For the first time since Nov. 15, Tuukka Rask earned the nod as starting goaltender for the Boston Bruins -- skating in between the pipes for Sunday's home matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.

The 30-year-old was steady in net -- stopping 32 of the 35 shots that came his way -- but the veteran was unable to secure his first victory since Nov. 6, as the Bruins fell to the Oilers, 4-2.

"When they start to pile up and nothing seems to go your way, it's frustrating," Rask said of his mindset following the game. "Obviously right now it's frustrating, but tomorrow is a new day, go back to work. ... That's all you really can control - your work ethic, and attitude, and how you show up to work. That's what I'm going to do."

With the loss, Rask now falls to 3-8-2 on the season and holds both a 2.91 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage.

It can be easy to tab Rask as the main culprit in a loss that snapped Boston's four-game winning streak, but defenseman Torey Krug came to the defense of his netminder.

After all, the Bruins skated with little energy for most of the matchup -- firing just 11 shots on goal over the first two periods of play.

"Obviously he wants to win hockey games, it doesn't matter how," Krug said of Rask. "We got to do a better job of playing for him and getting that win. Tie game, third period, in our home building - a good chance to get him going again. We came out there and let him down. We got to do a better job of making sure that we can come out with this win."

Riley Nash concurred with Krug's sentiments -- comparing Rask to an pitcher in desperate need of run support.

So far this season, the Bruins have been held to two goals or fewer in nine of Rask's 13 appearances.

"I think it's when a pitcher goes out there and pitches his heart out and the other guys just can't get any runs from him, I think that's the way it's going for us right now," Nash said. "He's playing so well and playing hard and it's just a battle to really give him anything for whatever reason, so obviously feel bad for him because he probably deserved a better outcome tonight."

While Rask has seen his playing time halted due to the strong play of Anton Khudobin (7-0-2, .932 save percentage), Rask noted that he's not letting the lack of regular reps get to him -- given how the team has performed with Khudobin in net.

"It's been different that I haven't been playing," Rask said."It can affect you mentally if you let it. But I try not to. Dobby has played unbelievable. He's getting the wins. And that's what matters. We need wins. The only thing I can control, like I said, is the work. Show up and have a good work ethic, a good attitude and whenever you get the chance to play, you try to give the team a chance to win."

The Bruins have tough test in front of them Wednesday when they host the Atlantic Division leaders in the Lightning -- with Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy acknowledging that he hasn't made a call yet for the nod in net.

"We generally don't announce that this far ahead of time," Cassidy said. "Tuukka - he's a world-class goaltender. He's going to get his wins. Hopefully whoever is in there Wednesday, we are going to get a good chance to win. We have a good hockey team coming in here, so we'll rest for the day and then get back to work Tuesday. We'll have a better idea then."