BRIGHTON -- Anton Khudobin wasn’t sure he’d get back to Boston, and still isn’t sure how long he’s going to be here.
But the 30-year-old goalie is glad the Bruins decided to promote him back from the AHL ahead of back-to-back road games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals, and hopes he’s here to say as Tuukka Rask’s understudy. Khudobin is part of a group of backup goalies that have managed just one win in 16 games this season, so he knows the mandate is there to start getting some results when called upon.
“I know I’m going with the team on the road trip. What’s the next step? I have no idea,” said Khudobin, who was 1-5-1 with a 3.05 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage prior to getting shipped to Providence. “It was a good stretch [in Providence]. I had a couple of shutouts, which was really good. It’s always good to have some games [under your belt].
“It’s always great when you’re winning, and when you’re losing it always sucks. You feel comfortable and you feel confident when you’re winning. It’s just a different feeling. No matter how you play, if you’re losing then you’re not happy. It just changes everything.”
Claude Julien couldn’t say whether or not Khudobin is going to play against either the Lightning or the Capitals.
“There’s no decision on that yet. I have to make a decision on tomorrow [in Tampa] first of all, and that’s a very important game,” said Julien when asked about Khudobin, who has posted a 6-3-1 record with an .892 save percentage and 2.86 goals against average in 10 games with the P-Bruins. “We’ve got to really assess our situation here with our goalies.”
No matter what the assessment, there are two objectives the Bruins need to meet: HGet Rask some rest after he spent all weekend on the West Coast as part of the NHL All-Star representation, and get some good results out of Khudobin, to whom they made a two-year investment during free agency last summer.