Tuukka Rask: What the Boston Bruins Must Do to Sustain His Interest

Even in the face of a hard tug back down from the stratosphere, goaltender Tuukka Rask flaunted his value to the Boston Bruins in Tuesday night’s bout with the Winnipeg Jets at TD Garden.

True, he allowed three goals on the night, matching the cumulative total from his previous six appearances. And yes, all three of Winnipeg’s strikes gave the visitors a lead.

But while the nature (long-distance blasts and tip-ins), frequency and consequences of those goals all conspired in the effort to mollify, if not outright dissolve the stopper’s psyche, Rask did not let that happen.

Rather, he never allowed the deficit to expand to two, just as he hasn’t done in any appearances since the end of October. And when the Bruins usurped the momentum and the lead in the third period, Rask retained sufficient focus to stop the eight shots he faced in the closing frame and preserve a 5-3 triumph.

Rask’s latest performance, and sixth consecutive victory, came one week after he implicitly professed his desire to stay in Boston, despite the fact that there is no end in sight to veteran colleague Tim Thomas’ equally celestial days.

Up to this point, the Bruins have proven that, unlike a four-set of All-Star forward lines or a six-pack of stay-at-home defensemen, a tandem of Vezina-caliber goaltenders is perfectly sustainable. But more measures may need to be taken to ensure the long-term viability of that approach, along with Rask’s commitment to the franchise.

After all, while Rask did say that he wants “a long future” in Boston, the Bruins’ management and coaching staff must speak through action to make it indisputably clear that the desire is mutual. Anything else could risk leading Rask to believe that he will not receive that long future in the exact way he expects.

Leading up to the expiration of his current contract this summer, here are some simple ways the Bruins can set the tone to cement a long-term partnership with Rask.

Bigger Game-Hunting

Tuesday night’s adversary from Winnipeg certainly posed a unique challenge in that the Jets are one of the hungrier, more desperate teams trying to assert themselves as contenders for a playoff spot. And Rask has also taken an opportunity to muzzle a high-octane offense from Toronto in a Dec. 3 victory and to stamp a regulation point by pushing the Detroit Red Wings to a shootout.

Other than that, though, most of Rask’s 2011-12 workload has come against the lower two-thirds of the NHL’s offensive leaderboard. If he could give the Bruins a bona fide chance to top Detroit and outduel Jimmy Howard in the process, he should get his share of opportunities to do the same against, say, Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers, currently the top team in the Eastern Conference.

With all four installments of that season series yet to come, head coach Claude Julien should consider giving Rask and Thomas two starts apiece against the Rangers, perhaps one at each site.

More Back-to-Back Starts

Rask has only scraped the blue paint in consecutive games on three occasions to date.

The first was when the Bruins faced the Islanders and Oilers three nights apart. The second was when he came on in relief of Thomas to commence the third period of a come-from-behind win in Columbus, then played the full length of a 3-0 shutout of Los Angeles. And the most recent was when he blanked the Florida Panthers Dec. 23, then backstopped an overtime win in Phoenix after the entire team had a five-day respite.

With games starting to increase in frequency in the latter half of the season, Rask will not only be needed to spare Thomas extra labor. He will need more chances to prove that he can create, advance and sustain night-to-night momentum all on his own.

The more he plays and the greater the variety of his opponents, the more primed Rask will be for the playoffs. On that note…

(At Least) A Few Playoff Appearances

Last year would not have been the ideal time for this, but imagine if the Bruins start a postseason series this spring the same way they started the 2011 Eastern Conference finals. You know, when the Boston defense turned the puck over twice and the opposing Tampa Bay Lightning collected a total of three goals on four shots in 85 seconds?

If anything of that nature were to happen to Thomas again at any time, Rask ought to be seasoned, poised and trusted enough to sweep away the shards. He already gave his teammates and coaches a hint when he polished off the aforementioned comeback win in Columbus Dec. 10.

But even if Thomas is not uncharacteristically breaking out in hives, Rask will need to be worked in to the postseason plan to some productive extent.

Keeping him on the bench for the balance of another playoff run, no matter how long it lasts, would send the wrong message to a young stopper who just surprised many by saying he would prefer to remain a Bruin.

Hot hand adage aside, the postseason could be the time when working with two stingy goaltenders reaps the most benefits. The opposing offense would essentially have twice as much to prepare for and need to keep their head on a swivel entering each new game day.

Even if Thomas were to backstop Boston in a pair of dominant efforts in all three zones en route to a 2-0 series lead, inserting Rask for Game 3 would not be imprudent. Rather, it would just be another way of flexing the Bruins’ formidable depth.