On Another Unusual Afternoon, Bruins Pull Through

BostonBruins.com - There was one word that came to mind for Bruce Cassidy.

As Boston's bench boss described his emotions following the Bruins' 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3, he couldn't help but acknowledge how proud he was of his group's effort.

Not just because the Black & Gold regained a series lead - without their leading goal scorer for the second straight game - but because of how they responded, once again, under the most unusual of circumstances.

Coming off a disappointing loss in Game 2, the Bruins found out just hours before puck drop on Saturday morning that ace netminder Tuukka Rask would be opting out of the NHL's Return to Play to be with his family.

It was an unexpected and jarring development that easily could have rocked the B's off their moorings. Instead, they didn't flinch.

Jaroslav Halak stepped in between the pipes, making 29 saves in his first appearance in nearly two weeks, while Charlie Coyle, Sean Kuraly, and Brad Marchand added goals as Boston opened up a 2-1 advantage in their first-round series with the 'Canes.

"That's a good word, proud, because that's the first word I used after the game," said Cassidy. "Proud of Jaro for answering the call on short notice, proud of the young guys that are playing…proud of the way they responded and proud of the way the whole team played."

Even when there was the slightest sign of trouble in Game 3 - an ill-advised shorthanded clearing attempt from Halak led to Carolina cutting Boston's lead to 2-1 early in the third - the Bruins buckled down, relying on their veteran leadership to guide them through to victory.

"Right away on the bench, Brad Marchand stands up, 'Hey that's not going to hurt us, we're fine, we're playing well.' That's true, the whole bench was like that," said Cassidy. "I think there was no collective let down, like, 'Oh boy, here it comes.' We know we're playing our game from the second period on.

"First period, we bent, we didn't break, but our guys knew when we have our game, when we're playing Bruins hockey, so that wasn't going to deter us from keep going forward. That doesn't mean you're going to win, but you've got to keep playing the way you're playing, and I thought it showed. And again, good response from our guys after a little bit of adversity."

Rask informed the Bruins on Saturday morning that he would be returning home to be with his family, a decision that the organization - from general manager Don Sweeney, to Cassidy, to the Black & Gold's leadership core - got behind with their full and unwavering support.

"Obviously, our first concern is the health and safety of his family," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. "That's the most important thing we were all kind of thinking about, and obviously we support Tuukka's decision. There is nothing more important than your family. At this point, we want to make sure that everybody else respects his privacy and I think we all just want to wish his family the best and that's it."

Sweeney met with the media before puck drop and relayed that Rask's family - he has three young daughters - was safe and healthy, but that the netminder felt it was more important to be with them at this time. It was a choice that his teammates understood completely.

"Family comes first. We've always said that," said Patrice Bergeron. "Obviously, we're a tight group in this locker room. We've been together for a while and supporting each other. Obviously, we're thinking about him and we're supporting that decision.

"This locker room, [it] doesn't matter who is being asked to step up, it seems like guys come in and do that every time. Jaro, it's not an easy task. And [he] comes in and gives us a chance to win. He makes some huge saves, especially early on to keep us in the game."

Halak stepping in with a strong effort was not much of a surprise. The 35-year-old has been one of the league's top backups for the last two years, teaming with Rask to win this year's Jennings Trophy after allowing the fewest goals in the NHL during the regular season and giving the Bruins one of the best goaltending situations in hockey.

"No complaints at all. We found a way today. That's the bottom line. We have a hard group. We always try to find a way and that's the right example," said Halak, who was playing in his first postseason series since 2015 with the New York Islanders. "There are other guys that have to step up and maybe elevate their game. I think there are a few guys that did that. We need more.

"Obviously, we need everybody in the locker room pulling the same rope. And again, it's going to be tough on Monday but I'm confident in our group."

The veteran backstop had little time to get settled as the Hurricanes went to the power play just 12 seconds into the game. The Slovakia native was under fire from the start, making 15 saves in the first period, including a wild glove stop on the goal line late in the first period that kept the game scoreless. The puck - off the stick of Jordan Martinook - appeared perilously close to crossing the line, but after review, the call on the ice of no goal was confirmed.

"We always had high confidence in both of our goalies and that hasn't changed," said Chara. "I think that we all know the experiences Jaro has from playoffs. He's a proven goalie and he's shown a number of times that he can handle these situations. We always rely on our goalies throughout our seasons and that hasn't changed."

The Bruins also relied on a complete effort from up and down the roster on Saturday afternoon. With David Pastrnak still sidelined, Cassidy opted for a shakeup, inserting Par Lindholm, Connor Clifton, and rookie Jack Studnicka into the lineup in search of a spark.

He got it, as all three contributed solid minutes, while the Black & Gold also received some timely scoring from Coyle (on the power play 14 seconds into the second) and Kuraly (shorthanded at 1:16 of the third).

"The message is we're not going to change the way we play no matter who's in net," said Cassidy. "Jaro is a popular guy in the room, guys want to play for him. And the next part of that message is, it's playoff hockey. We can't be worried about who's out of the lineup. We worry about who's in the lineup.

"Just like we don't talk about Pasta when he's not here. When he gets back in there, he's going to be a good player for us…but the guys that are in there, this is how we're going to play, and it worked out for us."