This time, the All Star recognition really means something to Tim Thomas.
Not that he's pooh poohing being on last year's team, a career first, but for the Atlanta festivities, he was a late injury replacement for Martin Brodeur. Now he is going to Montreal as one of the chosen few.
"This one is nice because I was picked outright," Thomas admitted. "And when you can go there and you're the team that everyone's looking up to this year, that everybody's chasing, it definitely gives you a little bit of inner confidence."
Thomas, of course, has been giving the Bruins a lot of confidence since he joined them after the lockout at age 31, despite his generally unorthodox style. The Flint, Michigan native is often described as acrobatic between the pipes, which is another way of saying he flops and dives all over the place and can seem out of position. But Thomas does stop the puck -- a lot -- as his sizzling save percentage suggests.
More important Thomas wins too -- 18-4-3 this season with Boston, 91-66-23 for his career. He nearly carried Boston to a first round upset over East champion Montreal last spring, and with some of the league's best individual numbers, Thomas is a major reason the Bruins are running away with their division and conference these days.
Now he's even taken to going the extra mile for his team. Thomas wasn't tested severely by Montreal in the Bruins 3-1 win on Tuesday, but he came up with two game saving stop in the last four minutes when Boston's lead was only one goal. But his biggest impact came earlier when he stood up for teammate Aaron Ward who was hit from behind by Montreal's Andrei Kostitsyn. There has been a lot of bad blood between the arch division rivals this season and when Thomas saw Ward go down, he said he was reminded of other teammates who were injured by similar hits before delivering a high forearm to the Canadiens forward.
"I kind of lost it for a second," Thomas said on the Versus network after the game. "I heard the hit and I saw Wardo down and the first thing that went through my mind was Patrice Bergeron and Andrew Alberts last year. Having seen the replay, it was nowhere near as bad of a hit, but I didn't know it at the time. You just reacfct when you see your man down. It's instinct."
Fortunately for Thomas, he won't have to rely on instinct as much when he gets to the All Game on Jan. 25. Thomas played the third period last year in Atlanta and was credited with the win for the East, but said knowing what to expect will help him appreciate the experience even more.
"Last year I had a great time, but I was a little bit nervous being on that stage," Thomas said. "This year I'll be able to relax and soak it in a little better."
