Just minutes after Tuukka Rask was dented by the Ducks last Monday to the tune of five goals allowed over 27 shots, Bruce Cassidy preached patience in regards to the B’s franchise netminder.
Sure, the baseline numbers for the 34-year-old Rask were rather unsightly (2-2-0, .844 save percentage). But be it the expected rust that the netminder needed to shake off or Boston’s desire for a longer sample size, a rough outing against Anaheim was not going to suddenly derail the club’s plans of getting Rask back in the fold.
"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.”
A rational, measured take — a rarity when it comes to pretty much anything revolving around Rask.
The only issue, of course, is that the Bruins aren’t even close to reaching those projected seven or eight starts with Rask between the pipes. Since that loss to the Ducks back on Jan. 24, Rask has not been back on the ice — hampered by a nagging lower-body injury.
With Rask back on the shelf, the Bruins already jumbled goalie corps was flipped on its head once again — with Linus Ullmark tasked with three straight starts on Boston’s three-game swing out west and Jeremy Swayman summoned back up from Providence.
Despite the week-long layoff, it looks as though Rask won’t be cleared once again for Tuesday’s home matchup against the Kraken — with Ullmark/Swayman slated to get the call in the final game ahead of the All-Star break.
“Tuukka hasn't even practiced, so it's highly unlikely we'll see him until after the break,” Cassidy said of Rask following Sunday’s blowout loss to Dallas. “So we'll decide — Swayman and Ullmark will be the guys for Tuesday, then we're off.”
While the additional time off should be beneficial for Rask when it comes to resting whatever is currently plaguing him, this latest setback is further complicating an already tricky tightrope that the Bruins are trying to navigate when it comes to sorting through their goalie situation and getting Rask rolling — all with a continuously dwindling runway to work with.
If Rask is good to go coming out of this All-Star break, the Bruins have just 40 games left on their docket to get him back up to speed and evaluate whether or not the Rask of old will be available in time for a playoff push.
Add in the reps that also need to be allocated for Ullmark in order to keep him fresh, and you’ve got an awfully complicated situation. And if Rask isn’t given the green light by the time play resumes next week, you’re looking at more starts for Swayman, even less time for Rask to get ready and further headaches for Cassidy and Co.
Not ideal, to say the least.
“We made a decision, as a group, when Tuukka came back,” Cassidy said last week. “Obviously, in hindsight, did the time in Providence, when the schedule got canceled, work against him? Only he can answer that. Anybody coming back at any level, it's going to take a little bit of time. I think we understood that. So we're not at that point yet where we're going to blow everything up.
“We just need to get him his reps, need to play well in front of him. He needs to get comfortable tracking pucks, fighting traffic, stuff you don't get as often in practice, and that's just going to take some time. Hopefully not too much time. I mean, I think for everyone involved, we'd like to see the results quickly. Doesn't always happen that way.”
Of course, one way to potentially satisfy all parties (at least for the time being) is to see if Rask would agree to a conditioning stint down in Providence — be it during this week-long break (if he’s healthy enough) or even in the next few weeks in order to keep him fresh.
Such an avenue should be an available option for the Bruins if Rask is receptive to it, as the current CBA notes in Section 13.8 and 13.9 that a conditioning loan is on the table if the player consents to it, especially if the Bruins are looking to see if the netminder is fit to after this latest setback.
Even though the Bruins pushed ahead and threw Rask into the fire of NHL competition after his initial stint in Providence was scrapped due to COVID cancellations, it’s not out of the question that the B’s try and get Rask more AHL reps moving forward — with Ullmark/Swayman holding down the fort as Boston tries to get Rask going down in Providence.
"Originally, all parties involved, including Tuukka, wanted to go play down there," Cassidy said last weekend of any potential AHL assignment with Rask. "Then the schedule changed that, and he came to play here. So, could that happen again, the conversation? Yeah, but again, Tuukka has to agree to that. He's got to be amenable to it. We can't just assign him there. That could be a conversation based on how he's feeling.
"It will be some time off the ice for him that he's gonna have to catch up again. I'm sure that will be one of the options discussed. Whether it actually happens or not, I can't sit here and tell you right now because it's a little bit away.”
Ultimately, getting the clearance for a conditioning stint for Rask might be the easiest way for Boston to kill two birds with one stone as far as their goaltending is concerned.
Unless Rask’s current injury completely sidetracks him and ends his mid-season return, the Bruins are still looking to build his game back as their No. 1 netminder. While Ullmark has been solid and Swayman shows plenty of promise, a healthy and locked-in Rask likely offers the Bruins their best shot in terms of putting together a run in the coming months.
But Rask is going to need reps, and the Bruins are going to need to evaluate their netminder and make sure he’s the best possible option before the calendar turns to April and the club needs to start making decisions of who to roll with in crunch time.
If Rask can get his body right and build some momentum while working on his craft down in Providence, Ullmark/Swayman split reps and stay fresh for the next few weeks, and Rask eventually returns in late February/early March for a true test run as Boston’s presumptive top guy in net — that sure seems like a win-win for all involved.
You may not like it for one of many different reasons (Ullmark’s contract, Swayman’s lack of defined role, Rask’s lackluster early returns), but unless Rask’s body gives out, the Bruins are still committed to getting No. 40 ready in the near future.
But with time not on their side, the Bruins are going to have to get creative here.
“You talk about our goaltending with three guys splitting reps at the start of the year. For Ully and Swayman, it took them a little bit of time and then they kind of found our footing,” Cassidy said. “I think you're gonna see a little bit of that. And that's just the way it is when you got one net and then we're just gonna have to play through it.
"Because, listen, Tuukka is not some guy off the street that has never played. He's got a resume in this league and an extremely good one. So we know he'll find his game. We got to give him the opportunity to do it. So that's the plan. If we have to deviate from that down the road, we will. I know it's a results-oriented business, but we're not there yet. We believe he'll find his game and we'll have a great one-two punch.”
