Goalie analysis: Scouting Tim Thomas

After the Boston game, I had several people reach out to me in an attempt to explain the visual circus that is Tim Thomas’ goaltending style.  This gave me an idea: I decided that over the next few weeks, I’ll be breaking down all the potential goalie matchups the Rangers could find themselves involved in during the playoffs.

The format is going to be a little different since, let’s face it, around here we are more interested in how to beat these goalies than how they modify their leg pads.  The categories for this series are going to be General Style, Strengths, Weaknesses and How The Rangers Should Approach The Matchup.

Without further adieu, first up is Tim Thomas…

General Style

In the interest of full disclosure, I am going to admit up front that I am not a Tim Thomas fan.  For reasons I will explain below, I think he is incredibly overrated and gets the benefit of being a “gamer” to a fault.  His style makes him an incredibly polarizing player, mostly because his style itself is something of a Jekyll and Hyde situation.  His strengths are incredibly strong, and his weaknesses are considerably weak.

Thomas does not play a traditional style in any sincere form.  He may utilize some traditional techniques, but his style is all his own.  A lot of Dominic Hasek comparisons are drawn, but I feel those are nothing more than a convenient comparison because they both break the mainstream goaltending paradigm.  The Dominator, in his prime, felt that a traditional style was too limiting for him.  He wanted to pick the puck up with his blocker and drop his stick when he felt encumbered by it.  Hasek was a freak of an athlete who would not limit his ability to move or track the puck for the sake of doing it “correctly”.  Thomas simply does the best he can within his physical limitations. He is extremely aggressive and  he will use any part of his body to stop the puck, and relies heavily on his defense to bail him out when his aggressiveness gets the better of him.

Strengths

It is difficult to describe Thomas’ general style without getting into specific strengths and weaknesses. Thomas has several strengths define his game. The two biggest strengths he possesses are his ability to track the puck and his compete level.

Thomas is an extremely focused goaltender who never takes his eye off the puck.  If he can see the puck, he will find some way to put a body part on it.

What this puck tracking ability allows him to do is isolate situations where shooters only have one option, and attack.  When he is at his best, he finds a shooter with no available passing lanes and ends up 6-8 feet outside the crease cutting down the angle and space the shooter has to operate.

Thomas’s compete level has willed him to two Vezina trophies in the past 3 years.  The dude just never gives up on a puck.  This is where the strongest link between Thomas and Hasek exists.  He is a blue collar guy who takes his job very seriously and never wants to get scored on.  He instills confidence in his teammates and fans with his “never say die” attitude between the pipes. He seems to be a good locker room guy (White House antics notwithstanding) and his seemingly strong work ethic make him a player who is easy to root for. Read more »

Rangers/Bruins recap

• This game belonged to Lundqvist.  I will elaborate more later in the recap, but not bulleting him first would have been a travesty.
• Ryan Callahan is just scorching hot right now.  6 goals in his last 4 games and another power play goal.  For those keeping score at home that’s 38.5% over the past 4 games, with greatly improved puck movement.
• This game was remarkably clean considering the physicality and the personalities at play.  A couple of off-setting minors and a few scuffles, but mostly just hard nosed hockey.
• The Blueshirts started off a little slow but really came on in the second half of the first period.  The forecheck was relentless and forced turnovers using the newly implemented system that The Suit so conveniently broke down just this afternoon.
• The Rangers were the beneficiaries of a fortunate bounce off Chara (own-goal anyone?) at the end of the second period.  From then on out, the Rangers played well defensively, but rested a little too much on Hank’s brilliance and seemed to do a little too much clock watching.  20 shots on goal isn’t going to cut it in the playoffs.
• I thought Brandon Dubinsky played very well tonight.  1 assist and a +1, plus ten stitches and some chipped teeth highlighted a very blue collar effort.  He really needs to start being more decisive when handling the puck though.  He had several opportunities to pull the trigger and preferred the pass.  We all know what Dubi is capable of when he shoots with confidence.
• On defense, Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal had particularly strong games.  Del Zotto had yet another assist (4 in the past 4 games), and Girardi continued his steady play.
• Carl Hagelin’s speed continues to be an asset.  He was strong on the forecheck and negated a couple icing calls.  He threw the body around and was a general nuisance to the Bruins all game long.
• Artem Anisimov is quietly playing some of his best hockey this season after being reunited with Gaborik (another assist, who knew he had the playmaker gene?) and Stepan.  Arty has 6 points in his last 6 games, and has made his presence known.
• Now with all that out of the way, we can move on to the goaltending.  Now, I don’t make it a secret that I am not much of a Tim Thomas fan, but he played fairly well tonight.  Obviously, Cally’s PP goal was one that you can’t really hold the goalie responsible for, but it was a mini-illustration of the problem I have with Thomas’ style.  He works incredibly well within Boston’s defensive system, but his aggressive style takes him out of plays after the first shot, and forces his defense to compensate for him.  If you watch the replay, although the goal was in no way his fault, all his effort went directly to Del Zotto and gave himself absolutely no chance to stop the shot on the lateral pass.
• Thomas griping aside, the real story in this game was The King.  He was absolutely out of this world tonight.  He was in solid position on the first shot and was balanced and poised for the rebounds.  He bailed out tired defenders countless times when Boston was mounting extended shifts of pressure.  If he continues to play at even 85% of the level he is at right now, he is a lock for the Hart Trophy.  Hank deserved his league-leading shutout, with 42 saves and continues to sport the best save percentage in the league and is second in GAA only to Brian Elliot, who has played in 15 less games.

With this win, the Rangers are now 9 points up on the 2^nd place Bruins.  Mike Keenan made the bold prediction that no one is going to catch this team now.  You guys agree? Off tomorrow and then the Blackhawks come to town on Thursday at 7pm.