Through the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, a great argument could be made that Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins was the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy.
His Eastern Conference Final performance was not just memorable, it was the stuff of legends. Rask held the Pittsburgh Penguins to two goals during the Bruins' four-game sweep.
Rask had plenty of help from the Bruins' stalwart defense, but he kept Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin off the scoreboard. No goals, no assists and plenty of frustration.
Rask took all of that momentum with him into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks. While the Blackhawks were the best team in the league in the regular season and had knocked out the defending champion Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Final, they did not appear to have the same kind of firepower as the Penguins boast.
Pittsburgh began the Eastern Conference Final with an average of 4.27 goals scored per game. By the time the Bruins closed the Pens out, that number was down to 3.27.
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are averaging 2.83 goals per game.
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Steve Silverman
2013 Stanley Cup Final: Did Game 1 Rattle Boston Bruins Goalie Tuukka Rask?
June 14th, 2013 by Steve Silverman Leave a reply »
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