It’s been a while since Tuukka Rask has thrown a milk crate or tossed a stick. Maybe it’s because his play has been so good that he should be wearing an ear-to-ear smile, Nathan Horton style. 

Before the break, Rask climbed to the top of the league in save percentage. Wednesday, he tackled the other major goaltending statistic and became -- statistically – this season’s best goalie. 

Entering Wednesday, Rask had a good shot at solidifying himself as such with a good showing against the Coyotes. He went into the night leading the league with a .944 save percentage, and by the time Seidenberg fired off the game-winning shot Wednesday night, Rask had indeed surpassed St. Louis' Brian Elliot in GAA and increased his save percentage. The 24-year-old now has an NHL best 1.61 GAA and a .945 save percentage. 

Wednesday's performance, while not overly taxing, was indicative of why Rask's face is now plastered all over NHL.com's stats page. Aside from a five-hole goal from Ray Whitney in the first period, Rask came up big whenever he was called upon. He made a gigantic save on Whitney late in the second period, sticking hit left leg out to stuff the veteran forward on a breakaway, and finished the night with 21 saves on 22 shots. The goal ended his shutout streak at 170:26, but Rask was once again the best player on the ice for the Bruins. 

"Tuukka, in my mind, was outstanding for our team tonight," Claude Julien said after the game.

Outstanding is one of many adjectives that could be used to describe Rask's play this season, but don't call it surprising. Whenever Rask and Tim Thomas leapfrog the other either statistically or as the team's No. 1 goalie, it may be easy to underestimate the other, but all Rask has done this year is show why he won the starting job down the stretch two seasons ago and began last season as the No. 1 goaltender. 

Rask obviously hasn't had the workload of other top goaltenders throughout the league. He's played in just 13 games this season, playing backup to the man who leads the league in both categories among goaltenders with 20 or more starts this season in Thomas. Ipso facto, no matter who the Bruins put in goal, they're playing a goaltender who statistically could make the case that they're the best goaltender in the league this season. 

Of course, at no point should one ever head over to the stats page and be surprised to see a Bruin leading both categories. Bruins goalies have led both for each of the last three years (Thomas in '09 and '11, Rask in '10), and with the way they're going, it looks like there's a good chance one of them will end up doing it again this season. 

It was somewhat surprising that the Bruins went with Rask last Friday in the final game before teams broke for Christmas, and it also came as a slight surprise that Claude Julien went back to Rask Wednesday. The moves collectively mean that Tim Thomas will have had 11 days between games if he does indeed get the start against the Stars Saturday night. While that means Thomas may not be as sharp when he plays next, it ultimately should serve as a good thing, as the Bruins are able to continue to win games while resting Thomas and keeping him fresh for games matter more down the stretch and into the playoffs.

That isn't something the Bruins did as much last season. They certainly had Rask available to spell Thomas, but the vast majority of the starts went to Thomas. As promised, they're playing Rask more this season. Through 34 games, Rask has started 12 games this season, compared to nine last season at this point in the schedule. While that may seem like a drastic difference, Rask's workload has increased by one third. Part of that is probably to rest Thomas, and part of it is likely because Rask has played so well that even with Thomas on the roster, he's hard to sit. 

Starting on Jan. 4, the Bruins will have 11 games over a span of 19 days, a span that includes the highly anticipated Jan. 7 Stanley Cup rematch with the Canucks. With so many games packed into such a short period of time, having two of the best goaltenders will make it far more manageable than a team that relies on one superstar and a mortal backup. Julien will have his decisions to make from night to night, but with the way Rask and Thomas have been playing, he can't go wrong.