Instead, he had to watch helplessly as Boston's 3-0 lead in the second round slipped away in a historic collapse.
The stakes weren't nearly as high in the clubs' first meeting since that epic letdown when the Bruins returned to Philadelphia on Wednesday night. But this time Thomas did get his shot, and he made the most of it by stopping all 41 shots he faced to lead the Bruins to a 3-0 victory.
That win won't atone for last year's playoff debacle, but it was an important one nonetheless. The Bruins came in having lost two straight and four of the last five, and needed a big effort to get back on track as their strong October start was becoming a fading memory.
"They're all critical, but I think this is a very good time for a hard-working win like that," said Thomas. "Hopefully we can carry it over into tomorrow and going forward and hopefully we can kind of turn the ship around."
The Bruins won't have long to savor this win as they return home to face Tampa Bay at The Garden on Thursday, but they will enjoy it for a little while at least. Thomas in particular can take pleasure in how much he frustrated the Flyers.
"Well, we met a goalie that stops everything — back doors, breakaways, some great chances in front," said Philadelphia forward Scott Hartnell. "He's covering up the rebounds. It's tough to beat a goalie like that. I think we had the chances we just couldn't put them in the net.
"It's frustrating when you have so many chances and rebounds, two-on-ones, and everything," added Hartnell. "He's there to make the save every time. I don't know how many shutouts he has this year but I think it's four, or five, or six, or something like that now. It's only 20-something games in. They're playing well in front of him and I wouldn't say we weren't hungry enough around the net but we just couldn't buy a goal."
Thomas and Hartnell engaged in a particularly intense battle. Hartnell took out both Thomas and the net as he crashed the crease on one bid in the first period, then in the second he took a couple extra slashes at Thomas as the goalie tied up the puck at the right post.
Thomas responded with a left hand to Hartnell's face and they each received matching minors. Coming out of the box, Hartnell was hauled down by Andrew Ference to earn a penalty shot, but Thomas denied him on that bid as well.
"I tried not to overthink it," said Thomas. "I wanted to keep my mind open. I didn't want to get myself thinking he was going to do any particular thing. I do better on breakaways when I do that. If I think I know what they're going to do it messes me up.
"In the back of my mind I really didn't want to let him score," added Thomas. "Especially since he got the first breakaway coming out of the box with the penalty I just got. So I was just trying to relax and not let him beat me."
Thomas didn't let anyone beat him on this night, as he matched his career high with his fifth shutout of the season, improving to 9-0-0 on the road and 12-2-1 overall with an NHL-leading 1.46 GAA and .955 save percentage.
"He really did play big," said Bruins coach Claude Julien. "Had he let one sneak in, it might've been a different game and we know that. You know, the goaltender is part of your team and he's got to do his share. I think he took a big share of the responsibility tonight and helped us win this hockey game."
Julien's counterpart behind the other bench was equally impressed with Thomas' performance.
"He's done it all year," said Flyers coach Peter Laviolette. "I said that before, someone asked me if it surprises me and the answer is no, you know he's done this. He had an up and down year last year but prior to that he was solid, and got the Vezina Trophy and now he's back to that point. He's playing very well for them; you know we couldn't slide anything by him. You know we did have some good opportunities, but he made big saves when he needed to."
Thomas was happy to hear how frustrated he had made the Flyers, though he was a little too busy blocking shots during the game to fully appreciate it.
"I was trying to focus on playing and I was hoping they were getting frustrated," said Thomas, "but I was too busy with my job to worry about it."
Thomas was appreciative of the work of his defense in front of him, which also blocked 14 shots with Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk each contributing four blocks, and the Bruins' offense, which staked him to a 2-0 lead in the first.
The Bruins are now a perfect 9-0-0 when scoring first this season. They haven't blown a lead since squandering their 3-0 advantage in Game 7 last spring. Of course, when you blow a lead that important, it gives the opposition plenty of salt to rub in the wounds, even on a night when you finally get the better of them
"Well that was a big one to blow," said Flyers forward Danny Briere. "I mean, it's early in the season. We will save them for when it matters."
