Bruins goalie Thomas has lowest GAA in NHL
Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau toiled in the minor leagues both as a player and coach, so he understands exactly what Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas went through to reach the NHL.
He spent five seasons of anonymity in Finland and Sweden and bounced between Boston and AHL affiliate Providence just trying to prove he belonged. At 36, Thomas now is regarded as one of the NHL’s best goalies. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2008-09 and — after an injury-plagued season in which he lost the No. 1 job in Boston — appears back to that elite level.
“I wish he would quit,” cracked Boudreau, whose team already has lost to Thomas twice this season and faces the Bruins again Friday at Verizon Center.
“Quit” is not a word you could ever apply to Thomas. He is already 7-0 with a 0.72 goals-against average and a .977 save percentage. Those are numbers more at home for a bantam-league goalie than someone facing the world’s best players every day. And Thomas’ road to the NHL was as different from most goalies as his style of play.
Caps forward Tomas Fleischmann had a scoring chance against Boston last month and was bewildered when Thomas unexpectedly lunged out of his crease to poke-check the puck away. Few YouTube clips are funnier than Thomas leaping from his crease during a Jan. 21, 2009, game against Toronto and basically tackling forward Jason Blake, who was driving toward the net on a breakaway. Blake screamed profanities at the referee for not calling a penalty. But the move worked.
“He’s a little unorthodox,” Caps forward Matt Bradley said. “I’m no goalie expert. But whatever he’s doing he should keep doing. Every guy has his own style, their own way. … But if they win that’s all you can ask.”
Thomas will leave his crease at will, do a barrel role to get back into position to contest a shot or, yes, fling himself at an oncoming forward. It’s a high-risk, high-reward style. The last time the Caps and Bruins played, Washington’s only goal came when Thomas roamed far out of his crease to clear a puck. Instead, it went right to Jason Chimera, who scored.
That’s one of the few things that has gone wrong early this season for Boston, which is off to a 7-2 start with 14 points and looks a lot like the crew that finished with the Eastern Conference’s best record two years ago.
“The difference in teams in this league is so small, and a lot of it has to do with confidence,” Thomas said. “We got off to a good start [two years ago], too, and that grew our confidence right away. Last year it took us much longer to play at the level we need to. This year is a lot like [2008-09].”
