The Boston Bruins went into the 2013 season bravely talking about their goaltending as if there were no problems or issues whatsoever.
Tuukka Rask was the new No. 1 goalie and Anton Khudobin was the solid backup who could give Rask relief and dominate a game in the process.
General manager Peter Chiarelli and Claude Julien had confidence that the defensive-minded Bruins would be as strong as ever when it came to keeping the puck out of the net.
There was one pretty large issue. A goalie named Tim Thomas had decided to take the season off. Shortly after the Bruins were eliminated from the 2012 playoffs by the Washington Capitals in the first round, he advised the Bruins that he had "personal" issues and he was not going to play.
Thomas, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and the Conn Smythe winner of the Bruins' 2011 Stanley Cup run, had to be replaced.
The Bruins had a top-of-the-line backup in Rask who had demonstrated that he was capable of becoming a No. 1 goalie during the 2009-10 season when he was 22-12-5 with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. Thomas had been slowed by a hip inj ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Steve Silverman
How Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin Have Become NHL’s Most Reliable Goalie Duo
April 20th, 2013 by Steve Silverman Leave a reply »
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