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Tuukka Rask

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Tuukka Rask
Rask with the Bruins in 2016
Born (1987-03-10) 10 March 1987 (age 37)
Savonlinna, Finland
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Boston Bruins
Ilves
HC Plzeň
National team  Finland
NHL draft 21st overall, 2005
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 2004–present

Tuukka Mikael Rask (born 10 March 1987) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Rask was drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Rask won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender during the 2013–14 season. In 2011, Rask won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins. He is the older brother of Joonas Rask, who plays professionally as a forward with HIFK in the Finnish Liiga.

Playing career

Finland

Rask in 2008

Rask started his career in the youth teams of his hometown club SaPKo in Savonlinna, Finland. He then played in 28 games for the Tampere-based Ilves Jr. in the Finnish Junior League. His goals against average (GAA) was 1.86 with two shutouts and a .935 save percentage. He was the top ranked European goaltender in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Rask played his last European ice hockey season as the number one goaltender for the Ilves senior team in the Finnish top-flight SM-liiga.

The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Rask in the first round, 21st overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. However, before playing a regular season game for Toronto, he was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for former Calder Memorial Trophy-winning goaltender Andrew Raycroft. Toronto management had deemed Justin Pogge their potential goaltender of the future, rendering Rask expendable. It was later revealed the Bruins intended to release Raycroft, which would have made him available to Toronto without having to give up Rask.[1]

The trade has since been examined as one of the worst trades in Maple Leafs franchise history; Rask would experience many seasons of success with the Bruins, eventually winning the Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy, while Raycroft would only play two seasons for Toronto, recording disappointing statistics in the process.[2]

Boston Bruins

Rask with the Providence Bruins during the 2008–09 AHL season.

On 5 May 2007, Rask signed a three-year contract with the Boston Bruins and was in attendance to observe the Providence Bruins' 2006–07 playoff run for the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Calder Cup championship.[3][4] The Providence team did not make it past the second round of the Calder Cup against the Manchester Monarchs, but nonetheless Rask practiced with the Providence team.

On 5 November 2007, Rask was called-up to the Boston Bruins for the first time. Just two weeks later, on 20 November, he recorded his first NHL win, a 4–2 victory on the road against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. On 3 October 2008, the Bruins reassigned Rask to Providence. Rask had the best save percentage (.952) among the goalies in pre-season play, followed by teammates Manny Fernandez (.875), Tim Thomas (.869) and Kevin Regan (.857). Despite this, the team opted to go with the two veteran goaltenders, Thomas and Fernandez, for the 2008–09 season.

With nagging back spasms keeping Fernandez from play shortly after the All-Star Game break, Rask was once again called-up to serve as a second goaltender, and on 31 January 2009, he played his first (and only) game with the Bruins in the 2008–09 season, and earned his first ever NHL shutout, a 1–0 home effort against the New York Rangers, with Marc Savard scoring the only Bruins goal.[5]

Not long after the beginning of the 2009–10 season, Rask, who had been named the backup goaltender to Thomas, signed a two-year extension to his contract with the Bruins on 5 November that kept him under contract through to the 2011–12 season.[6]

In the 2009–10 regular season, Rask was the only goaltender in the NHL with a GAA of less than 2.00 and the only goaltender with a save percentage over .930.[7][8] Despite having been the only qualifying rookie in NHL history to lead the league with a sub-2.00 GAA, as well as lead the league in save percentage,[9] and having supplanted the Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas as the starter, Rask was not named as a finalist for the rookie of the year award. In the 2010–11 season, Thomas returned to form, effectively relegating Rask once again to the backup role. With the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, Rask became only the second Finnish goaltender to do so, after Antti Niemi of the Chicago Blackhawks accomplished the feat the previous year.

On 28 June 2012, Rask re-signed with the Bruins to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Prior to the declaration of the 2012–13 lockout, Rask was named as the starting goaltender for the Bruins, replacing Tim Thomas, who would eventually be traded to the New York Islanders on 7 February 2013.[10] During the lockout, which ended on 6 January 2013, Rask played for HC Plzeň, which won the Czech Extraliga that year. After the NHL resumed play, Rask led the Bruins to their second Stanley Cup finals in three years in the 2013 playoffs. In the third round against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Rask faced 136 shots in four games played, allowing two goals while making 134 saves for a 0.50 GAA and a .985 save percentage. In the Stanley Cup finals, the Bruins were defeated in six games by the Chicago Blackhawks, as Rask registered a .932 save percentage. [11]

Rask with the Boston Bruins during the 2013–14 NHL season.

