Boston Bruins: Jaroslav Halak has rejuvenated his career

The Boston Bruins are not exactly having the perfect season, but players have stepped up in a big way to ensure that they remain in the playoff hunt.

The Boston Bruins have been ravaged by the injury bug early on in the season, with huge injuries hitting crucial players. 4-time Selke winner Patrice Bergeron has been out for the past month while the vegan giant Zdeno Chara has missed a month as well.

Their defensive group is the shell of its former self but as the Bruins always do, they have trudged on regardless. They are currently fourth in the extremely competitive Atlantic Division with a record of 19-12-4. How can the Bruins maintain their dominance without their key center and defensive core? The play of Jaroslav Halak.

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The Bruins backup goaltender has been absolutely unbelievable. Halak has the best save percentage in the league among goalies with at least 15 games played (.930), a 2.19. goals against average, and is second in the league in shutouts with three. This has been the best season of his career and he is thriving in his new position.

With Halak fighting for the starting position, there has been a lot of internal competition between him and Tuukka Rask. Rask has played 17 games and has a .915 save percentage and a 2.57 goals against average.

Both goalies have played well for the team and their competition is a good problem to have if you’re Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. They will push each other to be better and you won’t tire them out as much as other teams are tiring out their starters.

The Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, and Toronto Maple Leafs all have one solid goalie and uncertainty following them. If the Bruins make the playoffs, both goalies will be way more rested than everybody else which will be a massive advantage for the team.

Halak was a great goalie before he went to the New York Islanders. When he was with the Montreal Canadiens, he dragged that team into the playoffs in 2010 and was hailed a hero by the city.

Ever since he never totally found his groove. With the Islanders, he didn’t have a solid defense group in front of him. Even though Boston’sdefensee is injury-laden, they still have a lot of talent, most notably Charlie McAvoy and Torey Krug.

This team is built to withstand earthquakes and Halak has done a phenomenal job with their star players out. If he continues his play, he might repeat the Canadiens 2010 run (but go just a teeny tiny bit farthe