Tuukka Rask is the subject of plenty of debate among the Boston sports media, but there’s no question the Bruins’ starting goalie of the last six seasons has been a reliable presence in the net for the Original Six club.
The Athletic’s Craig Custance recently asked a panel of NHL general managers and coaches to rank the 31 starting goalies in the league, and after tallying the results and dividing them into tiers, Rask was 14th.
Rask at No. 14 seems a bit low.
Since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, when Rask became the starter following Tim Thomas’ departure, he ranks second among all goalies with 150-plus games played in wins (191), fourth in save percentage (.921), fourth in even-strength save percentage (.929) and first in shutouts (30).
Rask’s workload decreased from 65 games played in 2016-17 to 54 last season, and the results speak for themselves. The Finnish netminder posted an impressive 34-14-5 record and a .917 save percentage in helping Boston exceed expectations with the fourth-best record in the league.
Rask’s numbers should be even better during the 2018-19 campaign because the Bruins boast one of the deepest blue lines in the league, a unit that will be bolstered by the return of Brandon Carlo from injury and the free-agent addition of veteran defenseman John Moore.