On 10 July 2013, the Bruins re-signed Rask to an eight-year, $56 million contract. Following the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Rask was awarded the NHL's Vezina Trophy, awarded to the "goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position". He posted a 36–15–6 record, highlighted by a career-best ten-game points-won streak from 20 to 30 March, going 9–0–1, as the Bruins captured their first Presidents' Trophy since 1990 and led the Eastern Conference in team defence (2.08 goals allowed per game).[12]

Early in the 2016–17 regular season, Rask sustained a groin injury[13] that somewhat hampered his abilities much of the season following a successful October campaign, starting the 2016–17 season with 12 wins and a .938 save percentage in 17 games. He was likely used more often than usual, with the Bruins suffering from "backup goaltender" challenges early in the season, but not enough of a hindrance to help lead the Bruins to the 2017 playoffs, the Bruins' first in three seasons. Following a six-game quarterfinal series with the Bruins losing to the Ottawa Senators four games to two, Rask successfully underwent groin surgery on 9 May 2017.[14] In mid-August, Rask said he expected to be ready for the Bruins' training camp for the 2017–18 season.[15]

In the 2017–18 season, from 26 November 2017 to 10 February 2018, Rask had a career-high 21-game point streak.[16] Rask and the Bruins ended up finishing the season with 50 wins and 112 points, their best season since their 2013–14 Presidents' Trophy-winning season.[17] He played only 54 games, his lowest since that same 2013–14 season, posting a 34–14–5 record with a 2.36 GAA and a .917 save percentage. In the 2018 playoffs, the Bruins were defeated in the second round in five games by the Tampa Bay Lightning, with Rask playing 12 games total in the playoffs and posting a 2.88 GAA and .903 save percentage, his lowest since his first postseason in 2010.

On 1 January 2019, Rask set a new record for games played by a Bruins goaltender with his 469th game, surpassing Tiny Thompson's record set in the 1938–39 NHL season.[18] However, Rask was later placed on injured reserve by the Bruins on 28 January after sustaining a concussion. At the time of his injury, Rask had a 14–8–3 record in 25 starts.[19] Rask returned to the Bruins lineup on 31 January in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was his first start in a game since 19 January.[20] On 3 February 2019 against the Washington Capitals, Rask recorded a shutout to become the career leader for wins by a goaltender in Bruins history, again surpassing Tiny Thompson.[21]

Rask helped the Bruins to the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, though they ultimately lost in seven games to the St. Louis Blues. Rask recorded a 15–9 record with a 2.02 goals against average and a .934 save percentage during the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Rask played his 500th game in the NHL on 2 October 2019, a 4–2 Bruins victory over the Maple Leafs.

International play

Medal record
Representing  Finland
Men's ice hockey
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Sochi
World Junior Hockey Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Canada

Rask played in four of Finland's six games en route to the Bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics,[22] including a 3–1 defeat of host nation Russia in the quarter-finals,[23] and a shut-out of the United States in the Bronze medal game.[24] He was unable to play in the semifinal against Sweden due to flu, which cost Finland a spot in the final. Sweden defeated Finland 2–1.

On 2 March 2016, it was revealed Rask was to be starting goaltender for Finland In the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, ahead of Pekka Rinne. Rask played in two out of three tournament games and in one out of three pre-tournament games.[25]

Off the ice

In 2015, a recently discovered species of wasp in Kenya was named Thaumatodryinus tuukkaraski as a direct reference to Rask. The reasoning given by the authors was, "This species is named after the acrobatic goaltender for the Finnish National ice hockey team and the Boston Bruins, whose glove hand is as tenacious as the raptorial fore tarsus of this dryinid species."[26][27]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2004–05 Ilves SM-l 4 0 1 1 202 15 0 4.46 .875 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 Ilves SM-l 30 12 7 8 1724 60 2 2.09 .926 3 0 3 180 7 0 2.33 .924
2006–07 Ilves SM-l 49 18 18 10 2872 114 3 2.38 .928 7 2 5 397 20 0 3.02 .924
2007–08 Providence Bruins AHL 45 27 13 2 2570 100 1 2.33 .905 10 6 4 605 22 2 2.18 .908
2007–08 Boston Bruins NHL 4 2 1 1 184 10 0 3.25 .886 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Providence Bruins AHL 57 33 20 4 3340 139 4 2.50 .915 16 9 7 977 36 0 2.21 .930
2008–09 Boston Bruins NHL 1 1 0 0 60 0 1 0.00 1.000 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Boston Bruins NHL 45 22 12 5 2562 84 5 1.97 .931 13 7 6 829 36 0 2.61 .910
2010–11 Boston Bruins NHL 29 11 14 2 1594 71 2 2.67 .918 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Boston Bruins NHL 23 11 8 3 1289 44 3 2.05 .929 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 HC Plzeň ELH 17 12 5 0 993 35 1 2.11 .924 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Boston Bruins NHL 36 19 10 5 2104 70 5 2.00 .927 22 14 8 1466 46 3 1.88 .940
2013–14 Boston Bruins NHL 58 36 15 6 3386 115 7 2.04 .930 12 7 5 753 25 2 1.99 .928
2014–15 Boston Bruins NHL 70 34 21 13 4063 156 3 2.30 .922 — — — — — — — —
2015–16 Boston Bruins NHL 64 31 22 8 3679 157 4 2.56 .915 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 Boston Bruins NHL 65 37 20 5 3680 137 8 2.23 .915 6 2 4 403 15 0 2.24 .920
2017–18 Boston Bruins NHL 54 34 14 5 3173 125 3 2.36 .917 12 5 7 687 33 0 2.88 .903
2018–19 Boston Bruins NHL 46 27 13 5 2635 109 4 2.48 .912 24 15 9 1459 49 2 2.02 .934
NHL totals 495 265 150 58 28,410 1,078 45 2.28 .921 89 50 39 5,596 204 7 2.19 .927

