The Tampa Bay Lightning are one game away from the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, but they have a pretty serious obstacle in their way. Tim Thomas, at times, has been one of the most impressive goalies in the NHL Playoffs and now he and the Bruins will host a Game 7 in Boston. The Lightning did a good job of getting past Thomas in Game 6 (particularly on the power play) and they will have to do the same if they want to advance to the Finals.
As Kevin Allen of USA Today reports, Lightning coach Guy Boucher is confident that the Lightning will be getting the very best from Thomas.
"Every opportunity is an opportunity for them and us and I'm sure he's going to come up big," Boucher said. "He said they were going to win for sure so I'm sure he's going to come up big in the next game."
When Thomas is on, he is very tough to beat. But like most goalies, the answer seems to be to overwhelm him with shots. When you put the puck on net, good things happen, and the Lightning need to make Thomas make a ton of saves in order to win.