For the third straight game, beginning this past Saturday in Philadelphia and continuing on Monday night in Long Island against the surging Islanders, the Bruins scored six goals. And like it was on those nights, it was enough to defeat Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers by a 6-2 final.
Six, six, six: The number of the Bruins? You bet.
In Thomas’ first on-ice return to TD Garden, a place he called his home rink for nearly a decade, since leaving the Bruins organization last season, a 19-shot opening period from the Black-and-Gold left the 39-year-old and his team instantly reeling. Striking on two of their 19 shots -- the first from Milan Lucic and second off the stick of Zdeno Chara (and put in by Thomas’ head) -- the veteran Thomas knew that the Boston attack was on its game.
“They made the Finals last year for a reason and they played a good game against us tonight, combined with us not playing our best game, myself included,… said Thomas, who finished the night with 35 saves on 41 shots. “They took advantage of it. They just kept coming at us. They rarely let up. When they did, we scored a couple of goals and then they turned it back up.…
Boston added two goals in the second behind Lucic’s second of the night and Reilly Smith’s team-leading 18th goal, and while the Panthers answered with Brad Boyes’ 14th goal of the season with just 32 seconds left in the second, it was all over for this woeful Panthers squad.
Even with Dmitry Kulikov’s power play goal four minutes into the third, the Panthers just weren’t prepared to handle a Boston offense that’s on the top of its game and ready to pounce on weak defensive groupings, something head coach Peter Horachek even admitted after the game.
“I don’t think that our guys were in the mindset to play; I think that it was pretty disappointing all the way around,… Horachek, who took over the fired Kevin Dineen earlier this year, said. “If your mindset isn’t to go out and compete and play hard then you aren’t going to have any success, especially coming in here. I don’t remember very many times we were down in the slot in front of their end.
“I don’t remember very many forechecks where we kept the puck in their zone,… added Horachek. “That kind of effort is not going to go very far so we don’t have a choice but to regroup and move forward but that’s not going to be winning hockey that’s for sure.…
Third period goals from the Bruins’ Shawn Thornton and David Krejci put this one in blowout territory, and made Thomas rethink his decision to start tonight’s game.
“I think I might’ve enjoyed myself watching the State of the Union more,… Thomas, with his typical dry sense of humor, joked after the game. “No, probably not.…
There’s no doubt that tonight wasn’t Thomas’ best showing, but tonight was a night that did bring back a lot of memories for the former Bruin starter. Both good and bad.
He was cheered at the beginning, taunted in the middle, and booed at the end following his shot to the head of the Bruins’ Carl Soderberg, a scrum that began with Soderberg jabbing Thomas in the neck with his blade, according to the Michigan-born goaltender.
Even with the booing and over-winded “Tho-mas… jeers from the sellout crowd in Boston, Thomas never found himself uncomfortable on a rink he’s ever so familiar with.
“It still feels very comfortable [being in Boston],… Thomas said. “I know I’m on the Florida Panthers, obviously, right? I know I’m not on the Boston Bruins, and I’m happy where I’m at and I’m excited to be a part of that organization. But this still feels like a home arena to me if that makes any sense.…
It’s been discussed to death at this point, but it feels as if there was no positive way for the Tim Thomas the Bruin story to end. He wanted to take a year off, the Bruins wanted to win in the now, and with the B’s being the only organization that Thomas the NHLer had known, things got messy.
Nobody can deny that, and nobody can deflect blame in that regard.
But the Bruins turned their page, and his former teammates aren’t dwelling on the nature of his exit.
“You can’t take anything away from the success he had here, and how hard he competed and they type of teammate that he was in that sense and how hard he battled as a goaltender for the Bruins every night,… Lucic told reporters after the club’s fourth straight win. “I think it did mean more playing him the first time in Boston over playing him in Florida. He’s still a great goaltender.…
Lucic’s teammate, Chris Kelly, who returned after missing 22 games with a leg injury, shared those sentiments when asked about Thomas.
“He had so much success here, and it’s where he started his NHL career, and I think it was a big game for him,… Kelly, a teammate of Thomas from 2011 to 2012, began. “I hope with time people forget [how he left]. I think they’ll tend to remember the good things, and Timmy did a lot of good things.
“He won the Stanley Cup, and that’s something that was special for every guy on that team, and in 20 years if the Bruins have a reunion, I’m sure Timmy will be back. I hope Timmy’s back, I hope everyone’s back.…
At the end of the day, Kelly's right. When Thomas becomes an NHL alum, which is sooner rather than later, he'll be remembered for the good things he did during his eight years with the B's, and the joy he brought to the Hub. Politics, and Thank God for this, can never erase the memories that left millions of Bostonians partying in the streets in June 2011.
Up next
The Bruins will have Wednesday off before returning to the Garden on Thursday night to battle the Montreal Canadiens. It will (shockingly) be the Habs’ first visit to Boston in 2013-14, and just the second meeting between the two clubs this season. Montreal took the previous battle, downing the Bruins by a 2-1 final back on Dec. 5. Montreal, even with their 3-0 shutout win on Tuesday night, will enter play trailing the Black-and-Gold by 10 points for first place in the Atlantic Division.