Ryan: Amid second-half sprint, Bruins will have to roll with punches as Tuukka Rask shakes off rust

There are just some sounds that resonate with sports fans — igniting a spark somewhere in our subconsciousness that unlocks a cathartic deluge of memories.

For as much as sports is largely a visual (and visceral) endeavor, it’s often familiar tunes or a relatable din that can transport us back to a specific moment or place.

The nostalgic chimes of the Fenway Park organ.  
The squeaks of sneakers pushing off of the parquet hardwood.
The collective cacophony of cheers emitting from Gillette Stadium as “O Fortuna” blares over the speakers.  

And on Monday night, I felt like I was finally back in the pre-COVID days at TD Garden — thanks in large part to a couple of salty South-Shore residents performing an impromptu Statler & Waldorf vignette from Section 315. 

Fan 1: “RASK, YOU SUCK!”
Fan 2: “F--- YOU!”
Fan 1: “YOU SUCK TOO!”

It’s good to be back.

Monday’s civil discourse emanating from the nosebleeds is a soundtrack synonymous with most Bruins games over the years, especially in contests where Tuukka Rask has looked mortal in net.

Such was the case against the Ducks — with Rask dented by way of five goals on 27 Anaheim shots en route to a sloppy loss.

Granted, some rust was to be expected from Rask after returning mid-season from major hip surgery. But perhaps not to the extent that we’ve seen so far from the veteran netminder — with Rask sitting at an .844 save percentage through his first four outings of the 2021-22 campaign. 

"Obviously you can't expect it,” Rask said postgame of his sub-standard production. “You're proud player, you're trying to set your expectations high — but the reality sometimes doesn't match it. Obviously haven't been good enough — kind of the inconsistency within the game and from game in and game out it has been there and just got to fix that. But yeah, not satisfied, obviously."

Be it the optics of Rask getting shredded into swiss cheese over his limited reps so far this season — or perhaps due to the tempting forbidden fruit that is Jeremy Swayman currently toiling down in Providence — Bruins fans have not exactly embraced the patience that their team has regularly preached when it comes to Rask’s return and this juggling act in net.

At various stages during Monday’s beatdown, faint chants of “We - Want - Sway-man” began to sprout up along the lower bowl of the Garden. 

And that, to say the least, is not music to the Bruins' ears. 

Of course, as much as some fans might be ready to go to DEFCON 1 due to Rask’s lackluster start, the truth of the matter is that this falls right in line with his usual play out of the gate.

If you’re currently sweating bullets over the possibility that a 34-year-old Rask — fresh off of hip surgery — might be washed, let’s take a look at his last few seasons and see just how he kicked off those respective campaigns. 

2020-21 Season (First six games played): 4-1-1, .888 save percentage 
(If you want to keep track, he posted a .921 save percentage the rest of the way.)

2018-19 Season (First eight games played):  4-4-1, .901 save percentage

2017-18 Season (First 14 games played): 4-8-2, .899 save percentage

Notice a trend? 

Rask has almost always taken a while to settle in — with the 2019-20 season (7-0-1, .939 save percentage) standing as the only stark outlier amid a sea of so-so starts.

And based on Bruce Cassidy’s comments on Monday, it doesn’t seem like the Bruins are planning on doing anything drastic until Rask puts forth a larger body of work.

"Well, he's not where he needs to be,” Cassidy said. "I think that's evident and we weren't sure he would be this soon, either. I mean, as I said, I think you need seven or eight starts. …  Certainly needed a few more saves if we were going to win tonight. Again, he'll need more starts and then we have to evaluate it.”

So if you’re planning on waiting outside the Dunkin' Donuts Center, boombox in hand, to profess your support for Swayman and his claim to Boston's net, I’d tell you to save your batteries for another time.

For all of the reasons we touched on here, be it:  

• Boston’s season-long proclamations about getting Rask back in the fold 
• Swayman’s lackluster performances against teams currently in the playoff picture this season (1-5-1, .903 save percentage) 
• Swayman’s waiver-exempt status

… It’s pretty cut-and-dry that the Bruins are going to give Rask some time to sort things out and get back up to speed before they have to dramatically alter the state of their goalie corps.

 Unfortunately, it sure seems like there’s quite a bit to work on.

"I think it's more my depth at times,” Rask said of where the shortcomings in his game have been so far this season. “Looking briefly at some of those goals, I'm too deep in the crease, giving too much away and then tracking the puck. Obviously, it's not as sharp as it should be. Puck play also. A lot of things. Then again, it's gonna come. I got to work on it. ...  I can't let in like one or two bad goals a game, because you're doing the total opposite that you're supposed to at that point.”

Yes, the Bruins have usually given Rask plenty of rope to work on his game in the early goings of a new campaign. Almost all of the time, it’s been a prudent move, leading to strong returns in net as the season has gone on.

The difference this time around, of course, is that Rask and the Bruins are on very different timelines as far as the calendar is concerned.

While the Bruins of yesteryear could afford to let Rask work on his craft and steady himself during the sleepy stretches of October and November when just about every team is trying to find its game, that’s not the case right now.

Rather, the train has already left the station for a Bruins team looking to gain momentum ahead of another payoff push — and it falls now on a rusty Rask to keep up and hop on board before he runs out of platform.  

“It is,” Rask said of the challenge of shaking off rust during the middle of the season. "I don't know. The only way you can do it is by playing. We're at the midway (point) of the season and we don't have the luxury of throwing games away and putting me in there and trying to figure it out. I need to be sharp every time I go out there. And that's my job to find it. But it's not easy. But I just got to work on it.”

Even with some bumps along the way, the Bruins believe that another slow start for Rask should eventually give way to a locked-in netminder by the time spring rolls around and the playoffs arrive. 

At least, that’s the hope. 

Because by the time the calendar flips to May, the Bruins are going to need Rask — the conductor — at the controls of said aforementioned train. 

Not Rask — the passenger. 

And certainly not the guy left behind at the station.