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Rask earns win in NHL debut for Boston

(AP) – Tuukka Rask remembers the phone call that told him his days with the Toronto Maple Leafs were over.

It came on June 24, 2006, just one year after the Finnish goalie was drafted by Toronto in the first round. He was dealt to the Boston Bruins for goalie Andrew Raycroft.

"It was during the biggest midsummer party in Finland," Rask recalled. "It was 2 a.m., so you can imagine how I felt when they called me. Next day I was kind of surprised and realized what happened."

Rask showed the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night just what they got rid of when he earned his first NHL win in his first start, lifting the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 victory over Toronto. Boston’s 20-year-old goalie made 30 saves and was chosen as top star of the game.

"Of course it means a lot," Rask said of beating the Leafs. "It was fun to play, to show them that I’m good enough to play at this level."

Chuck Kobasew scored with 3:31 left in the third period to put the Bruins ahead. He stepped into the slot and ripped a wrist shot past Vesa Toskala on the stick side, giving Boston a 3-2 lead and stunning the home crowd that saw the Leafs blow a 2-0 lead.

Kobasew capped the win with an empty-net goal 26.7 seconds from the end.

Rask flashed his talent at times, robbing Darcy Tucker from in-close in the first period and later stopping him on a breakaway.

Tim Thomas had started 10 straight games before giving way to Rask, who was 7-2-0 with a 2.10 goals-against average in nine AHL games at Providence this season.