Nov 5, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) takes a sip of water during the second period against the New York Rangers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has been named by the National Hockey League as their First Star of the Week for his incredible performance over the last seven days.

The Boston Bruins needed (and I mean REALLY needed) Tuukka Rask to have a bounce back year. He was one of the lowest rank number one goaltenders last year, and his underwhelming work was one of the reasons the Bruins missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

I don’t know what Rask did in his offseason, but he’s had an incredible start to the season In fact, Rask is playing some of the best hockey of his career. The National Hockey League has seen the effort he has put in, and they decided to name him their ‘First Star of The Week’ for the week ending November 13.

The Boston Bruins had to play five games in seven days. That’s an ugly request to make of any team. Still, the Bruins went out there and played like a strong, cohesive team. They went 4-1 for the week, and a lot of the praise so go to Rask.

Rask went 4-0-0 in the last week. He had a sub-one goals against average (0.75), a .970 save percentage, and managed to put up two shutouts (Buffalo and Colorado) up in the same week.

His outstanding performance has helped the Bruins climb out of the dregs in the standings. The Boston Bruins are now second in the Atlantic, fourth in the Eastern Conference and are among the top five teams in the league.

Tuukka Rask is pulling a ‘worst to first’ right now (Something Boston sports fans have seen more than once in their lifetime). He’s 10-1-0, with a 1.54 goals against average, and an outstanding .945 save percentage.

He’s now in sole possession of third place for most shutouts by a Boston Bruins goaltender. He shares the lead for most wins by a goaltender (10). He’s also the second goaltender in Bruins history to win 10 of his first 11 starts in a season. Only Gerry Cheevers has been able to do that (1976-77).

Congratulations to Tuukka Rask for his well deserved recgonition. by the league for his outstanding work.