Jaroslav Halak woke up Saturday morning not knowing he would be starting for the Bruins against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round or that he would be Boston’s No. 1 goaltender for the duration of the postseason.
The short notice didn’t deter him from making 29 saves in a 3-1 win that put the Bruins ahead in the best-of-7 series 3-1 with Game 4 scheduled for Monday up in the Toronto bubble.
-
Ep 34: NHL Coaching Retreads; Stanley Cup Final Talkby Full Press Coverage on June 22, 2022 at 3:30 pm
Mike, Jim, and Chris discuss the never-ending NHL coaching retreads and […]
Halak’s teammates seemed equally unfazed by the morning announcement goalie Tuukka Rask made to general manager Don Sweeney and president Cam Neely about opting out of the rest of the playoffs to return home to his family. After an average first period, the Bruins got to their game in the final 40 minutes, outshooting the Hurricanes 32-15 and riding a power-play goal by Charlie Coyle, a shorthanded goal by Sean Kuraly (set up by Coyle) and an empty-net goal by Brad Marchand to victory.
#NHLBruins GM Don Sweeney spike about Tuukka Rask’s decision to opt-out for the rest of the #StanleyCupPlayoffs.
(🎥: @NHLBruins)
pic.twitter.com/GVdbTp8rua— Full Press NHL (@FullPressNHL) August 15, 2020
There’s only one way, though, that Rask’s departure and Halak’s unexpected ascension turn out to be anything other than a disaster. That’s if the Bruins, 40-17-10 in Halak games the past two seasons, can still match their 2019 Rask-led playoff run with another trip to the Stanley Cup final.
For one day, the Bruins seemed to rally around the notion that they could move on without Rask. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said he wanted his players to think defense first early on to give Halak a chance to “get his feet under him” with him playing just his second game in the past five months. That didn’t quite work out because Marchand took a penalty 12 seconds into the game and Carolina landed four shots on Halak (in addition to one off the post).
From there the Bruins found their structure and held Carolina to just two high-danger chances at 5-on-5 (according to NaturalStatTrick.com). Halak made saves on both of them and he got help from a hit crossbar in the second period.
It was a defensive clinic by the Bruins both in their own end and the neutral zone. With special teams providing the offense, even Halak’s gaffe that let Nino Niederreiter score into an empty-net 6:30 into the third didn’t cost the Bruins. That goal would’ve dejected lesser teams, but the Bruins had Halak’s back and used the miscue as inspiration to tighten up their game rather than let it fall apart.
“I know I gave them a little bit of life, but I think we responded the right way. And we kept playing our game until the end. You have to give credit to our guys, just stepping up,” Halak said.
The Halak-for-Rask swap might’ve been just what the Bruins needed to get them to raise their game up to their standards after they looked less than Presidents’ Trophy worthy while splitting the first two games of the series. Things should get even more difficult, if not in this series (if Hurricanes sniper Andrei Svechnikov is seriously injured, the Hurricanes will be short on offensive firepower) then in the next couple rounds.
Latest NHL News
- NHL Buyout Candidates – Metropolitan Division
- Finally, Daniel Alfredsson a Hall of Fame Inductee
- Colorado Avalanche Long Journey Back To The Stanley Cup
- Colorado Avalanche Bury Lightning Dynasty, Win Stanley Cup
- 2022 NHL Draft: Player Rankings, Risers, and Fallers V 3.0
Remember how out of his mind Rask played last season, even when the Bruins got loose defensively. In the four-game sweep of a Carolina team that was less deep than the current edition, Boston allowed 24 high-danger scoring chances 5-on-5 and Rask stopped all 11 high-danger shots he faced on those chances. (Rask also got his share of favorable bounces through four rounds last year.) Halak’s high-danger save percentage of .817 was off the Bruins standard set by Rask (.876) and ranked 36th in the NHL among goalies that played at least 800 minutes 5-on-5.
The Bruins can use their desire to prove they can win the Cup without Rask as a rallying cry, but they’re going to do have to do more than be motivated. Halak is 35 and hasn’t been the go-to guy in a playoff run since 2010. To play until October the Bruins will have to open things up a little bit more than they did Saturday, and that will be the real test for their goalie.
Winning one game in the face of distraction and surprise is a major accomplishment, but accomplishing their ultimate goal will take a lot more from all facets of the Bruins’ game.
