The veteran netminder, considered all summer to be Tuukka Rask‘s backup, is off to the best start of his career. Considering he’s 36 years old and is coming off hip surgery, you’d be hard to find anyone who could claim to have seen this coming.
Making three straight starts, Thomas is 3-0-0 with a minuscule 0.67 goals-against average and .979 save percentage. Check out how that compares to his first three starts of previous seasons:
2010-11: 3-0-0, 0.67 GAA, .979 save percentage
2009-10: 1-2-0, 4.00 GAA, .813 save percentage
2008-09: 1-0-2, 2.54 GAA, .919 save percentage
2007-08: 2-0-1, 1.34 GAA, .957 save percentage
2006-07: 0-2-1, 4.40 GAA, .865 save percentage
2005-06: Didn’t get called up until January
2002-03: 2-0-0, 2.50 GAA, .928 save percentage (didn’t make third start until April 1)
In his Vezina Trophy-winning season of 2008-09, there was not one three-game stretch in which Thomas posted a sub-1.00 GAA. Last year, he did so once, from Nov. 5-12 against Montreal, Pittsburgh and Florida, when he allowed just one goal in 190 minutes of ice time (0.32 GAA). The Bruins, however, went 1-0-2. He also followed up that stretch by allowing six goals on 33 shots against the Senators.
He actually allowed six goals in a game twice last season, but this year, he’s on pace to give up his sixth goal around Nov. 15.
What’s better is that Thomas’ performances have gone far beyond just statistics. Though it’s hard to quantify exactly, he seems to be in better position and has moved around his net quicker than he did last season — an indication that his hip was more of a problem than we really knew last year.
He’s been timely, too, most notably stoning Brooks Laich from close range Tuesday night following a rare turnover by Zdeno Chara in the Bruins’ end. That stop came just days after stuffing Ilya Kovalchuk, one of the league’s most prolific goal scorers, from the doorstep. They are the kind of saves that Thomas has been making thus far this season, and they’re the kind of saves that turns close games into Bruins victories.
Obviously, there’s no way Thomas or any other goalie could maintain the pace of a 0.67 GAA, but it’s certainly a remarkable start for a 36-year-old who many expected to be nothing more than a high-priced backup this season.
