Tuukka Rask is playing his best hockey when the Boston Bruins need him the most.
The Bruins have allowed 82 shots on goal over their last two games, but thanks to the work of Rask, only two of those have found the back of the net.
The Boston goaltender stopped a season-high 41 shots Wednesday in a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, then turned aside 39 in Friday’s 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
“I think our team to score goals is doing a great job this year,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said Friday in a postgame interview with NESN’s Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley. “Defensively, we’ve got to get ourselves a lot better than we have been. (We’re) giving up too many shots, too many bad decisions here, puck decision, even closing quicker — that kind of stuff. I can’t say I was pleased with our defensive game, but I’m certainly happy with the fact that we won the game. And offensively, we did a pretty good job.”
Though no team would chose to surrender upward of 80 shots over a two-game span, Rask said he actually has been encouraged by the way Boston’s defense in front of him has played of late.
“We’re not breaking down as bad as we used to,” Rask told reporters, as aired on “Bruins Overtime LIVE.” “We’re making mistakes and spending some time in our own end, but we’re being more compact and calm out there, and that’s helping me see the puck and control the puck. So, that’s why we’re not getting scored on that much.”
Some additional notes from Friday night:
— Seventeen special guests — dads, uncles, brothers and grandpas — made the trek to PNC Arena as part of the Bruins’ first fathers trip since 2006.
The family members took in Wednesday’s Bruins-Pittsburgh Penguins game at TD Garden and Thursday’s practice in Wilmington, Mass., then joined the B’s on the team charter to Raleigh.
“It’s been great,” Julien told reporters Friday morning, via BostonBruins.com. “It’s amazing to see a lot of the resemblance there between the fathers and the sons — and you see where the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. But it’s been good. We had a good meal (Thursday) night, got an opportunity to get to know them and to chat with them, so I think it was great.”
Kirk Miller, father of defenseman Kevan Miller, agreed.
“It’s been obviously really good,” the elder Miller told NESN rinkside reporter Sarah Davis before the game. “To get this opportunity to be with the Bruins and meet all the dads and so forth and so on has been really a great experience.”
— Bruins rookie Colin Miller lit it up in his home debut for the Providence Bruins, finishing with two goals and an assist as the Baby B’s crushed the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 6-1.
Miller tallied three goals and 12 assists in 29 games for the big club before being reassigned to the American Hockey League last week.
— Speaking of the minor leagues, the Bruins on Friday unveiled a new portion of their website solely dedicated to tracking the progress and statistics of their prospects. Check it out right here.
