How Many Games Will Marty Turco Start for the Bruins This Season?

by NESN Staff on Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 8:00AM

Marty Turco is here, finally. After sweating out the waiver wire hoping that another team wouldn't step in to whisk him away, the veteran goaltender is officially on board with the Bruins.

How he fares as Boston's backup, however, remains to be seen. After playing this year in Austria for EC Red Bull Salzburg, Turco is sure to need a bit of a readjustment period as he gets used to the speed of the NHL.

In the meantime, Tim Thomas remains the Bruins' No. 1 goaltender and will likely see an increased workload down the stretch regardless. This flies in the face of the team's original strategy to rest Thomas more than they did last season, in the hopes that he will be able to stay fresh for another run at the Stanley Cup.

Turco's performance will play a big part in that, as will the Bruins' place in the standings heading down the stretch. Winning the Northeast division and keeping home ice as long as possible is obviously on the Bruins radar, so Turco's playing time could very much depend on the urgency (or lack thereof) for the Bruins to keep winning.

There are 17 games remaining, beginning with the Sabres on Thursday night. That means the Bruins will have 17 decisions to make regarding their goalie situation the rest of the way. How many times will the decision go in Turco's favor?

How many games will Marty Turco start for the Bruins this season?