Rocket:
Subsequent to my recent article on Boston’s Tim Thomas (Tim Thomas: Smoke & Mirrors?) , there was an interesting discussion with our friends from various Bruins blog sites.
Recent photo evidence suggests that Tim Thomas may have ulterior motives other than stopping the puck which may explain his awkward movements.
So the question is:
Is Thomas’ unorthodox goaltending style due to a lack of technique… or is he just lonely?
If being unorthodox or having a lack of technique has you sitting at 20-wins this season and in the top five in GAA & save-percentage in the league all through half the season. Or makes you the true deserving All-Star starter for the Eastern Conference team… Then please God "curse" me with a lack of technique.
http://images.ballhype.com/uploads/photos_large/2008/04/18/carey-price-mask.jpg
I obviously don’t watch Thomas a lot, but when I do, I can’t help but think that a lot of credit has to go to his team for backing him up so much and making sure all those rebounds don’t get snapped up and dumped into the net….
It’s a little of both. Thomas’ style is suited perfectly to the Bruins’ defensive system. Any given play will go something like this:
1) Opponent gets possession and enters the offensive zone.
2) Opponent scopes out the crease/slot area and sees Zdeno Chara, Dennis Wideman and Milan Lucic.
3) Opponent decides it’s in his best interests to take the play toward the faceoff circle, where he plans to take a quick wrist shot.
4) Thomas commits 110% to the faceoff circle, possibly diving toward the shooter before he’s even prepared to take the shot.
5) Shot hits Thomas awkwardly, richochets into the crease, and is swept away by the defense.
Thomas very rarely lets in a sharp-angle goal because he overcommits, and the defense is typically on top of the rebounds and passing options. This happens at least a dozen times per game and it has worked against nearly everyone.
Wow… must be real slow in Montreal these days. Guess consecutive losses to Atlanta and NJ make you all want to pay more attention to Boston than your own team.
You all must be so proud of Price… he can’t play for his own team but is more than willing to come back from injury to play in a meaningless exhibition. Guess he is all for the greater (personal) glory, eh?
Carey Price would make a great third goalie if the bruins decide they need one and if the habs feel like making a trade.
Hey Hub..
Consider your self duly cursed…you have no technique!
Well said EP! It’s Julien’s system that flatters Thomas and obscures his many weaknesses.
Hello Tom..I think what you are saying is Thomas is a lousy goalie but the Bruin’s defenders intimidate shooters into taking bad shots. I can agree with half of that!
Wow Tard…I didn’t realize that you and Guy Carbonneau were such good friends. You are actually buying into his nonsense??
Well Anon…I can understand why you would want to hide your identity while posting something so ridiculous.
Really Rocket? Two blogs about Tim Thomas in a week? I had to double check to make sure I was looking at a Habs fan blog for a minute,all this Bruins talk is disorienting. I’m not going to beat a dead horse, because obviously everyone has their own opinion on Thomas, and nothing anyone says here will change them. I’ll just say I’m very happy with the way Timmy plays. Why? Because it’s results oriented business, and he gets results. I don’t care what he looks like while he’s doing it. Hey, Boston has had some “technically sound” goalies over the years that couldn’t stop a beach ball. I’ll take an unorthodox goalie that stops the puck over one that looks good while digging the puck out of his net. Besides, even IF he stumbles in the playoffs, the B’s are in the unique position of having a guy like Fernandez available to come off the bench. Hell, I wouldn’t be shocked to a see some sort of rotation (although that’s very doubtful).
And without saying Thomas is Hasek (he won’t be unless and until he wins a Cup), I still find it amusing that when Hasek flopped and made saves, he was described as “athletic”. When Thomas does it, it’s because he’s “out of position and got lucky”. But you know what? If it is luck, (it isn’t), I’ll take it. I’ll take a lucky goalie any day. Sure beats an unlucky one, doesn’t it?
Just trying to be inclusive for our Bruin fans Kynch. I see that you are following along posting an anti-Hab All-Star poll. Nice work!
You make some good points Kynch. The Bruins are in a good postion to have Fernandez waiting in the wings if Thomas falters.
But I’m not sure that this is about Thomas or Fernandez. Someone made a good parallel with Chris Osgood. He is not what I would call an elite goalie either but the Detroit system was able to cover his faults. Perhaps Julien is trying the same thing with Thomas. We’ll see if he is successful.
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