BRIGHTON -- It sounded bad when Tuukka Rask was put on injured reserve when the Bruins returned from the All-Star break. But it certainly doesn’t seem like Boston’s No. 1 goaltender will be out very long.
Rask worked out with Bruins goalie coach Bob Essensa at Warrior Ice Arena on Tuesday morning ahead of the team's morning skate. While he didn’t stay out on the ice once the team began its regular morning pregame workout, and will miss Tuesday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, Bruce Cassidy hasn’t ruled out Rask from returning as soon as Thursday night.
“[Thursday] is a possibility. Step one is getting [Rask] out there,” said Cassidy of the Bruins goalie, who was knocked out of the B's last game vs. the Rangers during a violent collision at the net on Jan. 19. “He got through it fine and feels good. Hopefully that’s the same case tomorrow morning. I assume the next progression is skating with the team, so that brings Thursday [against the Flyers] into play once that happens. If he doesn’t come out and practice with us tomorrow then we’ll obviously look at Sunday [against the Capitals].”
Halak has lost four of his last five games and allowed three goals or more in four of those five games as well, so the B’s backup netminder will be looking to get his second half off to a better start.
The Bruins will be going with a new look on their third line, as well, with rookie Trent Frederic making his NHL debut as the center with the B’s continuing to look for permanent answers on that third line.
Here are the projected Bruins line combos and D-pairings vs. the Jets based on Tuesday’s morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena:
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Boston Bruins
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Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Cehlarik-Krejci-DeBrusk
Heinen-Frederic-Backes
Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner
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Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-Miller
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Halak
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