Tuukka Rask Update: AHL Starts Might (Or Might Not) Still Be In Cards

Tuukka Rask still is in something of a holding pattern.

The Boston Bruins had a clear plan for the goalie over the weekend: Have him play Friday in Providence, then again Sunday if he needed it and go from there. But the P-Bruins’ scheduled opponent, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, had a COVID-19 issue and the games had to be postponed, sending Rask’s plan up in smoke.

Since the AHL seldom plays on weekdays, Rask’s next opportunity to get into a game will be Friday against the Hartford Wolf Pack. The door has been left open for Rask to just bypass the AHL, sign an NHL deal with the Bruins and go straight into NHL action.

As of now, everything is on the table.

“Providence’s next game is Friday,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said Monday after morning skate. “So we’ll have to discuss whether that’s in play, or if (he goes) right into our net at some point.”

Rask missed the start of the season after getting hip surgery over the summer. Physically, Rask says he’s in a good place, suggesting the AHL games were more to get his puck-tracking down and the other nuances of the game that can tick downward when away for months.