BOSTON – The Toronto Maple Leafs sweater still hangs in Tuukka Rask’s closet back in Tampere, Finland.
It was a gift from the organization that arrived in the mail after they selected him 21st overall in 2005, back when the NHL seemed like nothing more than a distant dream.
That feels like an awfully long time ago now for the Boston Bruins goaltender.
In fact, as Rask attempted to help the Bruins close out their series in Game 5 on Friday night, he indicated that it didn’t carry any extra importance coming against his first NHL team.
“No emotional ties to them,” he said matter-of-factly.
The deal that sent him to Boston is among the most regrettable in Toronto’s franchise history. He was flipped straight up for Andrew Raycroft ahead of the 2006 NHL draft.
Raycroft had two tough years with the Leafs and spent this current season playing for Milan in the Italian league.
The 26-year-old Rask, meanwhile, led the NHL in shutouts and has proven to be a capable successor to Tim Thomas in the Bruins crease. Looking back, he’s not surprised the Leafs dealt him away.
He doesn’t recall having much or any contact with the organization in the 12 months after being drafted and sensed that former GM John Ferguson Jr. favoured fellow goaltending prospect Justin Pogge over him.
There were no hard feelings though.
“You’re 19 and you’re just happy to be drafted in the first place,” said Rask. “I was just playing in Finland and the trade happened and I was still happy to be part of a NHL organization. I didn’t know anything about Toronto, I didn’t know anything about the Bruins, so it didn’t really feel like anything.”
Through four games of this series, Rask has had an edge over Leafs goalie James Reimer.
He made a number of big stops in overtime on Wednesday night and ultimately saw his counterpart surrender the game-ending goal.
Both goalies have faced a lot of rubber in this series and Reimer has allowed four goals in three of the four games thus far. After Friday’s morning skate, Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said that Reimer – just like the rest of his players – has more to give.
“He’s a big part of our team,” said Carlyle. “Obviously goaltending is an area that gets the most praise and it can get the most criticism. The last line of defence…
“If we’re better in front of him, he doesn’t have to (give us) lights-out goaltending.”
The only change the Leafs were expecting to make for Game 5 was inserting veteran defenceman John-Michael Liles in place of the injured Mark Fraser. According to Bruins coach Claude Julien, his blue-line will be without Wade Redden because of an undisclosed injury.
In a game that means so much to both teams, goaltending could very well make the difference.
This is Reimer’s first playoff experience at any level higher than the ECHL and Rask can identify with the challenge.
“It’s kind of exciting and a little nervous when you go into the series and then it kind of settles down and you feel more comfortable,” said Rask. “After that first game, he’s looked really solid.”
The two goalies will be forever linked.
Just one day after Rask was dealt to Boston, Ferguson started restocking the organization’s goalie pipeline by selecting Reimer 99th overall.
The rest is history.
Rask’s only previous NHL playoff experience came in the 13 games he played during the spring of 2010. He was in goal when the Bruins surrendered a 3-0 lead to the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round and acknowledged that it will likely to be tough to finish off the Leafs.
“I think it’s human nature that you get a little nervous,” said Rask. “You just try to battle through it and tell yourself to stay calm and stop the puck.”
