COLUMBUS, Ohio — They didn’t dent Tuukka Rask.
In fact, they didn’t so much as leave a mark.
The biggest reason the Boston Bruins are heading back to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2013 is because Rask began playing like a younger version of himself. He was untouchable during a six-game series win over Columbus, stealing the show from counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky and conjuring some distant memories of Boston’s last run to the Stanley Cup Final.
“Ummm, it’s a long time ago,” said teammate Patrice Bergeron. “I mean obviously I do remember that he was pretty much light’s out the whole time. I think right now he’s in the zone and that’s where he’s at.
“He’s playing some big-time hockey.”
The Blue Jackets never did find an answer despite head coach John Tortorella’s assertion before Monday’s clincher that his team “dented their goalie.”
Rask claimed not to have heard those comments and played like they didn’t have any basis in reality — stopping all 39 shots he faced in the 3-0 victory, including 11 sent his way during four Columbus power plays.
“It’s better than sucking, I guess,” Rask deadpanned. “You play enough in this league … and you tend to learn a thing, that’s not all about you. You don’t have to do anything spectacular, it’s a team sport and you play for each other.
“That’s helped me a lot and I’m trying to keep carrying that on.”
The next stop on their journey will take them through Carolina in a series the Bruins are favoured to win. Some Vegas oddsmakers have pegged them as Cup favourites, too.
Significant roadbumps still lay ahead, including the possibility they have to play Game 1 of Eastern Conference Final without stud defenceman Charlie McAvoy, pending a decision from the NHL’s department of player safety.
McAvoy laid a punishing check on Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson at 19:40 of the second period and made contact with his opponent’s head in the process — earning a minor penalty for an “illegal check to the head” from referee Kelly Sutherland.
The game was only 1-0 at that point and Columbus lobbied hard for a major penalty with Anderson down in pain. But that’s not an option for a penalty assessed under Rule 48. It was the defining moment of Game 6.
“You’re seeing your teammate laying on the ground from a hit that’s really just right to the head and unnecessary,” said Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno. “Kelly had a tough job to do. I thought at the end of the day he probably makes the right call, but at the time you’d like to see it probably be a five[-minute major].”
For his part, McAvoy called it a “hockey play.” There’s no guarantee he’ll escape further supplemental discipline despite it being whistled as a minor penalty on the ice.
“I mean I put my shoulder into it,” said McAvoy. “When I hit I do my very best to keep my elbow tucked so I don’t get it out there. I hit with my shoulder. I try to hit with as much power as possible. He’s a bigger guy.”
Columbus would still have needed to break through Rask if it was called a major. That just didn’t appear to be in the cards.
The Finn finished the series with a .948 save percentage on 212 shots — allowing just 11 goals in the process. Bobrovsky was a respectable .921 at the other end of the ice.
However, it amounted to a significant difference in performance because Columbus finished ahead in expected goals for the series, 16.31-15.69, based on the shot data analyzed by naturalstattrick.com.
That speaks to how close these games were.
Where once Rask was known for having a temper, he’s been positively Zen-like throughout the spring. Even when the officials huddled to debate the call on the McAvoy penalty he didn’t get distracted with thoughts of how it might swing the outcome.
“No, no. I can’t think that because if I start thinking that I lose my focus,” he said. “I just try to stay focused. I’m hoping it’s going to be a two-minute penalty instead of five.”
The 32-year-old believes he’s benefitting from experience and maturity.
He’s also coming off a season where he had more rest than any year since 2013 — appearing in 46 games and only starting three consecutively one time. About the only thing the Blue Jackets managed to dent in Monday’s clincher was the posts and crossbar in the net behind Rask, striking iron at least four times.
“Good angles,” said Rask, before turning his attention to Tortorella’s dented remark. “It’s the playoffs, there’s mind games always. It’s the entertainment industry, I guess, so that’s what the fans and media want. When I’m playing, I don’t read it.
“But if I’m a spectator, I like to read it because it’s entertaining.”
[relatedlinks]