For just the second time in his National Hockey League career, goaltender Tim Thomas will go head to head against the Boston Bruins. It still feels weird to write that, and it's undeniably stranger to see it happen in front of your eyes. It just doesn't look right.
Stopping 37-of-40 in his last appearance against Boston, a 3-2 loss in Florida, tonight will mark the 39-year-old Thomas' first visit to TD Garden as an on-ice member of the Florida Panthers.
No matter your feelings on his exit from the B's (and the NHL) in 2012, Thomas left an undeniable mark on hockey in New England, winning 196 games, a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe, and two Vezina Trophy awards during his near decade-long tenure with the Bruins.
And while he's certainly not the same goaltender he was then, especially after taking last season off, Thomas is proving himself to be a goaltender still capable of finding his zone.
Since the start of December, Thomas has lost just five of his 15 starts for a considerably terrible Cats club, and has posted a .925 save percentage over that stretch.
He goes against the Bruins' Tuukka Rask tonight.
Rask has won 14 of 21 home starts this year, and enters play with nine wins, a .967 save percentage, and three shutouts in ten career contests against the Panthers.
For a B's club that opted not to have a morning skate today, the biggest news comes with the return of Chris Kelly. Boston's alternate captain has been out of action since Dec. 7, and will return to action tonight on the Bruins' bottom six.
Based on the pregame skate, it appears that Kelly will start on the club's fourth line, keeping the Danny Paille-Carl Soderberg-Loui Eriksson line intact. The 33-year-old Kelly has three goals and seven points in 29 games this season, and may be used on the wing tonight as the B's would like to see him acclimated back to game-speed.
To make room for Kelly, the B's did return rookie speedster Ryan Spooner and defensemen Zach Trotman back to the Providence Bruins.
Spooner has 11 points in 22 games, and will undoubtedly be back with the club at some point this year, but this was a move that simply comes back to the fact that Spooner still has American Hockey League options while others like Jordan Caron do not.
If you recall, the B's used David Krejci in a similar fashion back during his first few years with the organization, and it did anything but hamper his development.
The Bruins have taken both of their prior meetings with the Panthers this season.