Oct 8, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Tuukka Rask (40) keeps the puck out of the net as Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson (71) looks to score with defenseman Zdeno Chara defending during the second period at T-Mobile Arena. (Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports)
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
The sight of a limping Tuukka Rask practically soured the high of a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
Not great.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 9, 2019
Tuukka Rask needed to be helped off the ice. pic.twitter.com/urOZrWhgBP
But Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy, as well Rask himself, put any worries to bed when meeting with the media.
“He either had a little bit of a muscle pull or a little bit of dehydration or maybe a little of both,” Cassidy said after the win, which gives the B’s their best start to a year since 2001. “I don’t think there is anything major structurally wrong with him.”
Rask, who stopped 31-of-34 shots thrown his way in the win to improve to 2-0-0 through his first two starts of the year, confirmed that he was just suffering from cramping up in the Vegas heat.
Not that this was ever going to truly impact his availability, but perhaps this is just another reason why you should expect to see No. 40 seated on Boston’s bench as Jaroslav Halak’s backup on Thursday night as the Bruins seek a perfect balance to keep both goaltenders fresh and with Boston’s home opener against the Devils looming for Saturday night in Boston.