BOSTON, MA – NOVEMBER 22: Tuukka Rask #40 of the Boston Bruins tends goal against the St. Louis Blues during the second period at TD Garden on November 22, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Blues won 4-2. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
Tuukka Rask’s 2018-19 season and playoff run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final won the polarizing Boston goaltender some love from the NHL Network, as they ranked him No. 5 on their Top 10 Goalies Right Now countdown over the weekend.
“I think every year he gets better,” NHL Network analyst Darren Pang said of Rask. “He seems to be under the heat so often and the criticism comes at him, but I watch Tuukka Rask and [he’s] fundamentally good, his demeanor is calm, he makes glove saves now where he just makes it look easy. Pucks coming into his body and he doesn’t even go down.
“He’s got really nice patience in the net.”
The 32-year-old Rask posted 27-13-5 record and .912 save percentage during the regular season, but shined in the postseason, with a 15-9 record and postseason-leading .934 save percentage and 2.02 goals against average. Rask also boasted a 5-1 record with a .953 save percentage in elimination games through Boston’s 24-game postseason run.
With the No. 5 ranking, Rask ranked above Anaheim’s John Gibson, Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, the Blues’ Jordan Binnington, Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, and Marc-Andre Fleury of the Golden Knights.
The only goaltenders ranked higher than Rask were Montreal’s Carey Price, the Stars’ Ben Bishop, new Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy.