Tim Thomas didn't end up getting the day off after all. Claude Julien inserted the early Vezina favorite into Saturday's game to start the second period, and the 36-year-old took a shootout loss as the Bruins fell, 7-6, to the Sabres (recap).

This isn't a case of second-guessing, as given the way Tuukka Rask (three goals allowed on 16 shots), Thomas (three goals allowed on 19) and Ryan Miller (six goals allowed on 40) played, the puck was going to go into those nets no matter who was guarding them.

The game featured the best and worst of this team's future. Tyler Seguin had the first multi-point performance of his career, but Rask, who in all likelihood is just as important to this team's future as Seguin, was given the proverbial slap in the face.

Thomas, who has now played eight games in a row, is obviously the starter, but how much do the Bruins trust Rask? Considering that the Bruins handled a similar situation with Thomas differently earlier in the season, it's a legitimate question.  

Here's the Hat Trick:

PULLING RASK SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE

One aspect of the Bruins' goaltending story this season that has flown under the radar is just how good a sport Rask has been. As the young hotshot goaltender who led the league in both save percentage (.931) and goals against average (1.97) last year, it would be understandable if Rask had a problem with how little he's played this season. 

The case, however, has been just the opposite. Rask can appreciate that Thomas' play has turned the Finnish netminder into the team's backup, and he hasn't expressed the slightest bit of discomfort with the situation. He's kept his mouth shut, and when he's been asked about it, he has sincerely given just the answers the team wants to hear. 

That's why you have to think the Bruins are really testing his patience when, after sitting him for seven games in a row, they don't give him more than one period to shake off the rust. Sure, Thomas needed a game off after such a long stretch between the pipes, but Rask was overdue for some playing time and Saturday's switch achieved neither result. 

This isn't a question of whether Rask played well, as he clearly didn't. He played like a goalie unfamiliar with his surroundings -- it was almost as though he'd had a couple of weeks off. The question is this: What type of message does pulling Rask send him? Perhaps that it's his problem if he has rust after 16 days off.

Remember, this isn't your run-of-the-mill backup. This is one of the franchise's most important players, and someone they should convey a little more confidence in. 

Rewind to Dec. 16. Tim Thomas is between the pipes and allows three goals in the first period to the Canadiens. The B's stick with him and ride out a 4-3 loss. Thomas was given the benefit of the doubt that he, as one of the league's better goaltenders, would improve as the game went on, and he did. 

Rask apparently doesn't get that benefit of the doubt. Maybe if he holds on to Stafford's first goal with 41 seconds to go in the first, he stays in the game. But, as previously mentioned, he had a sloppy period and had the chance at righting the ship taken away from him. 

"We felt that we needed some bigger saves," Julien told NESN after the game. "He hasn't played in a while, but still, we needed to win this hockey game, so we thought it was important to make that change."

Julien's line of thinking that the team needed bigger saves at the time is certainly justified, but to have a goalie who's played as sparingly as Rask on such a short leash gives him zero opportunity to make those saves. Even when the team did pull Thomas against Washington on Nov. 5, they did so after he allowed three goals over two periods.  

The Bruins are fortunate that they probably haven't had to worry much about Rask's happiness because of how much he's bought into what the team is doing. If they're not careful, though, they can crush his confidence, and there seems no bigger way of doing that than what they did Saturday. 

SEGUIN'S PERFORMANCE COULD GO A LONG WAY

Are things starting to click with Tyler Seguin? Is he embarking upon the Stamkosian rookie incline? It's still too early to tell, but the 18-year-old seemed to display the confidence to do so Saturday.

Seguin led the Bruins with six shots on goal and scored his sixth goal of the season in the third period. He then made a nice pass to fellow rookie Steven Kampfer to set up the go-ahead goal in the third period. He was more instrumental in the Bruins' third-period comeback than anyone else, and that's the type of thing that will remind a No. 2 overall pick what he's capable of. 

As he's been reminded of several times (a crime WEEI.com is probably guilty of), Steven Stamkos dealt with inconsistency and was a healthy scratch in the first half of his rookie year before turning into the monster that he is now. On Jan. 1 of his rookie year, Stamkos had 14 points. Seguin has 13. Stamkos went on to pick up 32 more points to finish his rookie campaign with 46. 

Will Seguin use perhaps his best game of the season as a springboard for a strong second half? With all Seguin and Stamkos have in common, it wouldn't be surprising, just as it also wouldn't be surprising if Seguin took a little longer to develop. If the former is to take place, Saturday seems as good a jumping off point as any. 

DEFENSIVE RECORDS ASIDE, CHARA SCORING IS AN ENCOURAGING SIGN

Andrew Ference, Dennis Seidenberg, Zdeno Chara and Steven Kampfer scored for the Bruins, marking the first time in franchise history that four different defensemen scored for the Bruins. Do the 2007 Red Sox and their four straight dingers come to mind? 

What's even more fascinating is that Johnny Boychuk's mighty blast from the point in the first period could have made it past Miller on it's own. Marchand got a stick on it to get credit for the goal, but had Boychuk scored on the play, Adam McQuaid would have been the only B's defenseman to not score in the game. There's something to think about. 

Aside from what the B's defenders did in the team's record books (it took four goals to keep the heat off them), Chara scoring, which he did thanks to Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron while shorthanded in the first period, marked the first tally for the captain in 23 games. This isn't a Bruins team that expects four goals a night from the blueline, but at five on the season, Chara seems a good bet to get double-digit goals. He had just seven last year, the first time he didn't have at least 11 with the B's. He's currently on pace for 11.