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Tuukka Rask continues success against Maple Leafs
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If there’s one team in all of the National Hockey League that Tuukka Rask enjoys playing against, it’s the Toronto Maple Leafs. For those of you who may not remember, Rask was drafted by Toronto with the 21st overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft before being traded to the Bruins for Andrew Raycroft.
Advantage: Bruins.
Thanks to Rask’s and the Bruins’ home-and-home sweep of the Maple Leafs, the Finnish netminder’s numbers against the team that drafted him have improved to 13-3-1. Rask has a 1.80 goals-against average, a .937 save percentage and two shutouts in 19 career games against the Leafs.
Rask has made 17 career starts against the Leafs, only against the Montreal Canadiens (20) has Rask made more starts.
Coming off of Saturday’s 2-0 shutout at TD Garden, Rask was back between the pipes Monday night, this time at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. Rask couldn’t keep the Leafs off the board this time, but Rask was surely the star of the game as he made more than enough big saves en route to the shootout victory.
Rask made a season-high 39 saves, but it was his glove save on Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk in overtime that really stole the show.
In a game that saw the Bruins blow leads of 2-0 and 3-2, Rask made sure the Bruins would continue their winning ways.
“That’s the thing about him; he comes up big when we need it. He did again tonight,” said Bruins forward Brad Marchand, who scored twice in the 4-3 shootout win.
“That’s why we’re going to be a good team, it’s because of him, and when we’re hot, it’s because he’s hot. It’s good to have him back there.”
Rask certainly hasn’t been as good as he can be this season, but as things start to trend in the right direction for the Bruins, Rask is doing the same. The 2014 Vezina Trophy winner has won three of his last four starts.
With Thanksgiving just two days away, the Bruins enter Wednesday tied for a playoff spot. Based off of recent history, teams in a playoff spot or inside the bubble are more likely to find themselves in the playoffs than those of who are not.
