TORONTOThe Bruins have made their moves with the goaltending situation after Tuukka Rask went down with injury last weekend.
First the Bruins announced that Rask will miss 4-6 weeks with a strained groinstrained abdomen suffered in the second period of Saturdays loss to the Islanders, and that puts into question his availability for the rest of the postseason.
But Rask avoided any potential knee injuries and wont need surgery for his legmidsection woes to heal properly.
Then the Bruins knocked down their second domino: they signed veteran netminder Marty Turco to a one-year contract for the remainder of this season. The 36-year-old Turco last played in the NHL for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010-11 season, and played 10 games for EC Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian Hockey League earlierthis season mixed in with some television analysis for the NHL Network and TSN in Canada.
Turco will have to clear through waivers a la Evgeni Nabokov last seasonwho was scooped up by the New York Islanders when the Detroit Red Wings were desperate to sign him -- and would join the Bruins on Wednesday if the rest of the NHL takes a pass on the veteran goaltender Boston desperately needs to land.
The big question will be what kind of game shape Turco is in when he arrives in Boston hoping to give Thomas ample rest with 18 games remaining in the regular season for the Bs. The pairing of the 36-year-old Turco and the soon-to-be 38-year-old Thomas also gives the Bruins one of the oldest goaltending tandems in franchise history.
The veteran netminder will not be eligible for the Stanley Cup playoff roster since he was signed following the NHL All-Star break. Turco won a Stanley Cup title with the Dallas Stars and is 273-65-43 in 538 career games for Dallas and Chicago with a .910 save percentage and a 2.35 goals against average. Turco put up an 11-11-3 record with a 3.02 GAA and an .897 save percentage in his final NHL season with the Blackhawks.
Its anticipated that Rask could be back by the end of the regular season to serve as Tim Thomas backup once the playoffs start, but its also expected that Thomas will be making every start for the Black and Gold in the postseason.