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Again, the Bruins need to go with Tuukka Rask

Tuukka Rask, Chris Drury

New York Rangers’ Chris Drury (23) takes a shot on Boston Bruins’ Tuukka Rask (40), of Finland, in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 21, 2010, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

AP

I’ve said it once already, but the Boston Bruins need to bite the bullet and start Tuukka Rask as much as possible. He might not win every game, but it is absolutely clear that he’s playing better hockey than Tim Thomas. They can always try to let Thomas figure things out next year (when they don’t have a paper thin margin of error).
The Rangers and Thrashers also won tonight, along with Boston, so the Bruins need every point they can earn.

As I’ve pointed out before, the full season numbers show that Rask wins more often and has a near 93% save percentage while Thomas is a little bit over 91.5 percent (a big deal considering that NHL goalies face a ton of shots). Here’s a breakdown of the two goalies’ last 10 games, including nights when one was pulled for the other.

Image (2) thomasvrask-thumb-250x187-8225.png for post 588

Whether you look at the season as a whole or recent games, the answer - in my opinion - is Rask. That’s not to say that Thomas is useless or even a sub-par goalie. He could very well find his game again next season. Right now, though, Boston has every reason to play the hot hand.

Just saying, this isn’t a time to play goalie politics.