Thomas entered the game not allowing a goal in the last 123:44 dating back to Game 6 of last year's Stanley Cup final against Vancouver.
View full sizeBoston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas has six-career playoff shutouts.BOSTON – Boston Bruins netminder Tim Thomas entered Game 2 of the team’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup with the Washington Capitals with a shutout streak of 123:44 dating back to Game 6 of last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs and finally had it snapped at 161:41.
Capitals forward Troy Brouwer managed to sneak the puck past the dive of Bruins defenseman Greg Zanon and it slipped through Thomas’s legs with 2:03 left in the second period to give Washington a 1-0 lead. Forward Alex Ovechkin and defenseman Karl Alzner were credited with the assists.
“That is the only way that we are going to beat Thomas. He is too good of a goalie,” Brouwer said. “Everything that he sees he is going to stop...there was lots of traffic in front of the net. It is not just our guys, it draws their guys in as well. There were a couple shots that he didn’t see that he made saves on, but we finally got one to go in at the end.”
The last time Thomas allowed a goal was to Vancouver’s Maxim Lapierre at 17:34 of the third period as the Bruins went on to win 5-2 and force a Game 7.
Through his first two playoff starts Thomas has a 0.83 goals-against average, which ties him with Capitals goalie Braden Holtby for the lead league, and a .964 save percentage, which is second behind Holtby.
RASK CONDITIONING: Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, who has been rehabbing from a groin injury, is making progress according to coach Claude Julien, but there still isn’t an exact timetable on when he could return.
“Tuukka’s come along real well...he’s at the point where right now, it’s more about strength and conditioning than his injury,” Julien said. “He feels good ... he’s been going hard ... (Saturday) was actually his day off to recover and rest, and then he’s going to go hard at it again. I can’t tell you exactly when he’s going to be in, but everything’s going in the right direction, and right now, it’s those two elements that I just talked about that’s stopping him from getting back in our lineup.”
Rask last played on March 3 against the New York Islanders and he suffered a groin/abdomen strain in the second period.
OTHER NOTES: Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid is still listed as day to day with a cut over his eye. Julien said there’s nothing negative about his situation ... Bruins forward Nathan Horton watched Game 2 from the press box. Horton was shut down last week while he recovers from concussion symptoms after a hit in January. He missed the last 46 games of the season and will focus on returning for the start of next season.