Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask opts out hours before NHL playoff game

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask opted out of the National Hockey League postseason hours before a playoff game, the team announced Saturday.

“I want to be with my teammates competing, but at this moment, there are things more important than hockey in my life, and that is being with my family,” Rask said in a statement released Saturday morning.

“I want to thank the Bruins and my teammates for their support and wish them success,” he added.

Rask competed in Boston’s first two games of his team’s first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes prior to opting out.

The Bruins defeated the Hurricanes 3-1 in Game 3 on Saturday afternoon in Toronto, one of two Canadian hub cities hosting NHL games. Boston leads the series 2-1.

The NHL resumed its season earlier this month after pausing on March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic.