Don't blame Boston Bruins goalie Tuuka Rask for team's ineptitude

No matter if the Boston Bruins make the playoffs or not this season, no one should be blaming workhorse goalie Tuuka Rask if they don't.

If Rask had any type of defense in front of him, which he does not, his goals against average would be far better than 2.31. Rask is currently eighth best in the league, tied with fellow netminders Scott Darling (Chicago Blackhawks) and Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators).

At the start of the season, The Hockey News made it perfectly clear in its 2016-17 Yearbook that if the B's expected any amount of success this season, 39-year-old defenseman Zdeno Chara "needs a proven shutdown partner, with (Dennis) Seidenberg no longer an option." You can also add the loss of Johnny Boychuck (traded to New York Islanders) and Dougie Hamilton (traded to Calgary Flames) as another reason why the team's defense is so inept this season.

If you're going to point fingers at Rask, you need to know that he's played 44 of 55 games this season. and has recorded an impressive 25-13-4 record, enough wins to be sixth best in the NHL, tied with Peter Budaj (Los Angeles Kings). Only Budaj (46 games) and San Jose's Martin Jones (46 games) have been between the pipes more than Rask.

While Rask's .911 save percentage isn't terrific (27th best), he has recorded five shutouts this season, tied for third best with the likes of Minnesota's Devon Dubnyk and Edmonton's Cam Talbot.

With 22 days remaining before the Feb. 28 trade deadline, B's general manager Don Sweeney hopefully is working the phones to bring in some much needed relief to help Chara. If not, this season might mark the third straight that Boston misses the playoffs, and it won't be Rask's fault.