However, it may not be long before the Bruins see him back on the ice.
Coach Bruce Cassidy said that Rask, who sustained a concussion in a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Jan. 19, could get back on the ice on Tuesday, though he has already been ruled out for that night's game against the Winnipeg Jets at TD Garden (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TVAS, NESN, TSN3, NHL.TV).
"I don't think it's long term," Cassidy said. "He won't play tomorrow, hopefully he gets on the ice tomorrow. That's kind of the plan where he's at. Obviously, it's day to day right now. It'll be his call, but that's how we see it playing out."
Rask's injury occurred at 18:32 of the first period against the Rangers, Boston's last ahead of its mandatory five-day break before the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game, when he was bowled over in a collision with Filip Chytil. Chytil was driving hard to the net when Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy stepped in front to help defend. The contact was "unavoidable," as McAvoy called it after the game, but Rask remained down for a few minutes after the collision and was attended to by the Bruins trainer before being helped off the ice.
"I think he's doing well," Cassidy said of Rask, who was at the Bruins practice facility, Warrior Ice Arena, on Monday. "Looks good. Tomorrow, hopefully he gets on the ice and then he can answer some of those questions."
Cassidy said that if Rask can take the ice for the skate on Tuesday, the game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday could become an option.
Rask is 14-8-3 this season with a 2.43 goals against average and a .919 save percentage in 26 games (25 starts).
Zane McIntyre was recalled from Providence of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis on Monday and will back up Jaroslav Halak against the Jets.
McIntyre is 16-8-3 with a 2.74 GAA and .887 save percentage this season with Providence but has won his past eight starts and is 10-2-0 in his past 12. He last played in the NHL in 2016-17, when he went 0-4-1 with a 3.97 GAA and .858 save percentage in eight games (three starts).
The next back-to-back for the Bruins is Feb. 5-6 against the New York Islanders and Rangers, so Halak will likely get all of the upcoming starts until Rask returns.
Halak was a significant part of the Bruins in the early season, taking over as the starter when Rask struggled and going 12-5-2 with a .930 save percentage in his first 21 games. However, in his past five games, Halak is 1-4-0 with an .861 save percentage.
"I'll just take it game by game, day by day," Halak said. "Go from there. We've got a game tomorrow. After break we all had a good practice today. Pregame skate tomorrow and I'll play a game tomorrow."
