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Five Thoughts: Tim Thomas’ glory, Philly’s bounce back, and Milan’s missing

Dennis Seidenberg, Chris Kelly, Tim Thomas

Boston Bruins’ Tim Thomas, from top, reacts with teammates Dennis Seidenberg (44), of Germany, and Chris Kelly after they beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-3 in the Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal NHL Stanley Cup playoffs series, Saturday, April 30, 2011, in Philadelphia. Boston won 7-3. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

AP

With just one game to give us plenty of fodder today, we’ll also give some thoughts on what we might see go on with a pair of very curious Game 3s on the way tonight from the south in Nashville and Tampa Bay.

1. We know that Tim Thomas has been outstanding all season long but one thing that pockets of Bruins fans have wanted out of him is to see him steal them a playoff game. After getting down 2-0 in the first period last night, it seemed like the Flyers were about to get their revenge on Boston for their Game 1 drubbing. After all, James van Riemsdyk was playing like a man possessed and the Flyers were playing intense hockey all game long.

Thomas slammed the door shut though stopping 46 straight shots on his way to making 52 saves on the night and giving the Bruins the time and opportunity they needed to tie the game later in the first and go on to win in overtime 3-2. Sure it’s not a shutout and yeah things started roughly, but given the way the Flyers played being so aggressive and desperate all at once Thomas closing it all down the rest of the way was exactly what the Bruins needed. Consider that game stolen and perhaps more importantly, a severe shot to the confidence of the Flyers as the series shifts to Boston for the next two games. Ghosts from last year’s playoffs won’t be waiting for the Bruins this time around.

2. If there’s an upside out of last night’s loss for Philadelphia, however, it’s that the team that showed up to play last night looked vastly improved from the team that laid a stink bomb in Game 1. The Flyers were aggressive, they kept things tight defensively for the most part, James van Riemsdyk had his “arrival” game, and they got inspired goaltending from Brian Boucher.

Boucher left the game in the second period for a time as he hurt his hand catching a Johnny Boychuk slapshot in the wrong part of the trapper. With a shot like that coming at over 100 miles per hour your hand might sting too. While Sergei Bobrovsky held down the fort for the rest of the second period, Boucher returned to play the third and overtime and looked stronger and more focused after the injury scare. While Boucher’s abilities in goal will be questioned by virtually everyone as long as the Flyers are losing games, his guts for coming back into the game are never in doubt.

3. We’re still waiting for Milan Lucic to arrive in the playoffs. While his linemates David Krejci and Nathan Horton are having outstanding playoff performances already, the only mark Lucic has made in the playoffs is the greasespot he turned Jaroslav Spacek into in the first round series against Montreal that got him kicked out of the game. Lucic has zero goals and two assists so far in the playoffs. Compare that with Krejci and Horton who each have four goals and two assists you’ve got quite the conundrum. Lucic was a 30-goal performer this year and while the Bruins are still winning games in spite of him, they’ll need him to be a force to win the Stanley Cup.

4. I don’t usually care to look at Game 3’s as “must win” games but that’s just what the Capitals have on their hands today. They’re in Tampa and down 0-2 in the series. We’re not saying that the Caps aren’t capable of getting out of a 0-3 hole in a series, but asking them to get out of that against the Lightning is asking for miracles to happen. The Caps have to be desperate tonight and they’ve got to be smart. The dumb penalties, the bad line changes, and the egregious turnovers have to end. Tampa Bay has too much of a veteran presence to go making mistakes like that against them and it’s been the savvy guys that have made them pay.

What’s psychologically intimidating for the Caps is that Tampa was able to beat them in Game 2 without Pavel Kubina and Simon Gagne while the Caps were able to get Mike Knuble back early only to see that quick return not pay off. Expect Washington to come out firing on all cylinders in Game 3.

5. For all the grief Roberto Luongo earned in Round 1 against Chicago, the work he’s done in Round 2 has been unreal. Sporting a .970 save percentage, 1.00 goals against average anyone accusing Luongo of playing poorly against the Predators is crazy. Only downside to that is that Pekka Rinne has been equally as good. Rinne is also sporting a 1.00 goals against average and has a .968 save percentage.

Vancouver has the superior offensive talent and while Rinne has been out of his mind good, the Canucks are the ones rolling out a lineup with last year’s MVP, an MVP finalist this year, a 40-goal scoring second line center, and Alex Burrows who’s been their lone offensive stud in the playoffs. Time for the Sedin twins and Ryan Kesler to start playing like stars.