Boston Bruins: Tuukka Rask knows he’s in the backseat

Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask knows that he has to step up his play and that Jaroslav Halak deserves his playing time.

The Boston Bruins have been getting great goaltending this season. It just isn’t from their starting goalie. Tuukka Rask hasn’t had a hot start this season.

Rask has looked pretty awful in between the pipes. He is giving up easy goals and just doesn’t look confident out there on the ice.

Rask has appeared in 7 games this season and is barely above .500 with a 4-3 record and has a goals against average of 2.78 and a save percentage of .909.

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Tuukka looks like the backup goaltender and he isn’t surprised that Jaroslav Halak is getting a ton of playing time.

"The schedule hasn’t been crazy and Jaro has played unbelievable, that’s how it goes,” Rask said, via a team-provided transcript. “If you’re a hot goalie like that, then you got to let him play, I totally get it, it hasn’t affected me mentally really that much."

Rask’s numbers wouldn’t be bad if he just made simple saves. He just seems to always get off to bad starts.

If Jaroslav Halak continues to play like he has so far this season, Rask will be spending a ton of time on the bench. It seems like Halak has found the fountain of youth in Boston.

It will be interesting to see how Rask responds to an extended break. He seems like he realizes that he needs to be better.

Last season after Bruce Cassidy rode Anton Khudobin for awhile, Rask returned with a bang. He went on a long points streak and looked phenomenal.

This season has been different. Rask still doesn’t look good. If he continues to struggle I don’t think he ever will be.

I love Tuukka Rask, but he just hasn’t been what the Bruins need. He is making it harder for Boston to win games, not easier.

So Tuukka Rask needs to step his game up because if he doesn’t he will be spending plenty of time on the bench.