Can Anyone Play Goaltender for the Bruins Tomorrow Night at Madison Square Garden?

It didn't all happen at once but between injuries to goaltenders Tuukka Rask (general soreness, day-to-day) and Anton Khudobin (upper-body, out 3 weeks) over the last few days, this left the Bruins (3-3-0) in quite a predicament. Tonight, they were forced to suit up both of their Providence Bruins (AHL) goaltenders-Malcolm Subban (13 saves, 3 goals allowed) and Zane McIntyre (15 saves, 2 goals allowed)-against a decent Wild (4-2-1) team at TD Garden with predictable results: an embarrassing 5-0 Minnesota victory that was as ugly as you'll ever see in an NHL regular season game on home ice.

Like a fateful David Price start in the MLB playoffs, you quickly wondered why we ever thought for a second that maybe the B's could squeak out a point or two tonight. Subban, their terrible first-round pick from 2012 (24th overall) made his second NHL start and just like the last time in St. Louis (spring 2015), he was pathetically pulled in the second period. Where did it all go so wrong for Malcolm? It was 0-0 after a dull first period (save for a brief mauling of one Zac Dalpe by PC's own Tim Schaller). It all began when BU's Charlie Coyle managed to get a weak shot through traffic that Subban (who probably didn't see it) couldn't stop. Coyle's third goal of the season came at 5:07, assisted by Nino Niederreiter and Eric Staal. 12 seconds later Chris Stewart banged in the puck that came shooting out to him in front of Boston's goal, it had deflected off of Patrice Bergeron's skate. Stewart's second goal of the season was assisted by Joel Eriksson Ek and Jason Zucker.

Subban's night was prematurely over after he gave up the softest goal of the trio: Ryan Suter floated a one-timer by his glove (which seemed to be in the proper position). Suter's second goal of the season was assisted by Matt Dumba and Mikael Granlund at 10:36. McIntyre's first NHL appearance (in a regular season game) was a strange one and he didn't have that much more success although down 3-0 with a lifeless team in front of him (no David Backes either), what did you realistically expect? Boston's defense let Zucker park in front of McIntyre where he tipped in Suter's shot from the point. Eriksson Ek had the other helper on Zucker's first tally of the season.

If you were hoping for any kind of spark for the Bruins to build on from the third period, it wasn't your night. At least they showed some balls when Torey Krug stuck up for Noel Acciari who had been boarded by Dalpe. Former Sabre Jason Pominville deposited a rebound after McIntyre made an initial quality save on Eriksson Ek. Pominville's second goal of the season rounded out the scoring mercifully at 15:12 (by that time the Garden was so empty, on Hockey Fights Cancer night no less) with the other assist credited to Zucker.

Along with these key injuries that have piled up recently, the B's have no luck from the schedule as tonight kicked off their first of 14 sets of back-to-back games. Tomorrow is Rivalry Night on NBCSN so the entire hockey world will get to see another potential disaster as the Rangers (4-2-0) host the Bruins in primetime (8 pm). I suppose the team doesn't have a choice but to start Subban again for fear of losing him mentally if they started McIntyre over him. Then again, barring the return of Tim Thomas or some other Bruins legend from the past, it's tough to see a much different outcome playing out in the Big Apple. All we can hope is that Rask's injury is not that serious; obviously if it is, the front office can't sit by idly and watch all those points get flushed down the Black and Gold toilet.

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The Bruins' Revolving Door of Backup Goaltenders Continues to Spin

For the third season in a row, Bruins star goaltender Tuukka Rask will have a new backup sitting behind him. Following in the skates of Anton Khudobin (who had a nice season with Carolina in 2013-14) and Chad Johnson who was really good in his one season for Boston (17-4-3, 2 shutouts, 2.10 GAA and .925 save percentage in 27 games), enter Swedish youngster Niklas Svedberg.

It is his time since he's only 24 and Boston signed him to a one-year, one-way deal worth $600,000 this afternoon. Johnson is an unrestricted free agent and he made the exact same amount as Svedberg just agreed to. You can bet that someone will overpay Johnson and who knows, he might even get to start at some point depending on where he ends up. Svedberg was signed as a free agent on May 29, 2012.

Svedberg's lone start last season with Boston was a 3-2 overtime win vs. Nashville when he made 33 saves. In Providence, he was 25-15-4 with 2.63 goals against average and .910 save percentage in 45 games. He split time with Malcolm Subban who undoubtedly will now be the guy for the Providence Bruins. It's time to see what Svedberg can do in the NHL since he's maxed out in the AHL: 66-27-6 in 102 games. In 2012-13, he was a breakout star for the Providence Bruins as they lost in Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs (the 1st of 2 years in a row they'd do that).

