Boston Bruins' Tuukka Rask blocks all 41 to shutout Los Angeles Kings 3-0 -NHL Update
The sold out TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, roared with joy and excitement as Boston’s backup goalie, Tuukka Rask, blocked all 41 shots on his net, allowing Bruins to shutout the Los Angeles Kings, 3-0, on Tuesday night, December 13, 2011.
“He was good tonight, arguably our best player tonight,” Bruins' coach, Claude Julien, said of Rask, who also played a primary role in their previous win against Columbus Blue Jackets. “He stood tall and they threw a lot of shots at him, certainly not easy shots to stop. There was a lot of traffic in front of the net, screens. I thought he had the quick feet going. He made the saves on close range and was probably our best player. So he got better as the game went on.”
It was the first matchup of the Los Angeles Kings without their head coach, Terry Murray, who has now been temporarily replaced by interim coach, John Stevens, which certainly did not go down well with him in a shutout.
Rich Peverley kicked off the scoring with his fifth of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season, nearly midway through the opening period as he took off the puck, battling with a Kings player and slid it past LA's goalie, Jonathan Quick.
Brad Marchand followed up by entering double digits in his scoring with his 10th after Patrice Bergeron took control of the puck during a face-off in the LA defensive end of the ice, to find him open and shooting another past Quick, 7:43 into the second period.
Boston gave three straight power play opportunities to the Kings, but they were unable to capitalise any single one of them.
Marchand made the insurance shot for Boston after a minor tussle in front of Quick for possession of the puck and shot at a point blank range, allowing Bruins to take the match.
The Bruins have warmed up once again and will be looking for their fourth straight victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, while LA has some business to take care of with Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
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