Tuukka Rask isn't the perfect goaltender. He isn't the biggest, though he stands 6 feet 3. He isn't the quickest, though he's still got the agility at age 33. He isn't the most technically clinical, either, frequently dropping to all fours in the form of Dominik Hasek.
But one thing he's always done as well as anyone is find the puck.
In yesterday's Drive, I pinpointed the Blues' creativity on the power-play points, or the ongoing lack thereof from the otherwise great Colton Parayko, as paramount to claiming the Stanley Cup in Game 7 tonight in Boston. It's just unfathomable to me that a power play could stay this cold through an entire Final -- 1 for 18 so far -- and emerge successful.
In this Drive, observed from the opposite perspective, I'll keep it a lot simpler: If Rask keeps seeing, reading and swallowing the puck as seamlessly as he has most of these playoffs, the Bruins will prevail and, oh, yeah, Rask will be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Let's revisit some scenes from Game 6 in St. Louis, where Rask's 28 saves included a dozen while short-handed:
This was an early power play for the Blues, and that's Tyler Bozak strongly, patiently controlling the puck despite all kinds of obstruction from the Bruins' Charlie Coyle and other traffic in the vicinity.
Watch Rask's mask. I mean it. Nothing but the mask. It's not just his eyes fixed to the puck. It's his whole head, almost animatedly. And even when Bozak's backhand flick causes his blade to smack Rask in the wickets, the head still doesn't flinch. He follows the rebound, shoulders up, pads in a superlative butterfly spread.
This is from the same power play:
Look at all that blue up there. For that matter, look at all that black and gold. There are six total skaters within stick's reach of Rask's crease.
And within the span of two seconds, three different St. Louis players from three very different positions either get set to shoot or actually shoot. First, it's Vince Dunn from center point -- through a screen all the way out there, I should add -- then it's Jaden Schwartz at the right lip, and then the best chance goes to Brayden Schenn. That one's rejected by a brilliant leg sprawl.
But wait. Check out Alex Pietrangelo looming off to the left. If Rask doesn't keep tracking that puck right through the process of slamming his glove on that rebound, Pietrangelo's at the beach looking at the ocean.
This one's more basic, but I still like it:
Parayko's capable of shooting a hockey puck through your house. But that, kind of like a 100-mph fastball to a hitter, doesn't matter if it can be seen.
Cruising right down Market Street, Parayko opts for the full windup, and Patrice Bergeron, the generation's finest defensive forward, drops for the block, anyway. Goaltenders will attest they both love and hate blocks. They appreciate the shot not arriving, but they'd usually rather just, you know, see the puck. On this, Rask aggressively moves his heels out of the blue paint, keeps his head still, his shoulders high -- no chance of Bergeron's slide killing his view -- and then engulfs the puck before Ryan O'Reilly skates by for a cheap poke.
None of them top this, because Rask doesn't see the puck here and still senses it:
Pietrangelo's backhander from the dot clangs off the left pipe, then off the nameplate on the back of Rask's sweater.
Again, watch his mask. Only this time to emphasize he didn't see the puck at all. I mean, it was behind him.
But no goaltender can see the puck for the full 60 minutes, with all that goes on, and sometimes a sense is required. In this case, it's clear Rask feels puck make contact with his back, then instinctively whips the glove hand around to try to keep it from ricocheting into the goal. The fact that it's teammate Charlie McAvoy swatting the puck to safety shouldn't diminish at all Rask's awareness here.
Remember how frustrated the Penguins were at being unable to score on Rask in the 2013 Eastern Conference final when they had no bodies near him?
Imagine how the Blues feel when they're doing most everything right.
