BOSTON — Just over four and a half years ago, Tuukka Rask and Andrew Raycroft were traded for each other. On Thursday, they'll start against each other.
Rask was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate and is expected to get his first start for the Bruins since Jan. 20 as Boston hosts Dallas, and he'll be looking for his first win since Jan. 10. After leading the league in both goals-against average and save percentage last year, Rask is just 4-10-1 this season, though his other numbers remain decent with a 2.67 GAA and a .923 save percentage.
Tim Thomas, meanwhile, leads the league in nearly every goaltending category, but the 36-year-old netminder will need the occasional rest down the stretch, so it's important to get Rask back on track as well.
"I think that's the bottom line is you have to allow [Thomas] to get some rest and I think we have a good goaltender in Tuukka and we know his statistics are good. The only negative thing is the win-loss column right now," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after the morning skate. "And I have a feeling that's going to turn around. Tuukka's a good goaltender and we have to use him and he has to give us some games and he's got to give us some wins and he's got to give us the performance we know he's capable of."
Julien won't be making any other changes in his lineup. The lines will remain intact, including keeping Blake Wheeler at center between Michael Ryder and Tyler Seguin. That also means that Mark Stuart will be the healthy scratch on defense for the fifth straight game.
"We're going to go with the same D's," Julien said. "I'm not going to mix anything up right now. It is what it is and we keep talking about that almost every day as well. We've got a guy in Stuey [Mark Stuart] that so far has had a great attitude towards not disrupting the team and understanding how tough it is to play. But at the same time our six D's are doing a great job so you don't punish other guys for that kind of stuff."
For Dallas, Raycroft will start for the first time since allowing seven goals against Calgary on Jan. 21, a rare off night in what has been a solid season for the former Calder Trophy winner. Since being traded to Toronto for Rask at the 2006 draft, Raycroft has bounced around a bit with stints in Colorado and Vancouver, but he's found a home in Dallas. He's 8-4-0 with a 2.42 GAA and a .920 save percentage this year.
The Stars will be without forward Travis Morin, who passed out Wednesday while waiting for the team's flight out of Dallas and did not make the trip. Raymond Sawada was called up from the AHL. Jamie Benn (shoulder) also remains out, while Mark Fistric is out on defense.
Projected Bruins lines
Forwards
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Michael Ryder-Blake Wheeler-Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton
Defense
Zdeno Chara-Steven Kampfer
Dennis Seidenberg-Johnny Boychuk
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid
Goalies
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
Scratches: Marc Savard (concussion), Mark Stuart
Stars projected lines
Forwards
James Neal-Brad Richards-Loui Eriksson
Brenden Morrow-Mike Ribiero-Jamie Langenbrunner
Adam Burish-Steve Ott-Raymond Sawada
Brian Sutherby-Aaron Gagnon-Krystofer Barch
Defense
Nicklas Grossman-Stephane Robidas
Jeff Woywitka-Trevor Daley
Karlis Skrastins-Matt Niskanen
Goalies
Andrew Raycroft
Kari Lehtonen
Scratches: Mark Fistric, Travis Morin, Jamie Benn (shoulder)
