NEW YORK — There’s not much Jonas Gustavsson can do now but hope.
With Tuukka Rask Jersey slated to start tomorrow night’s preseason finale, Gustavsson most likely had his final tryout for the Bruins’ backup goalie job last night in a 3-2 loss to the Rangers in which he stopped 24-of-27 shots.
Now it’s up to the Bruins’ brass to decide whether to sign the veteran netminder to back up Rask or to go with 26-year-old Jeremy Smith, who has not played in the NHL but was very good last year in Providence an has had a good camp.
“He was good tonight,” coach Claude Julien said of Gustavsson. “When I look at the first (goal), he had two Rangers right in front of him and it goes through when he can’t see much. . . . I thought he played pretty well. We dominated in the shot department, but he had to make some big saves. He was good. Same thing I said about Smitty. He battled back, he got better during the game. So we’ve got some tough decisions to make here.”
Gustavsson had trouble with rebound control early, especially with his glove hand, but made some good saves in the third period and the pre-mandated overtime.
“I felt like I got better and better,” Gustavsson said. “I didn’t really get to feel the puck at the beginning of the game, but I felt like in the overtime and the third that I could settle in a little more. Overall, I felt pretty good.”
Did he feel like he made his best case to stay?
“You can always do better. That’s the mentality I have at least. That’s what drives me and makes me want to get better. But it’s not up to me to make those decisions. I’m just trying to do whatever I can out there when I get the chance. That’s all I can do. So far I’ve been trying to prepare myself as much as I can for practices and games and that’s all I can do,” said Gustavsson.
No matter who is named the backup, Julien is happy with the organizational depth at the position.
“Malcolm (Subban) showed us that he’s gotten better and he’s even more ready than before, so that’s encouraging because if it some point somebody goes down, you have to call up a goaltender and that’s the confidence that you want,” Julien said before the game.
Joonas making gains
Joonas Kemppainen has drawn strong reviews for his play and the 27-year-old Finnish product is making a strong case for being the fourth-line center.
“I like his size, I like his strength, he’s got a heavy stick, he’s a smart player and he’s an experienced player,” Julien said. “For a guy playing in North America for the first time he’s adjusting well so. Those are all things that are playing in his favor right now. patrice bergeron jersey. But there are other guys that we have to look at and say, short term and long term, where we’d be better off.”
Kemppainen believes we haven’t seen his best hockey.
“I think every day has been better than the day before, but I’m still not satisfied with my game. I think I can still get a little better,” said Kemppainen, who won 12-of-19 draws last night. “My timing can be a little bit better and I need to do less thinking and more action.”
He said the transition to the smaller ice surface has come fairly quickly for him.
“The first two games at the rookie tournament were hard for me,” he said. “It was a little different from what I’m used to. There’s a little more skating and battling here, but it’s the same sport.
Khokhlachev firing
Though he had nothing to show for it, Alexander Khokhlachev started to assert himself a little more last night, firing three shots and hitting the net twice. He took a holding penalty in the OT. . . .
Anton Blidh took seven shots, hitting the net four times. . . .
The B’s lineup was light on veterans while the Rangers put out was pretty close to their opening night lineup.
“I think it’s a great way to evaluate some of your players that you’re looking at from a development standpoint and from a roster point of view,” Julien said of the rationale for going young. . . .
The Bruins Jerseys will practice at the Garden today at 11 a.m. and then conduct their media day obligations.
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