VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Tim Thomas is giving a masterful performance in his net during the Stanley Cup Finals. He’s also doing an excellent job masking the frustration that must be coursing through him. The Bruins’ star goalie has allowed just six goals by the Vancouver Canucks in five games, yet Boston is heading home facing elimination in Game 6 on Monday.
Vancouver moved to the brink of its first NHL title with a 1-0 victory Friday — the Canucks’ second 1-0 home win in a series dominated by the home teams. Unless the Bruins hold off the Canucks at TD Garden, they won’t get one last chance to figure it out.
“The plan was for us to score more than them, which I guess we have, but …” Thomas said, his voice trailing off.
Indeed, the Bruins have outscored Vancouver 14-6 in the series, but 12 of those goals were in two blowout wins in Boston. The West Coast hasn’t been nearly as kind to the Bruins in a series that has been colored by dangerous hits, diving and taunting — but dominated by stellar goaltending from Thomas and Roberto Luongo.
“It’s very close,” Luongo said Saturday before boarding a plane to Boston. “It’s at our fingertips right now. The next two days are going to be very important to stay focused, and come Monday night, we have the game of our lives. We’re ready to do whatever it takes.”
While Luongo has been alternately brilliant and hopeless, Thomas is Boston’s only constant in the series, scrambling around his crease in a textbook performance of a goaltending style that won’t be found in any instruction manual.
Thomas, who stopped 24 shots in Game 5 but failed to get to Maxim Lapierre’s third-period winner, remains confident in the Bruins.
“It seems like so far this series, the home crowds have helped the teams,” said Thomas, who has a .965 save percentage in the Finals, stopping 165 of Vancouver’s 171 shots. “It’s not always the case, but going home for Game 6, we hope it’s the case one more time.”
