BOSTON — It certainly wasn’t the best night for Tuukka Rask between the pipes.
The Bruins goalie turned away 29 shots, but gave up three goals in Boston’s eventual 4-1 Game 1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at TD Garden.
There were two goals in particular Rask and Co. probably would want back. The first being a Mitch Marner penalty shot that put the Leafs up for good before William Nylander made it 3-1 with a five-hole goal. But head coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t place an ounce of blame on his goaltender, and Rask chalked Nylander’s goal up as “a bad save selection.”
“I got him where I wanted, and I felt (the puck) hit my stick,” he said after the game. “But I guess it was a bad save selection, because it went through. I was tracking it to the corner, and it was behind in the net.”
As for Marner’s penalty shot, Rask compared it to something he’s seen teammate David Pastrnak do in practice on him.
“I don’t know,” he said when asked if he thought about poke checking the puck. “That was a Pasta move. He’s done that in practice. I put my whole weight on my right foot and then I just couldn’t get there anymore. It was a nice move, fresh ice too. So I probably should’ve recognized that.”
While it wasn’t the outcome the Bruins wanted Thursday night, Rask still made some timely saves and helped his team stay in the game. But the Black and Gold can head to Toronto with the series tied 1-1 if they come out with a win Saturday in Game 2.
