Rask Gets 300th Win As Bruins Break Through vs. Isles

BOSTON - Tuukka Rask knows that when all is said and done and he looks back on his career, it's nights like Thursday that he'll be able to appreciate.
But make no mistake, the netminder was not taking anything for granted in the present. After playing just one period over the last five weeks due to an upper-body injury, Rask made sure to enjoy his return to the net.
And with a strong effort in front of him, the Bruins sent their netminder home happy as he finally secured his 300th career victory with Boston's 4-1 win over the New York Islanders at TD Garden.

"That's one of the toughest things, not taking anything for granted and being grateful to be out there every game," said Rask, who made 22 saves. "Seasons are very hectic, you play a lot of games, and sometimes you forget that. But when you're sitting at home and you're injured and rehabbing, it gets tough. It was definitely nice to be back out there with the team."
Rask was injured on March 7 and returned to action on March 25 - also against the Islanders - but lasted just 20 minutes before re-aggravating the injury, which forced him out for another three weeks.
"It takes a lot of patience, I guess," said Rask. "You want to get out there as quick as possible. Nothing's really getting better, so you just have to stay patient and wait it out. Luckily, it helped, and I was back out there today."
The 34-year-old said he felt no ill effects during the game, though he expects to be a bit sore on Friday.
"That's to be expected. I felt good. Injury-wise, I felt really good," said Rask. "I felt no pain, nothing whatsoever so that was mission accomplished there. If you sit out, I don't how many weeks, a month, whatever, you're not gonna simulate game-like situations especially with the schedule we have now.
"I think I had maybe two, three team practices all together and everything else was with the extra guys and goaltending coach. Conditioning wise, and how I saw the puck today, was not ideal but got the win. I think we played a great game, helped me a lot. Build from this."

Rask, already the Bruins all-time winningest goalie, became just the 37th goaltender in NHL history and seventh active backstop to reach the 300-win plateau. He is one victory shy of tying Mike Richter for the 35th spot on the league's all-time wins list.
"I've been fortunate to be able to play for a really good team throughout my career," said Rask. "That helps a lot. We've had some great defenses throughout the years. Just happy to be part of that. Super grateful that I've been able to play so many years. It's a great milestone. One of those that once you're done playing hockey, years after that, you start thinking about your career and what you accomplished, it's probably going to be a nice memory."
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, who confirmed that Jeremy Swayman will get the start on Friday night in the second end of the back-to-back with the Islanders, thought Rask "looked rock solid" in his return.
"Hopefully he wakes up [on Friday] with just a little bit of soreness from not playing - not injury-specific, acute pain in his certain area," said Cassidy. "That'll be the next test for him…I thought he looked real sharp tracking pucks, playing the puck. Just staying involved in the game. Again, we didn't give him a heavy workload, but he was there when we needed him and good for him."

Hall of a Night

During his introductory press conference earlier this week, Taylor Hall admitted that he wasn't the most confident hockey player at the moment. That appears to be changing quickly, as Hall looked far more comfortable in his second game in the Spoked-B.
The speedy winger landed three shots on goal, including his first goal as a Bruin to give Boston a 3-1 lead at 1:52 of the third. Hall took a feed from David Pastrnak (two assists) and burst through the neutral zone, eventually racing by Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech. Hall barreled in on goalie Semyon Varlamov and ripped one five-hole.
"You always want to contribute. As an offensive guy, you come into every game hoping to score a goal," said Hall, who once again rode alongside David Krejci and Craig Smith. "You want to make plays, you want to create chances, and I thought tonight our line did that, so it was nice to see one go in. We have such a heavy schedule now, you've got to kind of drop games after they're done and focus on the next one."
Hall, now two games into his Bruins career, said he is already noticing the strong culture that has been built up over the last decade.
"It's been cool. There's something different about playing for an Original Six franchise like the Bruins," said Hall. "There's a culture here that is special. It's a credit to the guys that have been here for a while that have created that. Guys like myself, Curtis [Lazar], and Mike [Reilly], we come in and we're just a piece of the puzzle. That's the motto here.
"It's pretty easy to see, no matter who's in the lineup, who's playing, who's getting a lot of minutes, who's not, it's up to everyone to do their job and contribute. It's been fun doing that so far."

Breaking Through

After posting an abysmal 0-3-2 record against the Islanders through the first five meetings of the season, the Bruins were finally able to break through on Thursday night. The difference might have been Boston's strong third period. Of the five previous matchups, four of them were tied heading into the third with the Isles outscoring the B's, 10-1, in the closing 20 minutes.
On Thursday night, it was the Bruins who controlled the final frame, outscoring the Islanders, 2-0, while outshooting them, 10-5.
"We bad a breakdown early - second shift I believe it was," said Cassidy. "It was a 2-on-1…[Jeremy Lauzon] did a good job baiting [Jordan] Eberle and Tuukka held his ground and then we come back, whatever, 15 seconds later and spring Hall and there's your difference. Now instead of 2-2, it's 3-1. Those play went against us [on Long Island].
"Good for us after that for recognizing, 'Hey we got away with one.' And we extended the lead…I thought the rest of the game we were full value in terms of managing pucks. Again, could have extended the lead beyond that, but didn't give up much."
Cassidy was quite pleased with his team's effort, saying the group had "no passengers" in their second straight victory.
"We started on time. I think for the most part against this team we've been good early," said Cassidy. "It's been the third periods that have gotten us. Nice to see us be ready to play…a good solid game. I thought we didn't let our foot off the gas. Were able to extend the lead.
"I liked our game all around. Really had no passengers tonight. That's always what you're looking for. Everyone helping the team win and I thought we got that tonight."

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