Ask any goalie if he’d be willing to take a puck to the face if it meant preventing a goal, and just about every single one would say yes (they’re goalies … so they’re a little crazy).
Now, ask a goalie if he’d be willing to make a save with his face but still give up a goal, and they’d probably say no thanks.
Unfortunately, Tim Thomas wasn’t given the option, as a frantic third period scramble led to him losing his mask, taking a puck off the face and watching the puck trickle across the goal line. It probably wasn’t the greatest sequence of events in Thomas’ life.
Painful though it may have been, all’s well that ends well. Thomas stopped 36 Lightning shots and helped the Bruins eke out a 6-5 victory in Game 2. Plus, he now has this cool, bloody photo that he can get framed and hang in the office. Everyone knows you look cooler with a scar, anyway. It’s just science.
Would you put your face in the way of a puck? Watch the play in the Video of the Day section, then share your thoughts in the comments section below.
“[They say] we don’t like the Miami Heat. First of all, that’s not true at all. Those guys are actually a whiny bunch. They said a couple times this year, ‘Well the world is happy the Miami Heat [is losing].’ Please don’t flatter yourself. C’mon man.”
–Charles Barkley, to ESPN 1000, on the sensitivity of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh this season
We can’t know for sure, but we’re fairly confident it would have been memorable.
How long will it take for someone to say, “That’s using your head!”? Five seconds? Ten?
https://youtu.be/Op4f5yYa4JU