Bruins’ Rask awaiting his shot
Rookie goaltender adjusting to role
On a typical Monday last year, Tuukka Rask would be getting a much-needed day of rest. On each of the three previous days, Rask was usually counted on to fill the Providence net, with at least one bus ride mixed in between the games. If all goes according to plan this season, Rask will experience nothing of the sort.
The rookie goalie has yet to appear in a game this season. Given the schedule’s ease (Anaheim at home Thursday, the Islanders at TD Garden Saturday, Colorado on home ice a week from tonight), Rask might not make his first appearance until the Bruins’ two-game road swing Oct. 16-17 (at Dallas and Phoenix).
In years past, that stretch of downtime might have been a big problem for Rask and his team.
Rask, a first-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2005, has always been The Man. As a teenage pro in Finland, Rask was the No. 1 goalie for Ilves for two seasons. The butterfly goalie was considered one of the best netminders outside of North America.
But like many young stars, the up-and-coming hotshot cruised in practice. When pucks slipped by him, Rask didn’t give it much thought.
“Nobody really told me to work hard,’’ Rask said. “So I kind of let myself slip off the track a bit. I thought I was playing a lot. I didn’t realize I really wasn’t playing that much. Then in practices, some days I thought, ‘Let’s just get it over with.’ I played good, but once I came over here, it was totally different. I didn’t change anything because I thought I didn’t have to. It kind of came back to me.’’
In 2007-08, his first year of hockey in North America, Rask made 45 appearances for Providence, with Jordan Sigalet serving as his backup. There was no doubting Rask’s potential ceiling, given his technical acumen and athletic ability. But goaltending coach Bob Essensa and then-Providence coach Scott Gordon, a former goalie, saw the poor practice habits Rask developed in Finland creep into his game.
The result? Inconsistency and too many soft goals in games. As an AHL rookie, Rask went 27-13-2 with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage, backstopping a mighty Providence club that sprinted to the regular-season title. But the P-Bruins lost to an underpowered Portland squad in the second round of the playoffs, with Rask doing little - he allowed five goals on 21 shots in the season-ending loss - to help his club advance.
“That first year in Providence, my practice habits were kind of bad,’’ Rask acknowledged. “I played a lot and I thought I didn’t have to practice that hard. It really came back to me. I had to change that up.’’
Last year, with Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez in place with the big club, the Bruins pushed Rask harder in Providence, where he was asked to carry a younger club. Rask responded, going 33-20-4 with a 2.50 GAA and a .915 save percentage and regularly playing all three games per weekend.
But more important, what the Bruins saw in Rask was a more competitive goalie who started to view practice as the foundation for his game play.
“Big change. I think there’s no doubt about that,’’ said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “We always will nitpick at those things. Sometimes it’s not about criticizing a guy. It’s more about, ‘This is what this guy needs to do.’ That comes with experience. That comes with a guy maturing as a person and as an athlete. Tuukka has done that. From Year 1 to Year 3, if you want to put it that way, he’s a much different goaltender in practices. I even see him reacting to letting in a bad goal. He’s getting mad. I like that. Before, it was just another goal. That’s what maturing is all about. I use the example that Timmy is like that. Dominik Hasek was like that. They never want to get scored on, even in a pregame warm-up. Those guys are hard competitors. I think Tuukka is getting a little bit into that mold where he doesn’t like goals getting in. That bodes well for his future.’’
For Rask, as the backup to the defending Vezina Trophy winner, practice is even more vital now. Instead of being the go-to goalie, Rask is the door-opener on the bench. Because of Thomas’s athletic style, it’s a sure bet Julien will work Rask into the mix once the schedule gets busier. But before then, Rask has to stay sharp during practices and morning skates.
“It’s way different,’’ Rask said of life as a No. 2. “You’ve just got to mentally prepare for that. If you do that, it’s all good. I’m prepared to work hard every day. You’ve got to have a mind-set in practice like you’re playing. If you take days off and let it slip, it’s going to come back to you the next game.’’
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. 
