With Bruins in possession of the puck and time passing in the final minutes of his game on Wednesday against Rangers, goalkeeper Tuukka Rask started skating towards the Boston bench. This is common when a team is lost and wants to put an extra skater on the ice to increase the chances of a draw goal.
The only problem? The score was already tied, 2-2.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, his assistants and at least six teammates on the bench frantically waved Rask back into the middle of the tubes.
What was Rask thinking?
“I just had to say something to Jaro [Halak] pretty fast, ”Rask joked.
“No, I honestly thought we were losing, 2-1,” he said, a little sheepishly. “That’s it. I was waiting for Butchy to wave to me. I was like, ‘Why the hell doesn’t he …’ It was a minute and a half. I decided to go. Chucky [McAvoy] said to me, ‘Friend, it’s 2-2.’ “
Cassidy smiled and shook her head slightly.
“I like to think he thought it was a delayed penalty,” he said.
Left winger Brad Marchand said he thinks the Bruins are going for the power game. He planned to give a pass to his goalkeeper – “he made a lot of great saves tonight” – but Rask will have his share in the ribs.
“I wasn’t in a panic,” said Rask of the moment when he realized that the game was tied and that his net was empty. “I was laughing more, actually.
“Hey, it’s an entertainment industry, I think. Hopefully [fans] gave a good laugh about it. “
Several of Rask’s 33 saves on Wednesday were of great variety and prevented the Bruins from falling behind in a third period, when they were defeated 15-6, allowing 11 of the 14 chances to score on the ice. Bruins won 3-2 in overtime, in Marchand’s goal.
Matt Porter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyports.