Tuukka Goes Tits Up At Worst Possible Time As Bruins Lose 6-3 To Tampa And No Longer Control Fate
If there was one area the Bruins really haven’t had any concerns with this season, it’s been starting goalie Tuukka Rask. Except for a few hiccups, the Finn has been what you need in a #1 goaltender. And after the Bruins had a bye week, it looked like Rask benefitted the most from the rest and would be ready for the stretch run
So that’s why it was a kick in the ‘nads last night when he let in a pair of softies to Anton Stralman and Jonathan Drouin that were the Bs undoing in their 6-3 spanking at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Instead of putting a bow on Tampa’s season, the Bs instead gave them new hope as well as taking away the ability to control their own destiny. Just a disaster of a night on Causeway Street.
I’m a big goalie guy and like Rask but there’s no fucking way anybody should score on this shot.
Nor should a defenseman score a short-side, top-shelf goal when he’s in this deep.
But Rask wasn’t the only guilty one. The team blew three straight one-goal leads, with each tying goal coming within 1:35, and that takes more than a goalie to happen. The Bruins continue to leave guys unattended to right out front, like on Tampa’s first goal. They seem to exhale after taking a lead instead of inhaling and trying to double it. And they’re doing it at the worst goddamn time.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy pulled no punches after the game when he noted that his goalie “needed to be better last night”. He wasn’t telling us anything we didn’t already know but he didn’t pussyfoot it and make excuses.
And Rask acknowledged his shitty night in post-game scrum.
The bottom line is they all need to be better, from Rask on out. Yeah, he has been getting some shitty bounces lately (like the second Nikita Kucherov goal last night and a couple times vs. Ottawa). But that’s all the more reason he has to be that much better when the game is on the line.
Because of the loss and Toronto’s win, the Bs are now three points back of Toronto for 3rd in the Atlantic and the Leafs have a game in hand. So it’s looking like Wild Card #2 (AKA the 8th seed) or a third straight fucking epic collapse from the Boston hockey club.
The Isles are currently two points back of the Bs with two games in hand. They play in Pittsburgh tonight and at home tomorrow night versus…the Bruins. The Pens still have a shot at the Presidents’ Trophy and/or the #1 seed in the East so they’re not going to lay down. And if the Bs are going to be the 8th seed, they’d be way better off facing the Penguins than the Caps, given the way they’ve performed against each team in recent years.
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