-
Ep 34: NHL Coaching Retreads; Stanley Cup Final Talkby Full Press Coverage on June 22, 2022 at 3:30 pm
Mike, Jim, and Chris discuss the never-ending NHL coaching retreads and […]
-
Ep 33: Stanley Cup Final Previewby Full Press Coverage on June 15, 2022 at 1:11 am
Mike, Jim, and Chris preview the Stanley Cup Final between the Tampa Bay […]
-
Ep 32: Bruins Fire Bruce Cassidy; Avalanche To Stanley Cup; Bolts/Rangersby Full Press Coverage on June 8, 2022 at 4:09 pm
Mike, Jim, and Chris react to the Bruins firing of Bruce Cassidy, the […]
-
Ep 31: Conference Finals Previewby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2022 at 2:38 pm
Mike and Jim are back to preview the Conference Finals in the NHL. Out […]
-
Colorado Avalanche 2022 Stanley Cup Championsby Full Press Coverage on June 28, 2022 at 2:09 am
Jim is back once again joined by C.C. Hawkley of Full Press Hockey to […]
-
New Jersey Devils and Stanley Cup Final Talkby Full Press Coverage on June 23, 2022 at 6:26 pm
Jim is back once again joined by Bruce Zeman to discuss the New Jersey […]
-
Ep 73: Bruins Face Elimination; Bruce Cassidy On Hot Seat; Patrice Bergeron Final Standby Full Press Coverage on May 12, 2022 at 4:00 pm
Ian and Chris discuss game six between the Bruins and Hurricanes and the […]
-
Ep 72: Bruins Acquire Hampus Lindholm; More Moves To Come?by Full Press Coverage on March 20, 2022 at 3:34 pm
Ian and Chris discuss the trade of Hampus Lindholm to the Bruins and what […]
-
S3E33 - Stanley Cup Final - Avalanche vs Lightningby Jim Biringer on June 19, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Jim is joined by Marc Weiss and Coach Jay as they discuss the Stanley Cup […]
-
S3Ep32 - Eastern Conference Final and Colorado Avalanche Advanceby Jim Biringer on June 11, 2022 at 9:37 pm
Jim is joined by Coach Jay and Marc Weiss to discuss the Eastern […]
-
Episode #386 - The 2022 Stanley Cup Championsby Full Press Coverage on June 28, 2022 at 1:49 am
Join us as Carl celebrates his Colorado Avalanche winning the 2022 Stanley […]
-
Episode #385 - The Stanley Cup Final - LIVE!by Full Press Coverage on June 21, 2022 at 2:05 am
With 2 games of the Stanley Cup Final in the bag, we record during the […]
-
Episode #384 - The 2022 Stanley Cup Final Previewby Full Press Coverage on June 14, 2022 at 2:05 am
The Stanley Cup Final is here! Let's find out if Carl is emotionally […]
-
Episode #106: If You Can't Beat Them, Become Themby Full Press Coverage on June 18, 2022 at 5:55 am
23 playoff teams are now down to just two. It's the 2022 Calder Cup Finals […]
-
Episode #105: Goalie Rotation Sensationby Full Press Coverage on June 10, 2022 at 6:06 am
On this episode of The Calder Farmstead, C.C. is left to host the show […]
-
Episode #106: If You Can't Beat Them, Become Themby Full Press Coverage on June 18, 2022 at 5:55 am
23 playoff teams are now down to just two. It's the 2022 Calder Cup Finals […]
-
Episode #105: Goalie Rotation Sensationby Full Press Coverage on June 10, 2022 at 6:06 am
On this episode of The Calder Farmstead, C.C. is left to host the show […]
-
Ep 60: #KrejciForever and Raised Expectationsby Full Press Coverage on May 4, 2021 at 9:23 pm
Ian and Chris talk about the Bruins post trade deadline turnaround and […]
-
Ep 59: Bruins Swing Big At Trade Deadlineby Full Press Coverage on April 12, 2021 at 9:48 pm
Ian and Chris welcome in Mike Cratty to discuss the trade acquisitions of […]
-
6/24 - WSOP; NBA Finals Talk; Stanley Cup Coming To An End; NBA Draftby Full Press Coverage on June 24, 2022 at 2:15 pm
Ian and John are back to discuss the World Series of Poker, the NBA Finals […]
-
6/15 - Celtics Falter In San Fran, Can They Force A Game 7?by Full Press Coverage on June 15, 2022 at 4:23 pm
Ian and John discuss the Celtics loss in Game 5 and what they have to do […]
-
6/13 - Goodfellas; Celtics/Warriors, Stanley Cup Finalby Full Press Coverage on June 13, 2022 at 4:46 pm
Ian and John discuss the Celtics loss in Game 4 and look ahead to Game 5 […]
-
Are The Celtics In The Heads Of The Warriors?by Full Press Coverage on June 10, 2022 at 5:50 pm
Ian and John discuss the Celtics Game Two win as well as if they are […]