When Bruins-Hurricanes Game 1 got moved from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, there was some thought that Bruce Cassidy may turn to Jaroslav Halak for Thursday night's Game 2 given how infrequently he has used goalies on back-to-back days in three-plus seasons as Bruins coach.
But when Cassidy was asked during his pregame press conference who was starting Game 2, his answer was simple: "Tuukka."
Cassidy then elaborated on the decision, explaining why Tuukka Rask will be in net for a second straight day.
"Like I said when I was asked yesterday or whatever day it was, probably three factors," Cassidy said. "How's Tuukka feeling coming out of the game? He felt fine. Was there a lot of wear and tear to the point where recovery would require more than 24 hours or 30 hours? I don't think so. We were pretty clean in front of him. Not a lot of stretches that were demanding stretches. Still, it was four periods of hockey, so he has to be ready on his toes the whole game. And then yes, the timing of the two games. And the last thing, back-to-back decisions are a lot to do with travel, short night's sleep. We didn't have any of those factors. We went to the rink and back here to the hotel, so obviously there's no travel. Like I said, you get a full night's sleep, so that had a lot to do with it."
To Cassidy's point about the workload, even though Game 1 went to double overtime, with the Bruins winning 4-3 early in the second overtime, Rask faced just 28 shots on goal. It seems clear that the plan is basically that Rask is the starter as long as he's feeling good and playing well. When there is a quick turnaround like this, or like there will be with Game 3 at noon on Saturday or with Games 5 and 6 on back-to-back nights next Wednesday and Thursday if the series goes that long, Cassidy will talk with Rask and goalie coach Bob Essensa and make a decision based on how Rask is feeling.
As far as the rest of the lineup, Cassidy said his plan is to use the same lineup as Game 1, but that there are a couple guys getting treatment during the day, so he'll have to make sure everyone is good to go. He did not name which players were getting treatment.
There had been some discussion among fans and media about putting Karson Kuhlman in on the third line for Nick Ritchie, as Ritchie lost a couple one-on-one battles you'd like and expect to see him win, but Cassidy sounds committed to Ritchie at least for the time being.
"Well, he had some good hits. He finished (Joel) Edmundson hard, obviously shook him up," Cassidy said. "Both teams in any series are looking for a little bit of the physical part so there's an attrition factor, so time will tell on that. He got to the front of the net a lot. We asked him to do that. ... Didn't find a lot of loose pucks for himself, but like I said, Charlie Coyle scored a goal, he was a part of that sequence.
"He was around there. The physicality part against Carolina, I think it's important in any series in the playoffs. They've got some big bodies over there. Are you using it to your advantage becomes a question more for me. We'll keep encouraging him to do that. ... It's his first game with us. We brought him in for a reason, so we'll allow him to grow, unless we feel there's a better option for us, a quicker option, just a guy that has different attributes. Then we'll use it."
Meanwhile, on the Carolina side of things, coach Rod Brind'Amour told the media Thursday morning that Petr Mrazek was "definitely a possibility" to start Game 2 because "he's been dialed in." Mrazek gave up four goals on 40 shots in Game 1, but Brind'Amour said the Hurricanes' team defense was more at fault, saying Mrazek faced "way too many" grade-A chances. Brind'Amour could also turn to James Reimer for Game 2; he did not definitively commit one way or the other.
Here is the expected Bruins lineup assuming everyone is cleared to play:
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David PastrnakJake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Ondrej KaseNick Ritchie - Charlie Coyle - Anders BjorkJoakim Nordstrom - Sean Kuraly - Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoyTorey Krug - Brandon CarloMatt Grzelcyk - Jeremy Lauzon
Tuukka RaskJaroslav Halak
Puck drop is set for shortly after 8 p.m. ET, assuming the Lightning and Blue Jackets wrap things up a little quicker this time.
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