Bruins are willing to give Tuukka Rask time to sharpen his game

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy reiterated the team’s support of Rask, the veteran stopper who has allowed 14 goals in four games (.844 save percentage) since returning from July hip surgery.

“We made a decision as a group when Tuukka came back,” Cassidy said on a late-morning Zoom call Tuesday. “Anybody coming back at any level, it’s going to take a little bit of time. We understood that. We’re not at that point yet where we’re going to blow everything up.”

Linus Ullmark, who has given up 18 goals in his last seven starts — all wins — will start against the powerful Avalanche (29-8-3, No. 1 in the West). Cassidy didn’t reveal his plans, but Rask could take the net Friday against the Coyotes, who are battling with the Canadiens for lottery odds.

When Rask declared himself ready, the Bruins planned to give him at least one start in the AHL before adding him to the NHL roster. Rask signed an AHL tryout contract Jan. 6, and was in line to start for Providence against Lehigh Valley Jan. 7. That game, and another one two days later, was wiped out by COVID.

At that time, nothing contractually prevented the Bruins from waiting until Rask saw AHL action. But Providence was idle until Jan. 15. He was healthy and dominating in practices.

“We need to get him his reps,” Cassidy said. “We need to play well in front of him. He needs to get comfortable tracking pucks, fighting through traffic, stuff you don’t get as often in practice, and that’s just going to take some time. Hopefully not too much time, I think, for everyone involved. We’d like to see results quickly. Doesn’t always happen that way.”

Cassidy echoed previous comments from Rask — who allowed five goals on 27 shots in a loss to the Ducks Monday — that the goalie is healthy.

“There’s no issue there,” Cassidy said. “He has not once said that, that he’s laboring or not comfortable. In fact, it’s the opposite. He feels that he’s able to recover quicker. The pain he’s played through in the past, the surgery was able to alleviate that.

“Now, to me, it’s timing. Looks like he’s having trouble picking up the puck as quick as he’d like, as he has in the past. I believe it’s just playing. He needs to play. He needs to play with traffic, to get those details of his particular game back. I think it’s as simple as that.

“Tuukka’s not some guy off the street who’s never played. He’s got a résumé in this league, and an extremely good one. We believe he’ll find his game and we’ll have a great 1-2 punch.”

Formidable foe

Colorado has changed sleep schedules across the hockey-watching East.

It’s typically worth it to stay up late (Wednesday’s game starts at 10 p.m. and is on TNT) to watch the Avalanche.

Cale Makar, who spent two years at UMass before graduating to the NHL, sometimes finishes a game without having made some opponent look foolish with his high-speed trickery, but not too often.

From a competitiveness and talent standpoint, Nathan MacKinnon is a larger Brad Marchand (must be something in the water off the Nova Scotia coast). Mikko Rantanen is built like a linebacker and has the hands of a violinist. Nazem Kadri, the former Maple Leaf, is producing at a 115-point pace.

Good time for the Bruins to ditch their recent trend of slow starts.

“I would hope so,” Cassidy said, using the term “high octane” to describe the Avalanche. “We’ve had good games against them, just come up a little short in crunch time. In that regard, we’d better be ready to go.”

Boston has lost six of seven (1-6-0) against Colorado, which it hasn’t faced since Dec. 7, 2019. The Bruins of 30 and 40 years ago regularly slapped around the Nordiques, but since the franchise moved West in 1995-96, the Bruins are 11-22-1-2 against them.

Getting better

Matt Grzelcyk, who missed Monday’s game with an upper-body injury, skated and “looked good,” per Cassidy. He could play against Colorado. Grzelcyk took an awkward hit from Winnipeg’s Pierre-Luc Dubois on Saturday . . . Nick Foligno (upper-body injury) will not travel. Foligno did not return to Monday’s game after a second-period fight with Sam Carrick. Foligno took one hard punch in the brief dust-up, a stiff right to the jaw . . . Marchand took the day off from practice. He is playing through an apparent right shoulder/upper-arm injury after a hit from Washington’s Garnet Hathaway last Thursday . . . Trent Frederic (upper body) remains off skates . . . Anton Blidh (upper body), who has missed the last two games, will travel, but his status is unclear . . . The Bruins plan to bring wingers Jesper Froden and Steven Fogarty, defenseman Tyler Lewington, and goalie Troy Grosenick on the taxi squad . . . John Moore (upper body, missed six games) was returned to Providence. The JV squad plays Tuesday (at Utica), Friday (at Hartford), and Saturday (at Springfield).