Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas shutout the Vancouver Canucks for the second time in the Stanley Cup Finals, helping the Bruins win their first Stanley Cup since 1972. Thomas stopped 238 of the 246 shots he faced over the seven-game series, giving him an absurdly high .967 save percentage. His performance throughout the postseason earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy which is awarded to the winning team’s most valuable playoff performer. The award isn’t too surprising for anyone who’s watched Thomas play the last four years for Boston, and it sure is sweet revenge for him against Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.
After Vancouver won Game 5 of the series 1-0, Luongo boasted that he would have made the save on the lone goal let up by Thomas. Though Thomas was bothered by the comment, he chose not to respond and instead went out and won the next two games. When the two goalies met up to shake hands at the end of the series, Thomas praised Luongo.
“I know I told him that he’s a great goalie,” Thomas recounted his exchange with Luongo to NBC after winning the series. “Somehow he must have took offense. I hadn’t said anything really positive but I hadn’t said anything negative either. Part of that was tactics.”
Luongo didn’t seem to react negatively during their lineup, but apparently he did. Maybe he thought Thomas was being sarcastic considering he had just lost two games in a row after opening his mouth. The reality is both men are excellent goaltenders and maybe Luongo has learned to keep quiet next time so as not to inspire his opponent. After all, he’s the one who looks poorly in the end.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
