Boston Bruins: Malcolm Subban Likely To Start
With both Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin injured, it looks as if Malcolm Subban will be between the pipes for the Boston Bruins.
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It’s been a rough couple of days for the goaltenders of the Boston Bruins. Primary goaltender Tuukka Rask has been sidelined with ‘overall soreness’, a condition that kept him out of the B’s game against the Canadiens. Zane McIntyre was sent back down to Providence, giving Malcolm Subban a chance to get some practice time in with Boston. Then during Monday’s practice, Anton Khudobin sustained a wrist injury, leaving Subban as the only goaltender in net for a long Bruins practice.
It’s certainly not an ideal situation for the Bruins. Malcolm Subban has had a rough start to his AHL season. He’s gone 0-3-1, with a 4.50 goals against average. His save percentage (.846) is bad for a beer league.
“Obviously it’s not the way you want to start the season,” said Subban of his early numbers. “It’s not like I feel terrible in the net. I’m not lost. It’s just not going my way right now.
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“I feel like the biggest thing right now is just to battle. It’s not the first time I’ve faced adversity and it’s not going to be the last. I don’t feel too down on myself, to be honest.”
At this point, Bruins head coach Claude Julien is hoping to hear some good news from the medical staff this morning. He didn’t seem to have any good news to share with the media after yesterday’s practice.
“I’m not trying to hide anything here,” offered Julien. “I haven’t made any decisions. There’s a lot of things that are up in the air right now. And I’ve just got to juggle those things. Who knows? Hopefully [Tuesday] morning I’ve got a better picture. If not, it’ll be a game time decision.
“I wish I had a better answer. But I have no answers to give you right now. Too many things up in the air.
“Right now I have no update [on Khudobin]. Same thing with Tuukka. He’s still day-to-day. Nothing has changed. I don’t know what his situation is. No decision has been made on him. If [Malcolm Subban is] going in the goal, he’ll go in the goal. Simple as that.”
The Bruins organization still seems to believe that Subban can become a NHL-quality goaltender. While they were probably hoping that he would have been ready by now, they’ve rebuffed offers that would have moved him in the past.
Subban feels like he has a future with Boston. He knows that he’s got to work on his consistency if he wants to move up in the Bruins organization.
“The technical side, I’ve been working on since I came to the organization,” said Subban of his progress. “I think just being consistent and being able to do it every game is the biggest thing. They know I’m real athletic; that’s not what I need to work on as much as my [goaltending] and be able to be consistent and do it every game.”
If Subban has a repeat of his ugly performance against the St. Louis Blues, it will be hard for the Boston Bruins to trust him again this season. If Subban plays, and has a respectable showing against the Wild, then he will have validated Don Sweeney‘s faith in him.