Rask 'Terrific' in Game 1 Win Over Tampa

BostonBruins.com- Despite being faced with one of the most unusual plays of the season, Tuukka Rask stayed composed and made 34 saves in Saturday's 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lighting in Game 1 of the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Late in the second period, with the Lightning on the power play looking to cut into a 3-1 deficit, a shot connected with Rask's left skate blade, dislodging it and leaving Rask immobile. To no avail, the 31-year-old attempted to get the referee's attention, leading to a Tampa Bay goal.

"I'm just trying to yell. As I'm following the puck, I'm yelling for the ref, 'My blade is off. My blade's off,' said Rask. "He took a peek and didn't seem to notice. And then, a slap shot coming at you, you're there swimming and trying to scramble to get balance. I think your options are, you either don't say anything, and you try to stop the puck, or you try to say something while you're following the puck. I'll take the latter option."

When the Bruins took to the ice to begin the game, they expected the Lighting, who possess the highest-scoring offense in the NHL, to make an early push. That was exactly the case, and Tampa challenged Rask right out of the gate, but the Finnish netminder held the fort and turned away every chance he faced, which included making an incredible left-to-right push to rob Steven Stamkos on a backdoor wrist shot in the opening two minutes.
"You try to come off on top in the first game, try to get the lead," said Rask, who broke in a brand new set of pads in Game 1. "That's what my focus was. My focus, like every game: give your team a chance to win. We knew that they were going to come out hard in the first period. Kind of try to weather the storm and gain the lead, and that's what we did."
The Bruins were outshot, 36-24, in the game but were able to counter the Lightning's attack due to their goaltender's steady play.
"Terrific. Real good," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said of Rask's performance. "He gave us more than a chance to win early on when we were still trying to find our legs."

Opposite Rask stood Vezina Trophy nominee Andrei Vasilevskiy, but it was clear to Cassidy who the better goalie was on Saturday.
"I guess the way you look at it now when you get down to the playoffs, he outplayed their guy," said Cassidy. "That's the way I look at it, plain and simple. He was better than their guy, and…you want that every night."
Winning a lopsided Game 1 on the road was an impressive feat by the Bruins, but Rask is going to continue to remain levelheaded as he moves forward.
"Every game is a new game," said Rask. "Every series is a new series. Go with the process. As I've said, don't get too high or too low."