If You Think The Media "Lit A Fire Under" Tuukka Rask You're A Silly Fool
Haggs is a friend of the program so I don’t mean to throw him under the bus here, but there are a lot of people who think like this, that Tuukka has had a fire lit under him, and let me say this very clearly, they’re silly fools.
Tuukka Rask is a professional athlete. They’re the most competitive species (yes, I said species, as they’re not human) that has ever inhabited planet earth. If dinosaurs had an ounce of the competitive spirit that even the worst pro has then they wouldn’t be extinct today. Tuukka Rask doesn’t give a FUCK what they say about him on Sports Hub or CSN. He doesn’t care what talk radio callers or internet commenters think about him. The only thought that consumes him is beating whoever his opponent is, because he’s a professional and that’s the drive that got him where he is.
It’s just such an insane thing for a human to actually think. You truly, genuinely believe that millionaire pros are sitting in the locker room, lacing up their skates, and saying to themselves, “They’ve been pretty mean to me on the evening drive show and don’t think I’m clutch. I’ll show those guys! Time to really try today!” That’s so absurdly narcissistic even Portnoy would shake his head at it (he probably wouldn’t).
Tuukka’s not playing like a fire has been lit under him, he’s playing like he always does. The team is playing well in front of him and he’s reciprocating, that’s how team sports work. He’s not spending his days stewing and getting amped up to prove some talking heads wrong. That’s INSANE.
Short of a Stanley Cup, Tuukka is never going to get the respect he deserves in Boston. That could be because of his contract, it could be because he’s following Tim Thomas, or it could be because one time he was very sick, tried to play, couldn’t move without shitting his pants, and did what he thought gave the team the best chance to win and sat. I’m sure Tuukka doesn’t care that he won’t get that respect and has dealt with this forever because that’s the plight of a goalie, like a quarterback everything is their fault.
But this shit that he’s not a good goalie has to fucking stop. Tuukka Rask is responsible for getting the Bruins to the position they’re in, which is currently the playoffs. Brad Marchand is in contention for MVP of the NHL but Tuukka Rask is the MVP of the Boston Bruins. Without him, they’re nowhere. No one lit a fire under Tuukka Rask all season and no one’s doing it now, he’s just a fucking excellent goalie.
On top of being an excellent goalie, he’s also very clutch. Bruins fans (read: idiots, because Bruins fans are the dumbest in our lovely city) love, love, love to say he’s not a clutch goalie and that he can’t show up in a big moment. Do you morons not remember 2014? Tuukka Rask was STELLAR. In 22 playoff games Tuukka had a .940 save percentage with a 1.88 goals against. You know what your hero Timmy Thomas had in 2011, the “greatest postseason goaltending performance ever”? Timmy had a .940 save percentage with a 1.98 goals against. So Tank steps up and performs and is clutch, but Tuuka, with better numbers, is a guy who’s afraid of the spotlight? Fuck you, morons.
Tuukka is playing like he always plays and no one with a mic or a cellphone is inspiring him to do so. He’s a pro athlete, an incredible goalie, and a clutch performer who’s doing exactly what he does.