Bruins turn to a familiar friend in search of emergency backup goalie for Monday’s practice

Oftentimes, when a team has to call on an emergency backup goalie (EBUG) for a game or even a practice setting — the journey that brought said netminder to a spot between the pipes in an NHL environment resembles a Hollywood script more than anything rooted in reality.

Although EBUGs have donned goalie gear and battled in the crease for many years before earning their once-in-a-lifetime shot, collegiate reps or any pro experience is not a pre-requisite to qualify for emergency backup duties.  

Kyle Konin, currently serving as an emergency backup in St. Louis with Jordan Binnington in COVID protocols, is a West Kingston, Rhode Island native. Prior to getting the call from the Blues, his previous stops include Grand Valley State University, the Vermont Lumberjacks (EHL) and the New Hampshire Avalanche (EHL).

Before beating the Maple Leafs in a regular-season bout back in February 2020, David Ayers was a 42-year-old building operator at Coca-Cola Coliseum — the home of Toronto’s AHL affiliate, the Marlies.  

Most EBUGs have little in terms of lofty stops etched on their hockey resume, sure. But not all of them.

Look no further than the EBUG that the Bruins had to turn to on Monday morning at Warrior Ice Arena — he with a casual …

306 wins - most in Bruins history.
A career .921 save percentage.
52 shutouts.
32,000 total minutes in net as an NHL goalie.
And a Vezina Trophy. 

Even though Don Sweeney’s comments last Tuesday presented the most obvious *wink-wink, nudge-nudge* yet that Tuukka Rask would eventually be back at some point later this season, Monday offered a particularly striking sight — with the 34-year-old free agent taking part in Boston’s morning practice and battling against his former (and soon-to-be regular?) teammates. 

"Just by watching him, he looked good,” Joe Sacco said of Rask. “I can't tell as far as how close he is or not. But certainly looked good out there and I think he had some fun and I know the guys were excited to see him there too."

Rask, who has been at Warrior for close to a month now while shaking off the rust following offseason hip surgery, doesn’t seem to be any worse for wear — at least in Brad Marchand’s eyes.

"It's always fun having him out there,” Marchand said. “It's incredibly frustrating shooting on him. You try to shoot it as hard as you can and he just makes it look so simple. He's just such a gifted and talented goalie. It's great to see him back out there again.”

Rask, who was filling in as an EBUG due to Linus Ullmark missing practice with a non-COVID illness, still has about another month of rehab work before he can really put himself in a position to get the green light for NHL action.

As such, even though the sight of Rask stymying shots from the likes of Marchand and Co. will thrill B’s fans (or make them yank out of their hair in disdain), the Bruins still have some time before they officially have Rask put pen to paper on a (likely) affordable, pro-rated contract. 

As we noted last week — even with Swayman’s very encouraging start last Thursday against the Preds — the B’s could use a lift in net this season, with decidedly league-average netminding often the deciding factor in a few of those one-goal contests in which the B’s have ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

Prior to Swayman’s shutout, the Bruins were 28th in the NHL in save percentage during 5v5 play. And while the B’s defense has coughed up some ugly Grade-A looks, the B’s are actually doing quite well at limiting the amount of quality looks that land at their netminder’s doorstep — especially when compared to the rest of the league.

If that expected goals rate stands tall and a healthy Rask is added to the equation, a steadier accumulation of points in the standings seems to be a natural result. 

Of course, then comes the issue of sorting through a three-man goalie rotation — in which sending Swayman down to Providence is likely the easiest scenario in the short-term, albeit far from the most preferable.

Of course, we’ve still got a few more weeks before these hypotheticals become tangible issues, so a lot can change between now and then. But at this stage of the season, it’s hard to push back against the notion that adding Rask (especially on a short-term, cheap deal) can only help this team in 2021-22.