International

Year Team Event Result GP W L T/OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2004 Finland WJC18 7th 5 1 1 3 299 8 1 1.61 .927
2005 Finland WJC18 7th 5 2 3 0 278 14 0 3.02 .910
2005 Finland WJC 5th 5 2 3 0 243 12 0 2.96 .902
2006 Finland WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 4 2 0 369 13 1 2.11 .940
2007 Finland WJC 6th 6 2 4 0 332 17 1 3.43 .887
2014 Finland OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4 3 1 0 243 7 1 1.73 .937
2016 Finland WCH 8th 2 0 2 0 119 4 0 2.02 .920
Junior totals 27 11 13 3 1521 64 3 2.63 .913
Senior totals 6 3 3 0 362 11 1 1.87 .928

Awards, honors and records

Rask and the Bruins are awarded the Prince of Wales Trophy following their Eastern Conference Finals series sweep over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Awards Year
AHL
AHL All-Star Game 2008 [28]
NHL
NHL Best Goals against average (1.97) 2010 [29]
NHL Best Save percentage (.931) 2010 [30]
Stanley Cup champion 2011
Prince of Wales Trophy 2011, 2013, 2019
NHL Most Shutouts (5) 2013 [31]
Presidents' Trophy (Best Regular Season record) 2014
Vezina Trophy 2014
NHL Most Shutouts (7) 2014 [32]
NHL First All-Star Team 2014
NHL All-Star Game 2017, 2020 [33]
International
IIHF World U20 Championship Bronze Medal 2006
IIHF World U20 Championship Best Goaltender 2006 [34]
IIHF World U20 Championship All-Star Team 2006
Finnish ice hockey player of the year 2013, 2019 [35]
Winter Olympic Bronze Medal 2014
Boston Bruins
NESN Boston Bruins 7th Player Award 2010 [36]

Records

  • Most wins by a Boston Bruins goaltender in franchise history.[38]
  • Most shutouts in playoff series-clinching games in franchise history.[39]
  • Longest season-opening home point streak in Boston Bruins history.[40]

