ESPN’s Latest Bruins Prediction More Pressing After Tuukka Rask Retirement

The Boston Bruins are back where they started, as far as goaltending goes.

Tuukka Rask formally ended his comeback attempt Wednesday when he announced his retirement, leaving Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark as the Bruins’ goalie tandem. Swayman and Ullmark started the season in a similar position, except now Rask no longer is looming over them.

That increases the importance of the prediction ESPN’s Kristen Shilton made Wednesday when she named Swayman and Ullmark as the Bruins’ breakout candidates for the second half of the 2021-22 NHL season. Barring injury, Swayman and Ullmark will share the goaltending duties, and their performances will factor heavily into how the Bruins finish the regular season and their playoff prospects.

“Goalie tandems must stick together, that’s the rule,” Shilton wrote. … Ullmark and Swayman are back on the hot seat with a potentially wild road ahead. The Atlantic Division is top-heavy with talented teams and great goaltending, which Ullmark and Swayman will have to match.”

Life after Rask will begin in earnest for the Bruins on Thursday at TD Garden when they host the Carolina Hurricanes.