The goalie had not played since March 7, when he grabbed his back at the end of a 1-0 win against the New Jersey Devils.
The Bruins, who had been off the ice since March 18, practiced with Rask on Wednesday. They did not have a morning skate Thursday due a scheduling conflict with the practice facility.
"Tuukka is going to start," coach Bruce Cassidy said prior to the game. "We would have liked to see him get a few more pucks today, but he feels that he's ready to go."
Rask made six saves and did not allow a goal in the first period. He was replaced by Jaroslav Halak.
Cassidy said the Bruins planned to use a rotation of Rask and Halak for the rest of the regular season, and that it's not a priority to use Dan Vladar, who made one start in Rask's absence. The Bruins are scheduled to play their remaining 28 regular-season games in 45 days.
"Obviously Tuukka has missed some time. He needs to get some work," Cassidy said.
The Bruins were quarantined since returning home March 19, one day after a 4-1 win at the Buffalo Sabres. Forward Sean Kuraly was placed on the NHL COVID-19 protocol list prior to that game. The day after, forwards Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci, David Pastrnak and Craig Smith were added to the list, which caused two games (at the Sabres last Saturday and home against the Islanders on Tuesday) to be postponed.
Krejci, Pastrnak and Smith were removed from protocol Wednesday and played Thursday. DeBrusk and Kuraly remained on the list.
"Obviously we just stay home and try to stay safe and hope for the negative results to come back," Pastrnak said. "Just long days and long waiting. But glad to have that over."
The Bruins played in front of fans at home for the first time this season Thursday, with 12 percent of capacity permitted. They host the Sabres on Saturday and the Devils on Sunday.
