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BOSTON -- It was the biggest game of the season for the Boston Bruins and they had to play without their No. 1 goalie Tuukka Rask, who was sidelined with an illness. Despite a 6-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, not one Bruins player blamed it on Rask's absence. They simply played a terrible game at the most inopportune time with a Stanley Cup playoff berth at stake. Now, the offseason officially begins for the Bruins for the second consecutive season. "It shouldn't have been an issue," Bruins coach Claude Julien said of Rask's absence. "He is a great goaltender but our team could have easily played much better and allowed [Jonas Gustavsson] to be the winning goalie today. Some of the goals they scored, those tips and a lot of goals, we didn't give him much help. If anything, he gave us a lot of help in that first period, so [he's] certainly not the reason. Excuses are out the window. There are none." If the Bruins had beaten the Senators, Boston would have returned to the postseason after missing it last spring. Instead, the Bruins miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season after the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 later on Saturday. The Bruins were terrible on home ice this season (17-18-6), and that's one of the many reasons their season is over. And it will likely mean the end of Julien's tenure in Boston. It's too bad because the team's downfall was not his fault the past two seasons. It also means pending unrestricted free-agent veteran forward Loui Eriksson is likely gone. If the Bruins do make a coaching change, Bruce Cassidy, the coach of Boston's AHL affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island, could be considered. Maybe the Bruins even consider bringing back former assistant coach Geoff Ward, who is currently working as an assistant with the New Jersey Devils. It's probably not coincidence the Bruins missed the playoffs the past two seasons without Ward in the mix.  An outside-the-box idea could be to bring in a college coach, similar to what the Flyers did last offseason, when they hired Dave Hakstol from the University of North Dakota. It's unfortunate for Julien because this is not his fault, but a change is likely imminent. As for Saturday's game, many will blame Rask for not playing in the finale, but the loss had nothing to do with goaltending. Moments before pregame warmups on Saturday, the Bruins announced goalie Jeremy Smith was being recalled from Providence of the AHL on an emergency basis. That news made everyone wonder why such a transaction was needed before Game No. 82. Gustavsson led the Bruins out for warmups, while Rask was the last player on the ice. With the exception of facing a few shots toward the end of warmups, Rask did not participate and spent most of his time leaning on the boards in front of the bench. Almost immediately, the social media world lit up, questioning Rask's determination. After all, hockey players are known for playing through nasty injuries and side-stepping the flu bug most of the time. No one in the Bruins locker room doubted Rask. "If he could've played, he would have played," Bruins assistant captain David Krejci said. "There have been so many times that he's questionable and he's in the net, and not just this year but in his career. When you see the player is not playing, it's something he really can't overcome. It was too bad but we've had two really good goalies the whole season, so we didn't really change our game plan. We were supposed to play the same way we did [against Detroit on Thursday] and we didn't, and that's why we lost." During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Rask did not play in Finland's semifinal against Sweden because of an illness. Finland lost that game 2-1 and eventually settled for the bronze medal with Rask as the winning goaltender in a 5-0 win over Team USA. On Saturday, Gustavsson arrived at work and was notified about an hour and a half before puck drop that it was a good possibility he would be starting. He made 17 saves in the first period and the Bruins held a 1-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes. That changed quickly in the second as the Senators scored four goals in the period and Boston couldn't respond. After the game, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said the team did not perform well enough in front of Gustavsson. "Not very good," he said. "I don't think anybody can say they had a good game." At the start of the season, there were many questions regarding whether the Bruins would return to the postseason after missing the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons last spring. There were times this season when it appeared Boston was a playoff contender. On March 8, the Bruins held first place in the Atlantic Division but went 4-8-2 and earned only 10 of an available 28 points, including four losses to non-playoff teams. The Bruins were hoping for a miracle to get back into the playoffs, but that's not the case. Their season is over. There is no second chance. More changes are coming.
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