BOSTON – It certainly wasn’t the end result that he wanted, but Tuukka Rask was satisfied with getting some work in during the preseason.
Rask stopped 21 of 24 shots behind a lineup that was mostly comprised of the NHL roster, and dropped a 3-1 preseason decision to the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden. The Finnish netminder certainly wasn’t at the top of his game, but he also had a young defense in front of him that are still working out the kinks as the NHL intensity increases with each step closer to the regular season.
“He was fine. I think that third goal is probably something that I’ll look at, could [have been] a reviewable [goal by] the league, during the regular season I should say. I’m going to look at it a little bit closer,” said Claude Julien. “But some of those shots were really top shelf [that went for goals]. They were good goals, and it’s his first game. So like anybody else he’s entitled to have those games.
“It wasn’t a bad game on his part at all. I think he’s our number one goalie, and we’re not here to evaluate him. We’re here to evaluate the others. For him, it’s to find his groove. [It’s his] first game and no doubt he’ll feel even better in the next one that he plays.”
Rask was tested right off the bat during a sleepy first period, and his first save was a scoring chance in tight by Drew Miller as he cut through the front of the net unscathed. That was a recurring pattern as Miller again walked into the slot during the second period, and fired a wrist shot from his off foot that banged in right under the crossbar.
Later in the period, Tomas Jurco turned around Linus Arnesson with his speed before firing a shot past Rask with defenders flailing at him en route to the goal. The third goal scored in the final period might have been a bit on Rask is trickled in while Jurco and Torey Krug were jostling with each other next to the crease, but it was also the one Julien referred to as a possible candidate for video review once the regular season begins.
“[It was] good to get it out of the way. You kind of forget how tough it is out there. It doesn’t matter how much you work out or skate, it’s always different when it's a real game. I definitely felt it. It’s good to get that first one out of the belt, and to keep moving on,” said Rask, who will likely get one of the last two preseason games on the road as well this week. “Today I felt that timing was sometimes a little off, angles were a little off at times and not natural all the time.
Boston Bruins
“Those are the things I need to work on. But I think in the bigger picture too, looking at the breakouts we did a pretty good job today and communication was pretty good too.”
Now that Rask has made his preseason debut and seems close to regular season-ready with a gradual training camp experience, the focus will go from him back to Jonas Gustavsson and Jeremy Smith battling for the backup goalie role. That’s the only real question mark between the pipes for the B’s at this point in the preseason.