The Boston Bruins’ goaltending situation might have just gone from bad to worse.
The B’s returned to practice Monday at Warrior Ice Arena without Tuukka Rask, who missed Saturday’s game due to injury. Moments after practice started, Anton Khudobin skated off the ice with an undisclosed injury, leaving Malcolm Subban, who was called up from Providence on Monday morning, as the team’s only goaltender during practice.
Subban has struggled in Providence this season with an 0-3-1 record, a 4.50 goals against average and a .846 save percentage, but the 22-year-old netminder expressed confidence in his ability to come through if he’s forced to start Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild.
“I’m battling right now,” Subban said. “It’s not the first time I’ve faced adversity and it’s not going to be the last … I got the call-up and I’ll be ready to go.”
Another notable change at practice was Ryan Spooner returning to the center position and skating with Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes on the third line. When centered by Riley Nash, the B’s third line hasn’t recorded a single point this season and has a 45.7 Corsi-for percentage in even-strength situations.
“This isn’t about Ryan Spooner not doing his job on the wing,” head coach Claude Julien said. “I thought he had a decent game and he did score last game. I think that line has just been flat and we need a little bit more throughout our lineup.”
NESN.com’s Michaela Vernava has the full Bruins Practice Report presented by Toyota in the video above.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
