13 replies to this topic

[smastroyin]

1. Everyone slumps once in a while.
2. This has nothing to do with his politics.

That said, what is going on with Timmy? He has been generally poor in the month of January. I didn't think he was especially good in the Vancouver game and he has only had the one game against New Jersey where he really played so well that it made up for the team's mediocre play. I know that the team hasn't been playing very well in front of him lately and that there have been more turnovers, etc. But he's still not making any of the saves we have come to expect and he has let in some softies. If it were rebound control or too much flopping or any of his old problems it would be one thing (not necessarily better), but this is just overall not stopping the puck. All goalies let in softies and of course we have come to expect such good goaltending that our definition of a softie is probably a little different than say, a Flyers fan's (sorry MoGator).

I realize that he could just start playing "out of his tree" again the next time he puts on the pads, but I'm just curious if anyone who watches a lot more hockey than I do has noticed anything about his game being different.

[TheShynessClinic]

He looks sloppy, and undisciplined, which to me suggests he might be getting tired.

He's not exactly a spring chicken anymore, he played an additional 25 playoff games last year (which are much more stressful I imagine than a regula season game against Columbus), and he's gotten a majority of the starts this year as well.

Who knows maybe he's been fighting the flu. But he's looking a lot more like the Thomas of 08-09, than of 10-11 and beginning of 11-12.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

TUUKKA TIME.

OK, the last time I demanded Tuukka Time he played shitty in Washington, but basically I agree with TSC. Thomas is what, 37 years old now? These are the "dog days" of the NHL season. He's not a terribly large man. He's probably tired more easily. Frankly I'm surprised he played last night in the first game back from the All Star Game.

I am hoping for a 50/50 split between Thomas and Rask the rest of the way, which should allow Thomas to be sufficiently rested for the playoffs.

[FL4WL3SS]

If the Bruins play .500 hockey the rest of the way, they'll finish with >95 points. They won't play .500 hockey the rest of the way. Unless something catastrophic happens, they're almost guaranteed a playoffs spot.

I'd like to see Timmy get nice and rested for the stretch run. I agree, I think a straight 50/50 split from now until the middle of March would be ideal, then they can slowly ramp up Thomas' workload heading into the playoffs to see if they can get him on a roll.

[cshea]

Thomas got beat pretty cleanly on both the Turris and Karlsson goals, and it's very rare for that to happen to him. The first goal was more of a mental mistake, he tried to kick out a rebound to the half boards, but wasn't aware Michalek was right there. Those types of things indicate fatigue to me. I actually thought it was a bad decision to play Thomas last night, given he participated in the ASG, while Tuukka had a week off. January was a pretty busy month for the team, so I think the team as a whole is a bit worn out. Under Julien they have tended to swoon a bit in late January/February, so we may be seeing some signs of that.

[TheStoryofYourRedRightAnkle]

On the other hand, Thomas generally eats Ottawa's lunch, so it's hard not to play him, especially if your thinking is a win against them could help get him on a roll again.

Of course, Rask also dominates the Sens.

[Myt1]

I think it's a probably a whole bunch of little things. His positioning has been bad, team defense has been lousy, the Bruins have had an inordinant amount of turnovers in the neutral and defensive zones, etc. In addition, I think it's possible he's having issues because he's not playing as often as in the past. He only played half of the games in December, and had 5, 6, 9, and 12 day breaks from late December through January. Might be having trouble getting into a rhythm, especially compared to the regular play of last season's playoffs when he was nails.

[Riles335]

I think there are two things going on with the slump of Tim Thomas. 1) Fatigue/Bored and 2) The defense.

This is where the season becomes long and tiresome. The Bruins have just won a Stanley Cup and just had an amazing first half of the season to show everyone that last year was not a fluke and they are in fact as good as a Stanley Cup team. Maybe there is a bit of fatigue that is setting in after an incredible two months of hockey but there is a part of me that thinks that this team is maybe a bit bored. It is easy for guys to want to score goals all the time and play on the offensive end of things but it very well seems that many guys are having defensive break downs and are getting sloppy on the defensive end. There have been a ton of games this year, especially recently, where guys are getting caught to far up ice and are not getting beat back the other way for odd man opportunities which is leaving the goalies out to dry. Corvo has been especially bad and he alone has been responsible for many odd man rushes and opportunistic plays in the Bruins zone. Is it juts me or are the Bruins giving up a TON of breakaway a ways and 2 on 1's over the past three weeks?

Hopefully it stops because Thomas and Tuukka have saved this team a bunch this year but then again, you can't make every save.

Edited by Riles335, 02 February 2012 - 05:02 PM.

[FL4WL3SS]

I can buy the fatigue argument, but I really don't buy the bored argument. It's the duldrums of the season, every team goes through these slumps, it's just that the Bruins were so much better than everyone else that it's pretty striking the difference.

Is it juts me or are the Bruins giving up a TON of breakaway a ways and 2 on 1's over the past three weeks?

I've never seen a breakaway a ways.

[Riles335]

I can buy the fatigue argument, but I really don't buy the bored argument. It's the duldrums of the season, every team goes through these slumps, it's just that the Bruins were so much better than everyone else that it's pretty striking the difference.

I've never seen a breakaway a ways.

Yeah they are pretty cool.

You say that they are so much better than everyone else, couldn't that in itself introduce boredom for these Bruins players? Especially through these dog days?

[Blacken]

In Timmy's defense, it's hard to play awesome every night when you have this on defense.

Spoiler

[BoredViewer]

In Timmy's defense, it's hard to play awesome every night when you have this on defense.

Spoiler

At least half of those are chick tattoos.... what the hell!?!!

[BrazilianSoxFan]

Somehow Tim Thomas came in #11 in a player's poll of goalies who could take a shift.

I don't think he would be able to not fall during a shift, nevermind actually play...

[Dropkick Izzy]

Rick DiPietro and Ryan Miller at 6 and 7 respectively? Bunk.