Entering Monday night’s action, Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask led the entire NHL with a .954 save percentage. He is third overall and first among those who have played 400-plus minutes with a 1.29 goals-against average, a number he drastically shaved last time out with his first shutout of 2013-14.
That shutout was one of five wins and five instances of confining the adversary to a single goal or none at all. Only twice through seven games in 2013-14 has Rask authorized multiple goals, and only once―last Monday versus Detroit―has he allowed three or posted a single-game save percentage lower than .931.
It is hard to argue that he is not helping his case to join Team Finland’s 2014 Olympic goalie guild, let alone serve as his country’s No. 1 netminder. With that said, he needs to do more to solidify his case and can start no sooner than the middle of this week.
A slew of upcoming games promises to yield either a head-to-head matchup with another Olympic goaltending candidate or a test from a searing strike force―or both. Both varieties will make quantitative and trustworthy additio ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Al Daniel
Why Upcoming Stretch Is Crucial for Rask’s Chance to Be Finland’s Starter
October 21st, 2013 by Al Daniel Leave a reply »
Advertisement