When the Boston Bruins re-signed Tuukka Rask, the move made the team better.
As for how much of an impact he’ll make and how long it will take for him to get back to prime form, the jury is still out.
Fortunately for Boston, GM Don Sweeney’s forward thinking in signing Linus Ullmark is paying more immediate dividends. Offering a multi-year contract to the unrestricted free agent in his prime — who could have gone just about anywhere — didn’t make a lot of sense to some on the surface, but the importance of stability at the goaltending position in hockey at any level can never be overstated.
With the B’s enjoying their best month of the season at 11-3-1 with just one game in Dallas remaining before Feb. 1, Ullmark has been a critical factor in the team’s resurgence. This will allow for the biggest things Rask needs to get back to top game shape: time and patience.
Ullmark playing his best stretch as a Bruin
When the Bruins shut it down in mid-Dec. due to the COVID outbreak that ravaged the roster, there were some questions about Ullmark’s play. He did not have a great preseason, as he seemed slow to adjust to his new team and did not play with the kind of confidence and swagger in net B’s fans were used to seeing for the near decade Rask was the team’s No. 1 option.
From the start of the season until the holiday pause, Ullmark’s performance was uneven, and he appeared to be out of sorts. His partner, rookie Jeremy Swayman, seemed to gain the confidence of the team, at least initially. Neither goalie was putting up stellar statistics, but in fairness, the light early season schedule fed into that and made it tough for either player to work into a rhythm. With head coach Bruce Cassidy opting to alternate starts or ride the hot hand, it made for stringing a chain of successful starts together challenging.
When the team returned from its 16-day league-imposed break from action, Ullmark appeared to be one of several players who benefited. Whatever he was able to do mentally and physically to reset and get himself back to the level of performance that led the Bruins to invest in him appears to be working.
He’s been 8-0-1 this month, his lone loss coming this week against Colorado, when he surrendered the tying goal to Gabriel Landeskog with 36 seconds left in regulation and then gave up the winning score on Cale Makar’s power play strike in overtime. In nine games where he’s had the decision, Ullmark has been instrumental in the Bruins coming away with 17 of 18 possible points.
A Rask injury forced the Bruins to go back to Ullmark against Arizona on Friday, and he played a key role in the team breaking a two-game winless skid. With the B’s once again clinging to a 2-1 lead, and the Coyotes playing desperate hockey to try and find the equalizer with their goalie pulled in the final 2 minutes, Ullmark made multiple high-end stops. He finished with 30 saves for an important pair of points that kept the B’s nine points ahead of Detroit for one of the Eastern Conference’s final two wild-card playoff positions.
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Ullmark is finding ways to use his size and athleticism to make big stops with the game on the line. It has given the B’s the confidence in their current option in net while Rask works through his current injury and attempts to find his timing and rhythm.
Rask needs more time
The veteran won his first start against Philadelphia Jan. 13, which may have led to some inflated expectations. He made several tremendous athletic saves, which might have made it easy for many to think he was immediately ready to resume his place as a starter.
The reality for Rask is that he’s returning from a procedure that has required significant recovery and rehabilitation. Although the surgical repairs to his hip have made his movements and contortions in the butterfly position pain-free, the one thing missing from his training regimen was the opportunity to work into game form that players usually get during the exhibition games. Thrown into the fire, Rask might have succeeded on pure adrenalin against the Flyers, but he got exposed in a nightmare start against Carolina, when he gave up five first-period goals before getting the hook after 20 minutes.
The veteran bounced back with a strong performance and win over Winnipeg later in the week, but then had a setback two nights later against Anaheim. Now he’s out of action with an undisclosed injury, though Cassidy revealed Saturday that Rask is with the team and receiving treatment. That necessitated the recall of Swayman, but for now the net will be Ullmark’s.
‘We’re planning on playing (Ullmark) tomorrow,” Cassidy said Saturday about Sunday's game in Dallas. “He’s been playing well, so we’re covered there. Hopefully, Tuukka’s not out too long, but obviously bringing in (Swayman), it’s more than just a 48-hour thing.”
Rask has the benefit of more than 500 NHL games and the confidence of a longtime starter. He doesn’t have his timing down yet, and the good news is that his counterpart has been so reliable this month that the Bruins can afford to make sure Rask is fully healthy before putting him back into the rotation to help him get his mojo back.
Unlike Rask, Ullmark has not yet enjoyed extended time as a starter at this level, even when he was with the Buffalo Sabres. For him, that confidence has been a little more challenging to come by, and given his early season yips, it was fair to question if he had it in him. Now, after watching him perform well in pressure situations to emerge as Boston’s best bet in the net, it’s probably a blessing in disguise.
There is room enough for both goalies in Boston, and until Rask is ready to take on more regular duty with the consistent expectations that come with being in top form, Ullmark has proven he can be the No. 1.
