There's way too much irrational hatred towards one of our core players in these threads. The guy could very well be seriously injured, but people rather choose to believe he's a bum and a quitter. I guess people really enjoy the idea of a multimillionaire failing or struggling at something?
What irks me the most are these comments about him 'not having what it takes' to be star goalie. It's a ridiculous premise. He already made it. He made it in the big time. He won an olympic medal. He won a Vezina trophy. He got paid like the best goaltender in the league. None of this is in question anymore.
Now the only thing up to debate is if he's the best option for the remaining few games. Only the coaching staff can know that, because only they are fully in the know regarding injuries and other concerns.
Personally I think this is something us Bruins fans like to do for some twisted reason. I remember very clearly when he played with Thomas the fanbase on these boards was pretty much divided into two camps. The Thomas fans and the Rask fans, and both sides were hoping for the other goalie to have a bad game so they could come posting their inane ramblings how the guy is clearly over the hill or clearly doesn't have what it takes.
I just don't see why we can't support our players through thick and thin. Noone in their right mind can seriously argue that Rask is done as a starter in the league, so clearly he's in a funk that he has to work through. Price has been through those. So has Bob. So has Hank. Let's not drive our guy out of town before we're sure?
I don't think anyone ( 99 percent of the bruins pop ) want to see Rask fail. Rask failing means the Bruins failing, and nobody ( 99 percent of the Bruins pop ) wants to see that happen.
Rask has been at the top of the goaltending elite and stayed there for a good run. However, he's been slipping over the past 2-3 seasons and slipping hard. Easy goals against, untimely goals against, not stepping up in important games, etc etc.
Can he be elite again? He's shown he can at the start of the year. He was arguably one of the three most important players in the league and clearly the team's MVP. We can insert the excuse of the moment for his dip in play ( injury, coming back down to earth, defensive failings in front of him ) but the fact of the matter is, he has not played like a number 1 goaltender. We need someone to step up and recent memory shows that has been Doby and not Rask.
Can Doby's streak continue? I hope so, for the Bruins sake. I also hope Rask can find his game because we need him to. As much as I want to see Rask succeed, I do think ( and I have for awhile now ) that the best course of action for the Bruins and their future is to move on from him. I just don't think Rask has it in him to be The Guy anymore. Subjective and probably some projection in that opinion, obviously, but I'm using evidence such as body language, post game interviews,his play in high profile games, and his penchant for bowing out of games with a mystery illness where we needed him the most.
