Bruins Come To The Defense Of Thomas

Added on Jun 06, 2011 by J Merrill in

NHL

Game 3 is headed back to Boston tonight, and Boston has already found themselves in a must win situation. They are leaving Vancouver after losing 2 games they very well could have won, and the questions are already swirling about what should Boston do? Boston’s response to this has been to come to the defense of Bruins Goalie Tim Thomas because he dropped two crucial goals that cost the team both games.

Coach Claude Julien quickly came to the defense of his goalie because of the gaffe he made in the end of game 2. He was also quick to point out that Tim Thomas isn’t the reason they are down 2 games to none. He said “He’s won a Vezina Trophy already. He’s probably going to win one this year, in my mind anyway, for what he’s done. So to question his way of playing is really looking for something to talk about. Yesterday he made some unbelievable saves to keep us in the game. So if we want to focus on that last goal, which I think a lot of other players could have done a better job, I think it’s focusing on the wrong thing.”

I am not so sure that the questions asked about Thomas weren’t legitimate, or at the least deserved to be asked and answered. Thomas has a style of playing really far out side the blue paint, and I think describing some of his moves as brazen, isn’t much of a stretch. There are two sides of that coin though. Its very intimidating to the opposing team when a goalie is doing the type of things he is doing, and they still can’t find the back of the net. It can be down right demoralizing, and I would compare it to the after effects of someone getting dunked on in a big NBA game. When you play like the way he has been playing, and the team is scoring on you, you can end up looking foolish. When you play that far out of the paint, to me anyway, the opposing forwards are one quick pass away from and empty net opportunity. Julien however was quick to stifle the incoming questions, he said “We are here right now because of his contribution, which has been really good. For us to be sitting here having to answer those kind of questions is ridiculous to me.

Tim Thomas has impressed me, both on and off the ice. Without question on the ice as some of the saves were almost magical. Also, I enjoyed how well he handled the questions about his play during the games, and I think its important he is putting it behind him in this way. Thomas said “I have a pretty good idea of how to play goalie. I’m not going to be taking suggestions or advice at this time. I’m just going to keep playing the way I have.”

I really think if the Boston Bruins can prevent the Canucks from setting up on the fly, and pressuring them in the neutral zone, they can really swing the momentum in their favor. I know it sounds simple and is easier said than done, but if the Bruins can use the energy of the building and score early on Luongo, they may be able to take some of the pressure off of Thomas to play so well. The good news for the Bruins is that they have already won a series after losing the first two games, and those were at home, and come back to win it.