Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask misses crucial season finale
BOSTON (AP) Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask missed Saturday's season finale against the Ottawa Senators as his team played for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
Backup Jonas Gustavsson got the start against Ottawa. It was just his 20th start of the season.
The Bruins needed a victory over the Senators and help from Philadelphia and Detroit in order to avoid their second straight season without a playoff berth.
The team said shortly before the opening faceoff that Rask was unavailable due to illness. He was with the team for the pregame warmup but spent most of it on the side, near the Boston bench.
The Bruins sent a news release at 12:01 p.m. - 29 minutes before the start of the game - saying they were recalling Jeremy Smith from their minor-league affiliate in Providence on an emergency basis.
