Boston Bruins' Tuukka Rask: Finally! (And a Shutout To Boot)

After five games played and a record of 0-4-1, the Boston Bruins' No.2 goalie finally gets a win with the help of offense and solid puck support by his teammates... for the most part.

I've said time and time again that Tuukka Rask did not deserve the results of the games that he has played.  He not only got the much needed offensive help, but he was a large part in putting this game away.

To earn the win, Milan Lucic earned a natural hat trick and Shawn Thornton got one of the most fortuitous bounces I have seen for a goal.  Thornton went up the ice on Tomas Vokoun's right and tried to pass the puck to a surging Tyler Seguin.  The puck bounced off Bryan Allen, which in turn bounced off Shawn Matthais' chest and in.  Nonetheless, it's a goal.

Most importantly, Rask needed to stop an onslaught of 41 shots at the net, and quite a few of them were point blank.  To be good is to also be lucky.  There were some shots that came from a clear breakaway, but they did not yield the desired results for the Panthers.

Chris Higgins had very good success on Rask and was on a breakaway with no one to challenge him on a shorthanded attempt, but was wide right.  It looked like Rask had him all the way, but with a puck in Higgins' control, you never know.

In the very same penalty kill, the Panthers' Mike Santorelli caught Zdeno Chara flat-footed in the neutral zone.  This created a three-on-one with both Higgins and Bryan Allen joining in on the rush.  Santorelli passed it back to Allen who ripped on at the net, but Rask stopped it clean.

Bottom line is that, while the Bruins did pick up the play in the third period, it was partially due to the Panthers trying to pinch in to get on the scoreboard.  Up to that point, Vokoun was also lights-out with the exception of Lucic's first period goal.

I will somewhat relent that the Bruins did play the night before and on a good tilt against a good team in the New York Rangers, but only somewhat because of the Panthers just coming off a game of their own against the Atlanta Thrashers.

The Bruins could have picked up their play as three of their four goals were within the final frame, and that is a glaring example that a full 60 minutes of hockey is required.

This has also been the third back-to-back game nights that the Bruins had to face this month, and in each one, Boston had to travel immediately after the first game to get to the next one.

All in all, a win is a win, and this makes it the third win in a row.

"Hats" off to Lucic, but Rask stole the show.

Next up are the surprising and surging Los Angeles Kings.  The Kings are currently second in the Western Conference and are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games.  They are currently in a mini slide of a two-game losing streak and hope to end both streaks of Boston's and their own on Saturday, Nov. 20th at the Garden.

This is Cory Ducey saying "Hit Hard, But Keep It Clean"