Tuukka Rask Bounces Back, Stymies Penguins In Much-Needed Victory For Bruins
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tuukka Rask was back to being Tuukka Rask on Tuesday night, stopping all but one shot that the Penguins sent his way in a 3-1 Bruins victory in Pittsburgh. It was one of those games where the netminder led the way for the B's, earning the team a much-needed win when it comes to the playoff picture.
Rask was in the zone on Tuesday, saving 25 of the 26 shots that he saw. He lost his shutout bid with just 2:21 to play on a slapshot by Jeff Carter, but earned his 12th victory of the season.
The Bruins received a balanced offensive attack, with David Krejci, Brad Marchand and Taylor Hall each finding the back of the net. Rask even chipped in with an assist on Krejci's tally, his second helper of the season.
But it was the Rask in net that led the way in the early goings of the game, helping Boston kill off three Penguins power plays over the first 27 minutes of action. Rask made seven of his saves with Pittsburgh on the man advantage in that span, including a point-blank rejection of a Bryan Rust bid midway through Boston's second penalty kill.
"I thought he was solid in there. I thought we were the better team, honestly, early on," head coach Bruce Cassidy said after the victory. "Got ourselves into a little penalty trouble in the first period, but 5-on-5 were real good. He made a big save on a rebound that actually deflected off our guy in the first period, I think on [Zach] Aston-Reese. But other than that, I thought we kept it clean in front of him.
"Too bad we couldn't have got him the zero there with the kind of defenseman change at the inappropriate time," Cassidy said of losing the shutout. "But it's still a win in a tough building to win in; a tough building for any team in this league and for us over the years obviously. Good to see him bounce back from the game in Buffalo and full value for the win tonight."
Rask did not make it to the end of his previous outing, getting pulled in the third period after allowing four goals to the Buffalo Sabres last Friday. His bounce-back performance came at a great time for the Bruins, who had lost two in a row after riding a six-game win streak. Tuesday's win gave Boston two more points in the standings, putting the Bruins four points ahead of the New York Rangers for fourth place in the East Division. With 62 points on the season, Boston is one point back of the New York Islanders for third place in the division.
