Claude Julien: Tuukka Rask’s Departure Due to ‘Dehydration’

In the midst of the Bruins’ 4-2 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday, their fans had to hold their breath when one of the team’s most important players inexplicably left the game.

Just 10 seconds into the first period, Tuukka Rask had a conversation with the referee, then left the ice. After speaking briefly with coach Claude Julien, he headed down the tunnel with training staff.

Niklas Svedberg was quickly called into action, playing the remaining 39:50 of the game and stopping 16 of the 18 shots he faced.

Rask wasn’t seen for the remainder of the period and did not return to the Bruins’ bench for the third. The team issued the following announcement with less than 10 minutes left in regulation.

UPDATE: Tuukka Rask unlikely to return to today’s game.

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 28, 2015

After the game, Julien said Rask was “fine,” believing the issue to be related to dehydration.

“It looks like it might have been a case of dehydration, so he’s scheduled to travel with us, he’s scheduled to be with us and he should be fine for tomorrow,” Julien said in his postgame press conference.

There’s perhaps no single player that the Bruins can more ill-afford to lose than Rask with just seven games left in the regular season. The 28-year old netminder is one of the only reasons the team is still in playoff contention, coming into Saturday at 29-19-12 with a .921 save percentage and 2.34 goals against average in a career-high 62 games.