Asked about his starting goaltender for Sunday after Saturday night’s game, Bruins coach Claude Julien wouldn’t even dignify the question with an answer. Julien almost never reveals his goaltender before he absolutely has to, and he would make no exception for this game, against the Canadiens.
His options, at this moment, are Tuukka Rask and Malcolm Subban, the former the reigning Vezina Trophy winner in the midst of a hot streak, the latter a rookie who has not yet made his NHL debut.
It would seem there is no question.
But Rask has had his well-publicized struggles against the Canadiens, who beat the Bruins in seven games in their second round matchup in the playoffs last season. Rask has lost both of his starts against Montreal this season, with Niklas Svedberg getting the other start, also a loss.
“Nobody’s told me otherwise, so I’m sure I’m playing,” Rask said on Saturday night. “If I play hopefully we’ll get a win so I don’t have to answer your questions again.”
There would seem to be no better time for Rask to try to end his difficulties against the Canadiens — which, as he pointed out, weren’t an issue when he won three games over Montreal in the playoffs. He racked up a 7-1-3 record in January with a 1.64 goals against average and a .949 save percentage. In February, he has allowed four goals in two games, a loss to the Rangers and a win over the Islanders.
He has started 15 of the Bruins’ last 16 games.
But against Montreal, it has always been rough for Rask. Over his career, he has a 3-12-3 record with a .902 save percentage and a 2.76 goals against average. His career save percentage is .927 and his career goals against average is 2.15.
Asked if he needed a good game against Montreal on Sunday to boost his confidence, Rask said no.
“I had a shutout against them in the playoffs and beat them three times,” he said. “Not enough obviously. It doesn’t matter to me. Every game I play, I try to have a shutout and keep our team in it. Lately against the Habs, hasn’t been the case winning wise, but we get another crack at it [Sunday].”
Canadiens at a glance
■ When, where: Sunday, 7:30 p.m., at TD Garden.
■ TV, radio: NBCSN, WBZ-FM (98.5).
■ Goals: Max Pacioretty 23, Alex Galchenyuk 15, Tomas Plekanec 15.
■ Assists: P.K. Subban 25, Andrei Markov 23, David Desharnais 22.
■ Goaltending: Carey Price (28-11-2, 2.06 GAA), Dustin Tokarski (5-4-1, 2.56).
■ Head to head: This is the fourth and final meeting this season. The Canadiens won the first three.
■ Miscellany: Pacioretty has three goals and two assists against the Bruins this season . . . The Canadiens have the top defense in the league, allowing only 2.27 goals per game . . . After scoring just six goals in their previous four games, the Canadiens routed the Devils, 6-2, on Saturday night in Montreal to end a two-game losing streak. They scored three times in both the second and third periods.
Follow Amalie Benjamin on Twitter @amaliebenjamin.