Will Tuukka Rask Still Tune Up In Providence Before Returning?

Will goalie Tuukka Rask sign a new contract with the Boston Bruins in the next 48 hours and make his season debut at TD Garden at some point in the next week or will still play in a tuneup game for the Providence over the weekend?

After Rask signed a professional tryout contract with the Providence Bruins last Thursday, the plan for goalie Tuukka Rask was to play in one or both of the two games in Providence Friday and Sunday. That plan got scratched though as both games against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms were postponed thanks to a COVID outbreak with the Phantoms. So will Rask and the team stick with that plan when the Providence Bruins host the Hartford Wolfpack Friday and the Bridgeport Islanders on Sunday? Or could Rask return straight to the Boston Bruins and play in one of their three games Wednesday (vs. Montreal Canadiens), Thursday (vs. Philadelphia Flyers), and Saturday (vs Nashville Predators).

“No, I have nothing else other than Providence’s next game is Friday so we’ll have to discuss whether that’s in play or right into our net at some point,” Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy told the media following his team’s game-day skate at Capital One Arena Monday. “So, that’s what the discussion will entail but we have a few days to sort through that so I imagine we’ll get to it tomorrow.”

On Saturday, however, Cassidy hinted that the Providence tuneup plan might get scratched.

“To be honest, I’m not sure when he’s going to play,” Cassidy said Saturday. “We’ll try to get him some game action wherever we can. He might have to start playing here and miss some assignments in Providence. We’ll have to make that decision when we get back.”

Rask hasn’t played in an NHL game since June 9, 2021, when he and the Boston Bruins were eliminated in Game 6 of the second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs by the New York Islanders. He is the franchise’s winningest goalie with a career record of 306-163-66 and has the second-best save percentage (.921) in NHL history.