from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

From a distance, all looked dandy on Tuukka Tuuesday.

What we don’t know, and may never know, are the details as to why Rask felt things were so problematic at home — as he underscored after practice — that he felt the need to abandon his Black-and-Gold brothers ahead of back-to-back Garden visits by Toronto and Vegas. It didn’t take much reading between the lines, as Rask chatted with the media for 5 to 6 minutes, to figure he’s had his hands and mind full with issues at home.

“This was a time,” said a somber-sounding Rask, who lives with partner Jasmiina Nikkila, his sweetheart since high school, “that deep inside my heart I felt like I needed to take time to be with my family and make things right so I could be back here and focus on my job.”

What we also don’t know, but will discern in fairly short order, is whether Rask is capable of blocking out issues on the home front and tossing himself — full mask, blocker, and glove — into the arduous task that pays him $7 million a year as the club’s franchise goalie.

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