Goaltending Competition Short-Lived As Tuukka Rask Resumes No. 1 Role for Bruins
With Tim Thomas turning in a shutout on Saturday, just two days removed from an off night by Tuukka Rask, it wasn't outrageous to believe on Monday afternoon that the veteran netminder had a chance to supplant the rookie during the Bruins' stretch run.
Three goals and 26 minutes of ice time later, the race is officially over. Tuukka Rask is the Bruins' No. 1 goaltender, and that's a position he's most certainly earned.
When Thomas was yanked on Monday night, Rask entered a 3-0 game in the second period for the second time in as many weeks. He did the same on March 15 in New Jersey, and in both games, he was perfect, stopping 19 Buffalo shots and 16 New Jersey shots in the respective games. In both games, however, it wasn't enough to save the Bruins, who lost 3-2 in each contest.
The aspect of the goaltending situation that was tricky for Claude Julien was the fact that no matter what decision he made, it would be nearly impossible to get it right. If Rask allowed those same three goals on the same 14 shots on Monday, Julien would have been criticized for leaving the "hot goalie" on the bench. Likewise, if the Monday night went exactly as it actually did, the coach, in the eyes of angry fans, appeared at fault.
"It had to do with his performance on Saturday," Julien said of his decision to tab Thomas as Monday's starter. "I think, number one, he was extremely good. Number two, when we looked at the schedule as a coaching staff, having a back-to-back game and the way Timmy played, we thought we’d have ourselves two fresh goaltenders on both nights. We know the importance of these games."
The logic makes sense. After all, would resting Thomas for one game, only to throw him into the same crease in which he struggled so mightily in New Jersey two weeks prior, be any more of a right decision?
"Having said that," Julien said after the loss to the Sabres, "hindsight’s always 20/20. If we get the win tonight, it’s definitely a great move."
When asked if Rask's prior performance against Buffalo played a factor, Julien explained that there was no simple solution.
"Yeah, we’re playing New Jersey tomorrow, and the last time we were in New Jersey, Tuukka came in and played really well against them, too" Julien said. "Again, I don’t think I have to justify everything here. Like I said, hindsight’s 20/20. You live with the consequences. You make decisions based on talking as a staff and seeing what’s the best scenario. And no doubt, when you look at Timmy’s last game, he was extremely good, and we expected the same out of him tonight."
Obviously, they didn't get that. What they got out of Thomas was what they've gotten all too often this year. The first two goals — a floater from 70 feet off the stick of Tyler Myers and a Paul Gaustad backhand that deflected off Dennis Wideman's skate — could be categorized as fluky, but how many times can those shots continue to find the back of the net before the fluke becomes the norm?
With Thomas, at least, it appears as though that number has been reached. As Thomas showed so many times last season, at some point, a goalie has to make that one save that can turn a game around. It can keep a 1-0 lead in the first period, or it could preserve a 5-4 lead late in a third period. That one save can't always be easily quantified in statistics. It's the subtle, intricate details — it could be the proper positioning, a lucky reaction or a downright athletic feat — that make for that one save. The save can often be overlooked, but when it's not made, it's impossible to miss.
For Thomas, that save has eluded him for most of the year. His goals-against average and save percentage are respectable, but his 16-18-8 record indicates his inability to steal wins for the Bruins for the majority of the year. The fact that he's been pulled from a game six times only reinforces that fact.
The Bruins aren't the only ones with a surprising goaltending scenario, as several teams around the league have their preseason No. 1 netminders spending most of their days on the bench. As ESPN.com's Scott Burnside pointed out, Chris Osgood has been replaced by former Maine Black Bear Jimmy Howard in Detroit; rookie Semyon Varlamov has not proven his worth over veteran Jose Theodore in Washington; Pascal Leclaire is due more than $8 million over the next two years while Brian Elliott is getting the starts; Carey Price has made just four starts since the Olympic break in Montreal as Jaroslav Halak rises to prominence; and in Chicago, $5 million goaltender Cristobal Huet has been outplayed dramatically by Antti Niemi.
Obviously, none of those situations can make the Bruins feel any better, but at the very least, the Bruins know they are not alone.
For the remainder of the season, it would now be a surprise to see Thomas get the start in a meaningful game. The Bruins have just one back-to-back remaining with a Saturday home matinee followed by an afternoon affair on Sunday in Washington to close out the regular season.
By then, their playoff fate likely will be sealed, but until then, it's Tuukka Rask's job to determine what that circumstance will be.
