Goaltending: Rask's ice time

by lampshade9909 on Aug 29, 2010 8:09 AM EDT

What's the goaltending situation looking like-

For how well Boston plays defensively, Thomas really hasn't impressed, his stats are more of a team reflection. But he is still worth 20+ starts. Assuming Thomas stays the entire season this year(and does not get traded/waived ect), How much ice time is expected of Rask this year(40-50-60 starts?)? And is Thomas expected to backup, or is this a time share(40/40 or 50/30)?

Many FanPosts are written by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stanley Cup of Chowder, SB Nation, their sponsors, or business partners.

Tweet Comment 23 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Thomas says he is healthy and ready to compete for the #1 spot between the pipes, but I think it is Rask’s spot. My guess is that Thomas will still get a decent about of starts. I would say that Rask will start about 50-55 games with with Thomas getting about 30 starts.

Stanley Cup of Chowder: A Hearty Helping of Hockey in The Hub

by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Aug 29, 2010 9:08 AM EDT reply actions

yeah, that seems about right. ist about the only way to still get value out of timmy, because he can provide you with 30ish starts, which can keep tuukka healthy and ready for a playoff run

by BlueNGoldBomber on Aug 29, 2010 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Thomas is still a good goalie, yeah.

Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)

by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Aug 29, 2010 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions

That seems about right

2010 Red Sox Playoffs.... We Can Do It!
"That place was for diehard sports fans. I only follow my team when they're in the playoffs" - Homer Simpson
Join the Lacrosse community The Lacrosse Blog

by bestbostonsports on Sep 1, 2010 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions

50/30 is probably a reasonable estimate. Saying Thomas hasn’t really impressed is unfair, though. Yes, that 2008-9 season was a fluke, but he’s still a top 15 goalie. Just because he’s overpaid doesn’t mean he’s not good. He’s the league’s best backup, by a country mile. That has value. Maybe not $5M worth of value, but value just the same. Assuming Thomas is in Boston the whole season, I’m guessing he starts 54 games, and Timmy starts 28.

What I am more concerned with is Tuukka’s conditioning. He wore down BADLY in the Philly series, culminating in a game 7 where he was downright awful. A couple of those goals were on shots he should have blocked in his sleep. Given his rail-thin frame, I doubt that he’ll ever be able to deal with a Brodeur/Lundqvist/Kiprusoff type workload, which isn’t a big deal as long as Tank is around, but what about a long playoff run? There’s no quicker way to create controversy than by switching goalies during the playoffs, so you can’t say “ah, we’ll give Tuukka a rest tonight”. In retrospect, giving him the night off in game 5 of that Flyers series would have been helpful, but you can’t fault Claude for that one. Hindsight is 20/20, and he would have been ripped to shreds if he’d done so.

For what it’s worth, I think we’ll see someone try to pick Thomas up at the deadline. There are just too many shaky goalies in starting jobs right now, and a few are bound to falter. San Jose plans to contend for a Cup with Antero Freaking Nittymakki in goal? Really? If Thomas Greiss turns into the next Jimmy Howard , bully for him, but I’m keeping an eye on them as a team that’s going to need a goalie. Same with Philly; that Boucher/Leighton tandem was catching lightning in a bottle. I have a hard time believing that those guys suddenly became viable #1 goaltenders after being career journeymen. Chicago signed Marty Turco, which would have been a Cup winning move five years ago, but Turco is lousy now. They’re going to regret that. And et cetera.

by Phunwin on Aug 30, 2010 9:05 AM EDT reply actions

True statements. Good concerns with his conditioning, but as long as Thomas is here Rask will have someone to lean on. Fear not, this kids young. Ryan Miller started his career leaning on Marty Biron…. Fans cried about trading Biron for a couple years so that Miller could have the spot light. But truth be told, Biron was a great backup. And now Buffalo has a franchise goalie.

Biron and Thomas make a good comparison, both have sloppy technique and are fading away. Miller faded Biron and Rask is fading Thomas.

By saying that he didn’t impress, I guess I really meant that there are a lot of other goalies in the NHL that could have been put in his exact situation and done just as well if not better. Boston has just played well defensively the past few seasons, all they need is a goaltender with good technique.

Boston should keep Thomas all year, Thomas is the best backup a playoff team could ask for. No playoff team would have the cap space to trade for a 5 million dollar backup. The coaches and GM will just dangle the idea to Thomas that he can battle for starts, and he’ll stick around for atleast 1 more year.

by lampshade9909 on Sep 7, 2010 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions

I am a fan of both and a Thomas supporter. I know Rask is the future and Thomas is getting old, but I have a lot of repect for what Thomas did in the 2007-08 season. He almost single handedly got them to the playoffs and I won’t forget that. I’m not taking anything away from what the rest of the team did but he was the man. His bad hip slowed him down last year and if he is healthy like they say he is now he could take a load off of Rask with quality starts. Whoever ends up with the bulk of the starts, what a great asset to have either one of them as a back up.

The Black and Blue and Gold

by KingKrejci on Sep 1, 2010 12:46 AM EDT reply actions

If last year’s Thomas was slowed down and still was a top-20 goalie, I’ll take it.

Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)

by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Sep 1, 2010 8:36 AM EDT up reply actions

Given that you’re a fellow stat nerd, you’ll appreciate this.

You know what Tuukka’s GVT was last year, in just 43 games (and not all those were starts; some were relief appearances)? 25.2.

(For comparison’s sake, Ryan Miller was the league leading goalie at 35.3, and took 67 games to do it.)

Ho. Lee. Shit.

by Phunwin on Sep 1, 2010 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, Tuukka had a hell of a year. Best goalie in the league by GAA and Save % measures, and that’s a heck of a GVT. I’m just hoping he doesn’t Steve Mason out, here. (He won’t)

Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)

by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Sep 1, 2010 10:34 AM EDT up reply actions

I wonder if those numbers can hold up over 50-55 games. He had a great year and I don’t want to take anything away from him, but I’m not convinced he’s going into camp as the number 1! I think Thomas will have every opportunity to get the majority of starts and allow Tuukka to continue to develope and prepare better for the additional workload of a true number 1!

by SkateHitShoot on Sep 1, 2010 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m just hoping he doesn’t Steve Mason out, here. (He won’t)

Jinx! Jinx! Superjinx!

20 miles to Legoland!

by nhlcheapshot on Sep 1, 2010 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Rask won’t Steve Mason out because the teams are 100% different. Mason was on a bad team playing on the bottom of their division, and still is…. Rask is on a good defensive team playing on the top of their division. Rask also has Thomas to lighten the load. Mason didn’t have anyone, really.

by lampshade9909 on Sep 7, 2010 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions

I wouldn’t say “single handedly”. He had a pretty solid team in front of him and for a lot of the season had a pretty solid 1A in Manny Fernandez splitting starts with him (a point a lot of people forget).

Stanley Cup of Chowder: A Hearty Helping of Hockey in The Hub

by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Sep 1, 2010 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions

sheeesh 1A? they won the Jennings but Thomas drove that train!
Probably the pivot year for his $5M contract.

by SkateHitShoot on Sep 2, 2010 12:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Until Manny broke his back (which led to him playing very few starts at the end of the season and retiring afterwards) he was doing damn well. Even with some absolutely crap games at the end of the season, he ended up on par with Henrik Lundqvist in year-end stats.

But yeah, Thomas was “The Tank” that year for sure. I don’t think he’s regressed all that much, but the team in front of him last year was awful.

Hockey Blog Adventure: New Post: Nathan Horton is a Goomba (or check me out on Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)

by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Sep 2, 2010 9:09 AM EDT up reply actions