The Bruins are being cautious with Thomas as he makes his way back from offseason hip surgery, but they insist there's been no setback with the injury.
"I think with Timmy, we said right from the get-go we'd monitor [him]," said coach Claude Julien. "He had that surgery and we have to take our time bringing him in. He's practicing. We're just bringing him in slowly. There's no issues. If anything, Timmy is actually maybe ahead of schedule right now and we want to make sure that doesn't change."
Thomas' absence created an opportunity for Nolan Schaefer, who played both 20-minute periods of the scrimmage for the Black squad and stopped all but one shot he faced.
"It was pretty good," said Schaefer, who signed a two-way NHL/AHL deal with the Bruins this summer after playing last season for CSKA Moscow in the KHL. "I felt a little slow at first, some of the footwork and stuff, getting back into game shape. Where there was a quick rebound or something I felt a little behind, but besides that it was a pretty good game. It was fun. It was good to get a chance to play with these guys. There were a lot of good players out there."
One of the best was Patrice Bergeron, who got the only White shot past Schaefer off a nice setup by Tyler Seguin.
"There was kind of a cluster of guys there and I didn't pick up the puck as well as I could have I guess," said Schaefer. "He got it up over my shoulder. It was a good shot, but it's up to me to get big [with my] chest, play big and make the save."
Schaefer's certainly not the first goalie to get beaten by a Bergeron blast, so he shouldn't feel too bad about that one.
"I guess it's all right giving one up to him," said Schaefer with a smile.
Julien certainly didn't seem disappointed with what he's seen of Schaefer to this point.
"I didn’t know a ton about him before he came here," said Julien. "So far, I’ve liked what I’ve seen. First of all, I thought he played well today. Second of all, even from sitting up there, I could hear him talking a lot, and that’s what you like from a goaltender that communicates well with his defensemen, and he does that very well. I think it’s been a great acquisition for our team to give us some depth in that area."
Tuukka Rask did get in some work in net for the White squad, playing the first period and helping keep the game scoreless through 20 minutes. Zdeno Chara tied the game with a goal on Matt Dalton, who also surrendered the game-winner in the second period when both Jamie Arniel and Nathan McIver swatted at a loose puck in the crease. Lane MacDermid added an empty-netter in the final minute.
