Since the Bruins’ Game 2 loss to the Islanders on Monday night, one of the big talking points has been Tuukka Rask’s health, as the veteran goalie looked a bit uncomfortable and seemed slow to get back to his feet a few times.
On Tuesday, coach Bruce Cassidy acknowledged that Rask continues to deal with “nagging” injuries, but that he expected him to be ready for Game 3 on Thursday.
Former Bruins goalie and current NESN analyst Andrew Raycroft joined The Greg Hill Show Wednesday morning and explained why Rask getting up slowly at times doesn’t really make him any more concerned about his health. (Listen to the full interview here.)
“No more so because he got up slowly a few times. I think we’ve seen him do that. We’ve seen some goalies do that on a normal basis in the regular season,” Raycroft said. “I think a couple times in the second period, the Bruins got hemmed in. [Brandon] Carlo was out there for a two-minute shift a few times. And the goaltender has to deal with that too, so I think that might’ve been his opportunity to gain a little rest.
“He didn’t pop right back up as the puck’s leaving the zone just because he’s working for two minutes straight. So taking a little blow, conserving energy at times. I would imagine we’re going to see him get up slow here and there. If he isn’t feeling 100 percent, he’s not going to push it. I’m OK with him getting up slow every once in a while as long as he’s in the net.”
Raycroft also weighed on Cassidy’s comment about Rask not tracking pucks as well in Game 2, saying that while that’s accurate, it’s not necessarily just a Rask problem, as he needs his defense to do a better job clearing out bodies and sticks to make his job easier.
“Tracking the puck means finding it off of releases, shot releases, finding it while guys are passing through the zone,” Raycroft explained. “The Islanders, Game 1 they only had 22 shots. So you can say he tracked it better in Game 1, but it was a lot easier game for him. There weren’t too many scramble opportunities. The Islanders didn’t do as good a job in Game 1 getting through the layers in the Bruins’ defensive zone, getting pucks to the net.
“I just talked about pucks going off skates and pucks going off the back boards on the Palmieri goal -- those are because the Islanders created more havoc. So as a goaltender, you want to track the puck, you want to have nice open lanes to see it off the release, track it all the way into your body. But if there’s guys in front, if the puck’s bouncing, getting tipped, that makes it harder to track. He certainly didn’t track it as well in Game 2, but I didn’t think that was a Tuukka issue. I think that was more of the Islanders getting to the net and causing more havoc on their end.”