The Bruins have plenty of needs: wingers that can score and mobile defensemen being at the top of the list but goaltending is the one area where (barring some major injury) they are in great shape with Rask, Svedberg and Subban in Providence.

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So Long Tim Thomas, It's Tuukka Time Now. PS Thanks For The Stanley Cup In 2011

We all knew that Tim Thomas' career with the Boston Bruins was probably done anyway but today, we can officially close the door on that crazy era. Thomas was dealt to the New York Islanders for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2014 or 2015. The condition is that he plays this season or next season with the Isles (which is unlikely), otherwise this is just a simple salary dump that helps them get to the salary cap floor.

A Michigan native who played collegiately at Vermont, Thomas was a two-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL's top goalie played in 378 regular-season games-all with the B's. He was 196-121-45 with a 2.48 goals-against average and 31 shutouts and ranks fourth on Boston's career wins list and third in shutouts. He also has a 29-21 mark in the playoffs with a 2.07 GAA and six shutouts. Thomas won the Vezina and Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Talk about an anti-climatic ending to one of the best goaltenders in Bruins history. Of course it had to be this way though, Thomas left the B's with no choice after he decided last summer to take this season off. Yeah ok, see you later. Good luck with the bunker. There lies the rub with Thomas: it's hard to separate the bat-shit insane ending with the glorious middle. I'm not going to predict or tell people how to feel in a few years but I wouldn't be surprised if in say 10 or 20 years, he can come back to Boston and get his number rightfully retired in the Garden rafters. The works. However, that wound is still fresh and people are sick of his bullshit so don't count on the Bruins doing that anytime soon.

More importantly for Tuukka Rask, this has to give him some more confidence (on top of how well he's been playing in 2013) since now he really can forget about Thomas and doesn't have to worry about him coming back WWE or boxing style. This is Rask's team and his time, he's waited the last few seasons to be the man again and he seems to be taking full advantage. He'll never be Thomas but in many ways, that's a good thing. All goalies are strange in their own special ways but Rask appears to blend in with his teammates much better than Thomas ever did.

The good news for the B's long term is that their goaltending situation both in the NHL and the minors appears to be just fine. A restricted free agent after this season, Rask is playing for a new long-term deal which seems to be a given. Anton Khudobin could be a decent backup then they have Niklas Svedberg at Providence (where he was an AHL All-Star this season) plus Malcolm Subban (a draft pick last summer) further down the pipeline. We will always love Thomas for what he did with the Bruins but it's only natural that we move on and shower that love and attention on Rask.

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Malcolm Subban Signs A 3-Year Deal With B's, Please Don't Let There Be Another Lockout

I have avoided talking about another possible (impending?) NHL Lockout because really, what else is there to say? For a sport that has finally returned from the abyss, it would be a fatal mistake. It's one thing for the NFL to have one last summer that ended before the regular season started or the NBA to miss some meaningless regular season games but this is the last thing hockey needs.

I bring this up because today the Bruins agreed to a three-year entry-level deal with goaltender Malcolm Subban, their first-round pick (24th overall) in June's NHL Draft. Terms of the contract weren't released and it officially kicks in once he plays 10 or more games at the NHL level.

Subban is only 18-years-old so he is still a ways off from the Bruins. He's expected to play for the Bellville Bulls this season, a junior team in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League). The younger brother of Montreal defenseman P.K. was 25-14-0 with a 2.50 GAA and .923 save percentage playing for Bellville last season.

Whenever the Bruins get back on the ice, their goaltending situation will look much different with Tim Thomas gone. Tuukka Rask is the starter with Anton Khudobin backing him up. Keeping track of Subban's progression in the minor leagues will be interesting, ditto for guys with the Providence Bruins. Let's just hope that the NHL can reach an agreement with its players so they don't miss any time. Otherwise, you could see many big names down in Providence as they attempt to stay in game shape.

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Never Thought I'd See A Subban On The Bruins

The only reason many people noticed who the Bruins drafted tonight with the 24th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft is because of his last name: Subban.

That's right, Montreal Canadiens villian P.K. Subban's little brother Malcolm is the newest member of Boston's organization. Malcolm is an 18-year-old goaltender that played for Bellville (OHL) last season. He was 25-14-0 with a 2.50 GAA and .923 save percentage in 2011-12.

If he ever plays for the B's and P.K. is still on the Canadiens, it will add a whole other juicy subplot to the best rivalry for the Bruins. Hopefully it happens at some point since that would be pretty hilarious.

In other Bruins goaltender news, Tim Thomas waived his no-trade clause (which expired July 1). Thomas is intriguing to teams looking for financial relief because under the rules, he would count $5 million against the salary cap, yet the team would not need to pay his $3 million salary if he didn't play.

B's GM Peter Chiarelli said more than a couple teams have expressed interest in trading for Thomas, who made it clear that he intends to sit out next season.

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