ESPNBoston.com periodically will check in with some Boston athletes to hear in their own words what's going on with them. We chatted with Bruins backup goalie Tuukka Rask (before he shut out the Oilers Saturday afternoon) and talked about how the season is going, his secret hobby and what recent movie he recommends.
As told to Louise K. Cornetta
Coming into the season I think we had a pretty good feel of ourselves. Maybe we weren't ready to work as hard we should from the beginning. We realized we can't be that way and fixed things. Things are getting in the right direction. We kind of started off playing good one night, then bad the next night. We weren't really consistent. We're trying to find our consistency right now and, as I said, we're headed in the right direction.
As for my own expectation, really, nothing much. I wanted to get some games early on and help Timmy [starting goalie Tim Thomas] out there when he gets his rest. I think it's going good so far for me. Timmy and I have a good relationship. We're the same type of guys that like to joke around. We don't take life too seriously. The biggest thing I've learned from him is probably the work ethic in practices. Work hard every day is the way to go.
I don't have a roommate on the road yet. I just like to hang out in my room. Hang out with Timmy, watch movies, get something to eat, nothing special. The last movie I saw was "Funny People" with Adam Sandler. I thought it was pretty good. Kind of long though, but it was okay. People should rent it. It's kind of seriously funny.
This weekend we had a 1 o'clock game, which is different from a regular game day because it's so early. Nothing you can do but wake up, eat breakfast and come to the rink, that's all. Usually for a 7 o'clock game, you wake up, breakfast, go to the rink for the morning skate, get your legs going, go back to the hotel to get some sleep, snack, then come to the rink.
So we had the early game, then onto New York, which means we couldn't really plan anything for Halloween. But I went out to eat on Friday and it was fun to see people dressed up and party around. But we don't really have anything. In Finland we don't dress up anyway.
I grew up in Finland and growing up I didn't have any one goalie I idolized. I looked at the NHL and Patrick Roy was there and Marty Brodeur. It wasn't just one that I looked up to but many of them.
Now that I am an NHL goalie, if there's a shootout, and I had to have one player to face that would be a challenge, I always find Alexander Ovechkin to be a good challenge for me. He's the best goal-scorer in the league.
So what can I tell you that is something about me you might not know? Well, I play drums. I started off when I was 10, then I had a five-year break, then I started again when I came over here. It's just a hobby. I have a drum set, but my neighbors still like me because it's an electric drum set. I like playing Metallica. I can't name one of their songs, but I like playing Metallica.