Sure enough, Thomas was immediately asked about the Bruins' first-period goal, a sniped wrist shot from the right side off of the stick of Brad Marchand that found the top corner of the net, over the glove of Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo.
It was the beginning of a long (yet short) night for Luongo, who criticized Thomas for his style of play after Thomas gave up Game 5's lone goal to Maxim Lapierre that gave Vancouver a chance to win the series in Game 6.
"It's an easy save for me," Luongo so eloquently stated following Game 5.
Thomas brushed the comments aside, though, when asked once again about the comments following Game 6. Thomas, whose aggressive style would have likely helped him make the save, instead opted to praise Marchand rather than pile on top of Luongo.
"No I'm not gonna go there," Thomas said when asked if he would have made the save on the Marchand goal. "I'd prefer to focus on the fact that Marshy made a great shot there and came up big for us and got that first goal that helped lead us to the victory."
And that was that.
As he has all spring, Thomas kept focus on the task at hand, and he has done so by literally and in this case, figuratively, backing up his team.
He's been by far the league's best goalie throughout the playoffs, and he is the No. 1 reason that the Bruins will play a winner-take-all Game 7 on Wednesday night in Vancouver.
And regardless of what happens, win or lose, Thomas will come away from this truly historic playoff run with an elevated status in the history of one of the country's most storied sports cities.
Thomas' 2010-11 season and ensuing playoffs have solidified him as one of Boston's most beloved athletes. Generations from now, fans will look back on Thomas' play during this Cup run, and recall it fondly, no matter the final outcome of the Stanley Cup Final.
Thomas has played the most integral role in turning a good playoff team into a team 60 minutes from the Cup.
And it's not just that he's gotten the Bruins here, it's how he's done so. Thomas does it with his unorthodox style, a style that has been questioned in the past ("He's flopping around out there") when he struggles, and when he succeeds, like he has all year, it's cherished and adored.
Thomas' scrappy and unorthodox goaltending style, in a way, can be seen as a representation of the very city he's become a star in. He's not like Luongo. He's not like the polished Carey Price. He doesn't do things by the book, and he does things the way he wants to. He doesn't care how it looks, he just cares that the job gets done.
He also fits in about as well as a goalie can on a team, especially on this Bruins team. At no point has that been more evident than in this Stanley Cup Final. There was the two-handed shove on Henrik Sedin, who had the nerve to come into Thomas' crease. Then, it was hack with his stick on the back of Alexandre Burrows' leg to give Burrows "a little love tap and let him know, I know what you're doing, but I'm not going to let you do it forever."
Neither action was particularly well-received by some hockey fans, especially those in Vancouver. But whatever, Bruins fans said. That's the type of hockey we want to see, and if it's from our goalie, even better.
Thomas' unbridled popularity comes after a 2009-10 season in which he battled a hip injury, while seeing the majority of his minutes given to Tuukka Rask just one season after Thomas won the Vezina. Despite that, the 37-year-old has bounced back, better than ever.
Thomas continues to be there when his team needs him most. Sure, the sparkling numbers are great, and they will be the reason that Thomas will get the Conn Smythe trophy on Wednesday, no matter the outcome.
The timing of some of those saves, though, has been what's most impressive. He's single-handedly changed the complexion of a series at least twice. First, it was his save on Brian Gionta in the first round. Then, it was an eye-popping stick save on Steve Downie in the Eastern Conference Final.
And now, on hockey's biggest stage, he enters Game 7 haven given up just eight goals in six Cup games.
Derek Sanderson, who knows as well as anyone what it's like to be loved in Boston for success on ice, said that Thomas is truly the backbone of a Bruins team that has a chance to make considerable history on Wednesday.
"Tim Thomas is the reason that a lot of ills [go unnoticed], a lot of forgiveness," Sanderson told NESN.com recently. "If a defenseman gives it away, if a forward makes a turnover, and then boom, Thomas makes a save, then the giveaway is forgotten. The entire team must be thankful to Tim Thomas."
The Bruins are thankful to have him behind them, and Bruins fans love to get behind him.
But as beloved as he may be, it's not quite time to put Tim Thomas up there in the pantheon of Boston sports legends. For that, he'll need that championship ring.
He'll get a chance for one of those on Wednesday night. And as the Bruins, and their fans, will undoubtedly tell you, there is absolutely no one else they'd want in between the pipes.
