Tuukka Rask acknowledges he may require offseason surgery
The Boston Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs by the New York Islanders in six games, and goaltender Tuukka Rask has received a lot of attention. Rask had a rough night on Wednesday, allowing four goals on 27 shots faced for a save % of.852. Rask stated after the game that he gave it his all.
"I could've made a couple more saves, definitely," Rask admitted. "I should've made a few of those saves to keep it tighter, but, you know, I didn't do it today and the season ended. It's disappointing, but I battled and I tried and just fell short."
"Of course (Rask) could've been better, and as I alluded to earlier, there were some rebounds that we could've cleared or controlled better," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "But we mismanaged some pucks and put him in some bad spots as well. This is a team loss all the way down the line."
While Cassidy told reporters earlier in the playoffs that Rask was not 100 percent, his injury has never been disclosed (the suspicion is hip and back issues). However, Rask did confirm to reporters Wednesday night that he's considering offseason surgery.
The most interesting part of all of this is game six against the Islanders may have been Rask's last with Boston. The 34-year-old has spent his entire career with the Bruins, but becomes an unrestricted free agent come July 1st and there's a feeling the Bruins may be looking to move on with young goaltenders Jeremy Swayman and Dan Valder. Rask did win a cup with Boston back in 2011. However, he served as a backup to Tim Thomas at that time.
