Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins blank the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0
Tim Thomas was at it again, earning his second shutout in just five starts, as the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 on Thursday 28 October.
How it happened
Patrice Bergeron got his first goal of the season on the power play with just 41 seconds remaining in the first period. It was all the offence that the Bruins would need.
Rookie forward Tyler Seguin scored his second of the season in the second period to provide some insurance, but Thomas was perfect in the Bruins goal, stopping all 20 shots that he faced.
Since replacing Tuukka Rask, who had won the starting job in the pre-season, the Bruins are a perfect 5-0 with Thomas between the pipes, and Thomas leads the league in both goals against average and save
percentage. In the five games he's played, Thomas has conceded a mere three goals, never once allowing more than a single goal in a game, and has saved 153 of 156 shots.
What they're saying
The 36-year-old, 2009 Vezina Trophy winner, is looking even better than he did two seasons ago when he won a career high 36 games and earned five shutouts.
"I feel good," Thomas said. "It's fun to play right now. It was easier to focus on a shutout because we couldn't afford to give up a goal and let them back in."
Second overall draft pick, Tyler Seguin, hadn't been putting up the kind of numbers that the Bruins might have hoped for when they drafted him, but he made a case for himself Thursday night by getting
his second career goal. He also received some good news when he was told by his coach, Claude Julien, that the team was not going to exercise their option to send him down to the minors (which would save the Bruins one year on his entry-level contract), which
means Seguin should expect to stay with the team for the full season.
Bruins got Seguin by trading away Phil Kessel in exchange for the Maple Leafs' first-round pick. Kessel has yet to score against his former team and received a hostile welcome in his old arena.
"I could care less. Doesn't matter to me one bit," Kessel said of how he was received by the Boston fans. "I just couldn't bury my chances. What can you do?"
The Bruins are steadily climbing up the Eastern Conference standings as they entered the top eight with Thursday's win, and are just a point behind the Maple Leafs but have two games in hand. They play
in Ottawa against the Senators on Saturday 30 October.
The Maple Leafs return home on Saturday when they host the New York Rangers.
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