Rask and Bruins Shut Down Their Net Against Kings
- Updated: December 19, 2016
Sometimes you have to wonder if the Los Angeles Kings’ opponent’s goalie is ever bored during a game. So bored he might want to toss down his net. This was one of those games. Sunday, the Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask faced 18 low-percentage shots and provided the most action when he tipped over his own net at the end of the third. By the end at the Boston Gardens, the Kings would be shut out, 1-0, sitting in fourth place in the Pacific Division, five points behind division leading San Jose Sharks.
Boston entered the game averaging 2.3 goals and Los Angeles entered averaging 2.6, so a high-powered offense wasn’t expected from either club. In a game where the Kings would be without Marian Gaborik (healthy scratch) and Dustin Brown (upper body), and the Bruins would go without scoring forward David Pastrnak, the play tilted into the Bruins’ offensive zone. Kings goalie Peter Budaj (14-8-2), turned away 29 of 30 shots, earning the third star of the game, even though he came out on the losing end.
The first two stars went to Bruins Jimmy Hayes who scored the only goal of the game (from Colin Miller and Dominic Moore) and Rask whose biggest contribution – besides a routine close-in stop on Dwight King which Bruins homer fans will balloon into some great feat – was the classless move of delaying the game by intentionally dumping his net over late in the third to give a tired out Bruins team more rest time.
To be fair, Kings Andy Andreoff did bump into the net moments prior to the net spillage. To be real, what goalie worth his weight in integrity spills it completely over and then stands there like a kid with his finger in his mouth wondering why the cookie jar is open? Maybe Tuukka forgets there are video cameras around to catch his cowardly and dishonorable move. Not to be a homer myself, but I truly don’t recall the Kings being a team to pull such shenanigans. I imagine the Kings don’t need that. The team will take the future wins and sleep well at night.
And don’t look to the media to harp much about this cheater or his fancy move. Google, Twitter and Facebook it, and good luck finding a quote. Check out the NHL.com game video review; it’s not on there. Though the NHL Network video review did carry that little “Raskal” move, the announcers didn’t comment on it. Only the faithful Patrick O’Neal, Fox Sports West announcer, displayed some dismay. But class act O’Neal won’t say too much, as his Twitter feed simply hints at “Umm, delay of game much?”
Woopsie. The net fell down. Rask reveals best way to “shut out” an opponent.
Beyond Rask’s despicable act, the game was played pretty tight. The first period saw the only goal at 4:20 on a wrist shot from Hayes through traffic. The only other action was the Kyle Clifford and Miller fight. Two anemic power plays by the Kings, and we moved onto the third, for yet another anemic power play. The Bruins power play was strong in the second, kept silent by a point blank save by Budaj on their first penalty kill and then – yes, that’s right – Matt Greene’s ass on the next one.
Through Jon Rosen, the LA Kings Insider, Greene said, “Yeah it’s just a scramble. You know, rebound goes right to him and you do what you do to keep the puck out of the net and that’s it. There’s no thought process beyond that.”
The third period included a 4-minute penalty on Tyler Toffoli for basically holding a stick while playing hockey, since the (hyperbole ahead) 9-foot Zdeno Chara somehow had his head below his waist level. The high-sticking penalty caused little harm, as Chara returned to the game and the Bruins offered up its own version of an anemic power play.
This is the second game in a row the Kings did not score in regulation. Said Dwight King, “You’ve got to find ways eventually to get a puck through. We had some chances tonight but there’s things we’ve got to get better.”
Said coach Darryl Sutter of the low shot total in this game, “Yep. More through, off a stick, off a cheek, something.”
Four games into a nine-game road-trip, the Kings next play Columbus Blue Jackets at 4 p.m. PST, Tuesday, December 20 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
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