It's not as easy for Tuukka Rask to drop his gloves and fight with all that goalie equipment on, but the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals seriously do not like each other.
So when Capitals right winger Garnet Hathaway attacked the net but was shoved high into the Bruins goalie, knocking his helmet off, emotions in Game 3 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series were running too high to let things slide.
With Hathaway down on the ice in front of the crease, Rask got some help from teammate Charlie Coyle, who held Hathaway down as the netminder got a few jabs in with his blocker.
"I'm just protecting myself," Rask said of the incident following the Bruins' 3-2 double-overtime win. "I'm not surprised there's not a penalty. It's gonna take a lot for them to call anything. So I figured I'll let him know that if he comes close, maybe I gave him a couple too many. I don't know. That's what the refs thought."
Either way, Rask and the Bruins got the upper hand Wednesday with the victory, putting them up 2-1 in the series.
Game 4 from TD Garden in Boston is set for Friday night at 6:30 p.m. ET.
