NHL Notes: Several Bruins hoping NHL returns to Quebec City

One of the developments from Bruins Jersey Media Day last week was B’s owner Jeremy Jacobs pouring some frozen tundra-level cold water on the NHL expansion hopes in Quebec City.

The NHL only received expansions applications -- armed with a $10 million price tag with only $2 million of that non-refundable -- from Quebec and Las Vegas, and both made full presentations to the NHL Board of Governors over the last month. Quebec City has built a state of the art rink in an effort to bring home the wayward Nordiques' franchise that left for Colorado after the 1994-95 season, and there’s little question the region would enjoy the same rabid NHL fan reaction renaissance as the Jets received in similarly small market Winnipeg.

But Jacobs, the Chairman of the Board of Governors, certainly sounded like he was leaning toward Las Vegas as the lead expansion choice and that the geography, economics and even the value of the Canadian dollar were actively working against the Quebecois right now.

“What is the best thing for the league as a whole, and what’s the best thing for Boston? Right now the thirty teams are pretty good for all of us, I think. I feel good about where we are today. But as you framed the question there, we’re imbalanced here in that we’ve got 16 teams in the East, 14 in the West,” said Jacobs, who didn’t mention franchise relocation as another potential option for the NHL to help change the geography. “I would probably have to indicate that another team in the west would make more sense for us. Now looking at the two locations, you have to say that Quebec looks like they are…there’s more history there for hockey.

Bruins notebook: Tuukka Rask looks sharp in final tuneup

WASHINGTON — After his first preseason appearance, a loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, Tuukka Rask Jersey was asked how many exhibition games he’d need to be ready for the regular season.

“Well,” said Rask, getting a laugh, “hopefully not more than two.”

Rask knew that two was all he’d be getting in this camp, given management’s need to give playing time to four candidates vying for the job as his backup.

It turns out two was enough, as Rask made his second start last night in the team’s final tune-up against the Capitals and was in midseason form, stopping all 15 shots he faced in 40 minutes of work.

Alex Ovechkin’s in-close goal on Jeremy Smith tied the game at 1 with 2:34 left. After a scoreless overtime, which saw chances at both ends and a B’s power play, the Caps scored on the first two shots of the shootout (T.J. Oshie, Evgeni Kuznetsov), while Ryan Spooner and David Krejci were stopped, giving the home team the 2-1 win.

The Bruins’ lone goal was by Loui Eriksson, set up at the goalmouth by Patrice Bergeron in the first period.

Bruins notebook: Gustavsson stakes claim to be B's backup goalie

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.”