References

  1. ^ Simmons, Steve (9 June 2013). "Simmons: Bruins would have taken Pogge instead of Rask from Maple Leafs for Raycroft". Toronto Star. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  2. ^ Simmons, Steve (19 March 2013). "Trading Tuukka Rask could be worst Leafs deal ever". Toronto Star. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  3. ^ "P-Bruins capture Calder Cup". Boston Bruins. 28 April 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2007.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Bruins sign Rask". Boston Globe. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
  5. ^ "Bruins blank Rangers behind Rask". National Hockey League. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  6. ^ "Bruins re-sign Rask to two-year deal". Boston Bruins. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  7. ^ "Goaltending Save Percentage leaders". National Hockey League. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  8. ^ "Goal Against Average leaders". National Hockey League. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  9. ^ "Single Season Goaltending Leaders". hockeyreference.com. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Islanders acquire Goaltender Tim Thomas from Bruins". The Sports Network. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  11. ^ "Tuukka Rask, Bruins - Game log". National Hockey League. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  12. ^ "Bruins' Rask wins his first Vezina Trophy". National Hockey League. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  13. ^ Anderson, Ty (27 April 2017). "WEEI's Big Bad Blog - Bruins GM Don Sweeney admits team rode Tuukka Rask too hard during season". bigbadblog.weei.com. WEEI. Retrieved 11 May 2017. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask's season had its peaks and valleys. Rask would be the first to tell you that...But it was the Bruins, out of necessity for the most part, that created those valleys when they overworked the all-world Rask...The numbers backed up that claim, too, as Rask began his season with 12 wins and a .938 save percentage in 17 games. He did that while also nursing an injured groin that put him on the shelf for three games back in October.
  14. ^ "Patrice Bergeron & Tuukka Rask Undergo Successful Surgeries". nhl.com/bruins. Boston Bruins. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017. Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney issued the following update on Boston Bruins...goaltender Tuukka Rask...Tuukka underwent a successful right groin surgery on May 9 by Dr. Peter Asnis.
  15. ^ Kalman, Matt (14 August 2017). "Rask says he'll be ready for Bruins training camp". National Hockey League. Retrieved 14 August 2017. Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask said Monday he'll be ready for training camp after having groin surgery May 9...Rask, 30, said the rehabilitation process was relatively easy and that he feels "normal" three months after the surgery.
  16. ^ "Rask's Points Streak Ends With B's Loss to Buffalo". National Hockey League. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  17. ^ "NHL Hockey Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  18. ^ McMahon, Michael (1 January 2019). "Bruins Notes: Tuukka Rask Stands Tall In Bruins' Winter Classic Win". nesn.com. NESN. Retrieved 1 January 2019. No one has played more games between the pipes in a Boston Bruins sweater than Tuukka Rask...Rask's franchise-leading 469th appearance in the Black and Gold is sure to be one that he will not soon forget, as he swatted away 36 shots in the Bruins' 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium
  19. ^ Amalie Benjamin (28 January 2019). "Rask placed on injured reserve by Bruins". NHL.com. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  20. ^ Kalman, Matt (31 January 2019). "Flyers defeat Bruins in OT, extend winning streak to six". NHL.com. Retrieved 1 February 2019. It was Rask's first start since sustaining a concussion Jan. 19 in a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers.
  21. ^ Valentine, Harvey (3 February 2019). "Rask sets Bruins wins record with shutout against Capitals". nhl.com. Retrieved 3 February 2019. Tuukka Rask became the Boston Bruins all-time leader in wins by a goalie, making 24 saves in a 1-0 victory against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Sunday...Rask (253 wins) passed Cecil "Tiny" Thompson for the Bruins lead. It was Rask's second shutout of the season and the 43rd in the NHL.
  22. ^ "Finland player statistics" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.[permanent dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Sochi.ru - Ice Hockey - Men - Playoffs Quarterfinals, Game 24" (PDF). stats.iihf.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.[permanent dead link‍]
  24. ^ "Finland 5, USA 0 Boxscore" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.[permanent dead link‍]
  25. ^ http://ice.wch2016.com/player?id=8471695
  26. ^ Carolyn Y., Johnson (24 February 2015). "Wasp species named in honor of Bruins' Tuukka Rask". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  27. ^ "Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask gets new species of wasp in Kenya named after him". National Post. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  28. ^ "Tuukka Rask at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  29. ^ "Tuukka Rask Stats | Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  30. ^ "Tuukka Rask at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  31. ^ "Tuukka Rask at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  32. ^ "Tuukka Rask at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  33. ^ Bruins, Boston (30 December 2019). "Pasta's gonna have some company. Congrats to @tuukkarask on being named to the Atlantic Division All-Star team! https://bbru.in/2MIpVvd pic.twitter.com/93kldVBoPw". @NHLBruins. Retrieved 30 December 2019. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help); no-break space character in |title= at position 136 (help)
  34. ^ "Tuukka Rask at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  35. ^ "Tuukka Rask at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  36. ^ "Tuukka Rask Named Winner of 2010 7th Player Award". NESN.com. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  37. ^ "Boston Bruins Career Leaders". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  38. ^ NESN (3 February 2019). "Tuukka Rask became the Bruins' winningest goalie Sunday afternoon. http://nesn.com/?p=914719 pic.twitter.com/LOVOxIL9M4". @NESN. Retrieved 3 February 2019. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help); no-break space character in |title= at position 93 (help)
  39. ^ Bruins, Boston (17 May 2019). ".@SASsoftware Stat of the Week: Tuukka Rask recorded his 7th career playoff shutout last night, the most by a Finnish-born goaltender in NHL history, & one short of Gerry Cheevers' team record of 8. It was his 3rd shutout in a series-clinching game, the most in club history.pic.twitter.com/T8V2uhlKFx". @NHLBruins. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  40. ^ Relations, NHL Public (8 February 2020). "Tuukka Rask has collected at least one point in each of his first 18 home games this season (12-0-6). Bill Durnan (25 GP in 1943-44 w/ MTL) and Tony Esposito (20 GP in 1970-71 w/ CHI) are the only goaltenders in NHL history with a longer such run. #NHLStatspic.twitter.com/AZwDKj0R5g". @PR_NHL. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Toronto Maple Leafs first round draft pick
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Vezina Trophy
2014 		Succeeded by
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