some opponents on the ropes.

But Saturday's win went far beyond the expected contributions from key cogs like Bergeron, Krejci (two helpers) and Brad Marchand (one goal, one assist).

"We had different guys stepping up again today, some new guys in the lineup," Zdeno Chara said. "I think it's up to all of us to raise our game and, you know, support each other and be there for each other every shift and throughout the whole 60-minute and plus, if we need to be. We know that we're missing these guys, but at the same time we have to go through different adversities throughout the playoffs — that's just a part of it, and we faced another one today."

When the usual suspects up front are clicking and their power play is humming along, the Bruins are a daunting opponent.

But when bottom-six regulars like Charlie Coyle and Sean Kuraly get on the scoresheet as well, this team can be unstoppable.

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When young skaters like Jack Studnicka and Connor Clifton reward Cassidy's decision to slot them into the lineup with physical, tenacious play on the blue line and down in the scrums along the crease, this team can be unstoppable.

When grinders like Joakim Nordstrom and Par Lindholm are eating up pucks and sacrificing their body with reckless abandon, this team can be unstoppable.

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And when your newly coronated top option in net stands tall, much as he did on Saturday afternoon, this team can be unstoppable.

Each of these players left their imprint in Saturday's game — a contest in which, even after Halak relinquished a gift goal to Nino Niederreiter in the third period, Boston clamped down and snuffed out any chance of a Carolina rally.

"That's a good word — 'proud' — because that's the first word I used after the game," Cassidy said. "Proud of Jaro for answering the call on short notice, proud of the young guys that are playing. ... Jaro, he tried to get the clear, they read it well, but right away on the bench, Brad Marchand stands up (and says) 'Hey that's not going to hurt us, we're fine, we're playing well.' The whole bench was like that.

"I think there was no collective let down like, 'Oh boy here it comes.' We know we're playing our game from the second period on. First period, we bent, we didn't break, but our guys knew when we have our game, when we're playing Bruins hockey, so that wasn't going to deter us from keep going forward. That doesn't mean you're going to win but you got to keep playing the way you're playing and I thought it showed."

Rask's sudden departure might stand as Boston's most challenging test in the early weeks of this unprecedented playoff tournament, but it certainly won't be the last. More twists and turns lie in way for however long this team remains in the bubble.

But, with or without Rask in net, the Bruins' march toward redemption presses on — and it doesn't intend on stopping any time soon.

"It could, it very well could," Cassidy said of if Halak's turn in net could galvanize this group. "Now it could be his turn to have a nice run. I think it's in the back of everyone's mind ... No team gets there without solid goaltending.

"So maybe this is Jaro’s year."