Bruins take series lead; star goalie opts out
TORONTO — The Boston Bruins, shortly after waking up Saturday to face the Carolina Hurricanes, found out goaltender Tuukka
Rask was opting out of the NHL playoffs to be with his family.
While the defending Eastern Conference champions are supporting their teammate at least publicly, they’re focusing on their quest to go a step farther in the playoffs than they did a year ago with Rask in net.
Jaroslav Halak stopped 29 shots after starting on short notice in place of
Rask and Charlie Coyle provided plenty of offense, scoring once and setting up another goal to help Boston beat Carolina 3-1 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.
“We move on,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I know it sounds cold, but on the professional part of it we have a job to do here.”
Rask, a Vezina Trophy finalist, is the highestprofile player to opt out of the NHL’s return from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. He led the league with a 2.12 goalsagainst average and helped Boston reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last year.
Rask left the league’s bubble in Toronto to be with his wife and three young children, including a newborn.
“We found out shortly before departure of the bus,” Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara recalled. “Obviously, our first concern is the health and safety of his family.”
Game 4 is Monday night, when fifth-seeded Carolina may be without Andrei Svechnikov against fourthseeded Boston. The 20year-old Russian standout forward was injured late in the game when his right leg, near his ankle, buckled after getting tied up with Chara in front of the net.
“That injury really looks bad and that’s all that’s going through my head,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
COYOTES 4, AVALANCHE 2
In Edmonton, Alberta, Darcy Kuemper stopped 49 shots and Arizona beat Colorado to cut the Avalanche’s series lead to 2-1.
Arizona led on Derek Stepan’s first-period goal, then staved off Colorado.
LIGHTNING 3
BLUE JACKETS 2
In Toronto, Tampa Bay evened the series at 1 behind goals from Alex Killorn, Brayden Point and
Victor Hedman.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2 BLACKHAWKS 1
In Edmonton, Alberta, William Karlsson and Patrick Brown scored for Vegas, which took a 3-0 series lead over Chicago.