#Islanders understand Tuukka Rask’s decision to opt out

Bruins star goaltender Tuukka Rask suddenly opted out of the 2020 playoffs Saturday afternoon, citing family reasons. For NHL players, it was a reminder of just how much they are sacrificing in uprooting their lives to compete in an isolated bubble.

Rask announced his decision through an official team statement just hours before the Bruins took the ice against the Hurricanes for Game 3, with the first-round series tied 1-1. Islanders captain Anders Lee, whose baby girl Ruby was born in March, gave Rask credit for having the strength to make such a difficult decision.

“Look, I don’t know Tuukka personally, but he’s making the best decision for himself and his family,” Lee said on a Zoom call Saturday afternoon. “I think that takes a lot of strength to do that in this situation where he wants to be there for his teammates, and they’re going through a run, and it’s the same thing for the family guys on our side. It’s tough being away from the family and your kids. You got to do your best, all the FaceTimes and staying in touch, it’s not easy.

“They couldn’t be more supportive to us, we are blessed enough to have this opportunity to come and play here. Although it’s difficult to be away from our families, we all have a common goal here to pursue something that we’ve worked for our entire lives. Pretty special time, but at the same time it can be difficult to be away from your family and not being able to see them.”

The 33-year-old Rask and his wife Jasmiina Nikkila recently had a baby daughter and they have two other young girls. Rask is the first player to opt out since the league began hosting its postseason last month in two bubble environments in Edmonton and Toronto. Other players opted out before the tournament began.

Islanders coach Barry Trotz said management had a lot of discussions regarding returning to play in the bubble situation. Players were encouraged to have a serious talk with their families in order to convey that this 2020 playoffs could be a one-to-three-month haul.

“That was discussed thoroughly with our leadership group and our team as a whole,” Trotz said. “I think Lou was very clear to everybody that the commitment had to be there and if not then do it early rather than late. We talked about that and our players understand it. We have a really good set of wives and girlfriends that understand the process that there is commitment in the game of hockey. ”

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Coach Barry Trotz opted to mix and match his defensive pairings during Friday’s 5-2 Game 2 win, hoping to match up with the Capitals as effectively as possible. The usual pairs of Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock, Devon Toews-Scott Mayfield and Andy Greene-Nick Leddy were quickly jumbled up as early as the first period in Trotz’s attempt to suppress any momentum Washington could muster. Pelech saw some time with Greene, who played his fifth straight game in place of Johnny Boychuk, and Leddy was paired with Mayfield and Pulock. Toews had some shifts with Pulock as well.

“Sometimes it’s situational, in terms of the game, the power plays, penalty kills we have certain matchups,” Trotz said. “Sometimes you’re reacting to what the other team does and how your team is responding if one guy is maybe not having the game you thought, you maybe elevate another guy, move another guy down. Or you get speed against speed, size against size, there’s different reasons for it and different situational things.

“Everybody has a role, we try to give them a role before the season and also during games and series. We just moved guys around that we feel are going and maybe have the legs that night, maybe a better matchup.”