Editorial: We Should Appreciate Tuukka Rask While we Still Can |

By: Andrew Parker

The city of Boston has been very spoiled by championships since the year 2001, as I am sure everyone is aware of. With those titles, comes great athletes on those teams, as well as high expectations year in and year out for all four teams across the board. A fair share of those athletes are held to higher standards than others, and one of those athletes is Tuukka Rask.

I cannot think of any other current athlete in Boston who has received more criticism than Tuukka Rask, and it baffles me. I understood the David Price slander at the beginning because of the contract and inability to win in the postseason, and I understood the Kyrie Irving slander because of his attitude, but I will never understand the people who are against Rask.

Tuukka will often get blamed for not showing up in big games in the playoffs by a large crowd of Bruins fans, and he does not deserve any of that criticism. Rask was the leader in save percentage and goals against average during the 2013 and 2019 Stanley Cup runs among all goalies. He was the best player in hockey for two months during the 2019 run. He should no longer be the scapegoat some Bruins fans are looking for.

I get it. Tim Thomas was an outstanding goalie for the Bruins during his time in Boston, and his 2011 run was historic and vital for the Bruins to capture their sixth Stanley Cup. Thomas did everything he could to put his team in a spot to come through, and they did just that. But take a look at these stats from Tuukka this postseason-

In terms of consistency, Tuukka Rask had what was probably the single greatest run in postseason history.

23/24 games w/ .900 sv%
22/24 games w/ < 4 GA
16/24 games w/ < 3 GA
17/24 games w/ 25+ saves
5-1 record in closeout/elimination games

Sad his teammates finished like this.
— Tucker Boynton (@Tucker_TnL) June 13, 2019

You will not win games in the playoffs when your team doesn’t score until the 55th minute like they did in Game 7. The top six members of the Bruins let him down in the Stanley Cup Final and people are still blaming Tuukka. Enjoy these pictures below reminding you of all the things this man has done for you.

Tuukka Rask is now the winningest goaltender in Bruins’ franchise history. Capping his 253rd victory off with a shutout and a long-awaited win over the Capitals.

Share to ruin a Tuukka hater’s day 🙂 pic.twitter.com/Xz2qWLxmKt
— Bruins (Guy Boston Sports) (@Bruins_GBos) February 3, 2019