Does Tim Thomas get too much credit for 2011?

[canuckster19]

I always thought Bergeron or Chara were better Conn Smythe choices for shutting down the Canucks offense after game 2. When I think of it Thomas gets credit for standing on his head in games he ultimately loses, the games he wins seems to me are won simply by running away with the game early. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember the Canucks generating much offensive pressure at the point where the game was 0-0 in the 4 losses.

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[GlitchMarner]

I want to hear what @Mike Farkas thinks.

 

[GreatGonzo]

I mean he faced the most shots ever in a stanley cup finals series and in the overall playoffs. He was the main reason they won a majority of those games and was just as amazing in the finals.

It was pretty much a lock that he was going to win it if they won the cup.

 

[sr edler]

Yes, he gets too much credit.

 

[Pominville Knows]

I mean he faced the most shots ever in a stanley cup finals series and in the overall playoffs. He was the main reason they won a majority of those games and was just as amazing in the finals.

It was pretty much a lock that he was going to win it if they won the cup.

Yeah that makes me remember more! It was something like that that Thomas had some down games but he dominated even more games. Also, i seem to remember him getting poor offensive support in some of his down games?

 

[quoipourquoi]

Considering people have consistently been trying to strip away credit from him as if he didn't see action behind a wall of defensive players, no, he does not get too much credit.

It's been six-and-a-half years, so take six-and-a-half minutes to remind yourselves.

 

[sr edler]

Sedins were held on the outside by Chara and his goon squad and could only throw easy muffins at Thomas.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Considering people have consistently been trying to strip away credit from him as if he didn't see action behind a wall of defensive players, no, he does not get too much credit.

It's been six-and-a-half years, so take six-and-a-half minutes to remind yourselves.

Thomas was awesome.I say that as a Montreal fan.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Sedins were held on the outside by Chara and his goon squad and could only throw easy muffins at Thomas.

Seidenberg was better than Chara throughout the playoffs.

 

[Mantis]

Seidenberg was better than Chara throughout the playoffs.

Yes he was. Absolute beast.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Today is gonna be a great day!

 

[Kyle McMahon]

By people that think it was an all-time great goaltending performance? Yes.

The Conn Smythe was justifiable. But not a no-doubter. Bill Ranford/Cam Ward-ish. Thomas had a lot of bad games/weak goals for a Cup winning goaltender. Chara, Bergeron, Krejci were all great, but none stood above the other and probably split votes, so Thomas was the expected winner.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

By people that think it was an all-time great goaltending performance? Yes.

The Conn Smythe was justifiable. But not a no-doubter. Bill Ranford/Cam Ward-ish. Thomas had a lot of bad games/weak goals for a Cup winning goaltender. Chara, Bergeron, Krejci were all great, but none stood above the other and probably split votes, so Thomas was the expected winner.

Don't think there was any split voting. Seemed by game 7 of finals that Thomas was indeed a no-doubter.

 

[quoipourquoi]

I don't like the Cam Ward comparison. Bill Ranford is closer in that their Finals were clearly their best round, but Thomas' 2nd Round is better than any of Ranford's first three rounds, and that should draw some separation between the two.

EvE by Round
Thomas (66.5%) | 90.5% | 47.9% | 90.8% | 33.2%
Ranford (71.4%) | 82.5% | 51.0% | 97.5% | 46.2%
Ward (78.5%)| 61.4% | 85.1% | 89.6% | 78.4%

 

[Voight]

If anything, people try to take credit away from him. there were more than a few scenarios where if he doesn't make the save, the B's would still be in a cup drought.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Main issue with Tim Thomas in the 2011 playoffs is that compared to other Conn Smythe winning goalies, from winning or losing teams it is possible to find games where Thomas was responsible for the loss, giving up weak goals.

This did not happen with other Conn Smythe winning goalies during those playoff runs.

 

[McGarnagle]

Thomas was outstanding in 2011. He had a good defensive team in front of him which limited opportunities, but that doesn't take away from how great he was. The sprawling save he made in double OT in game 5 against Montreal, right before Horton's goal was a thing of beauty. That sequence still gives me chills.

 

[quoipourquoi]

Main issue with Tim Thomas in the 2011 playoffs is that compared to other Conn Smythe winning goalies, from winning or losing teams it is possible to find games where Thomas was responsible for the loss, giving up weak goals.

This did not happen with other Conn Smythe winning goalies during those playoff runs.

It happens to basically every goalie over a four-round playoff run where a weak goal at a key time leads to a loss. Famously in the 2001 Finals.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I don't like the Cam Ward comparison. Bill Ranford is closer in that their Finals were clearly their best round, but Thomas' 2nd Round is better than any of Ranford's first three rounds, and that should draw some separation between the two.

EvE by Round
Thomas (66.5%) | 90.5% | 47.9% | 90.8% | 33.2%
Ranford (71.4%) | 82.5% | 51.0% | 97.5% | 46.2%
Ward (78.5%)| 61.4% | 85.1% | 89.6% | 78.4%

I'm not seeing much separation between Thomas and Ranford in those numbers. I mean, we're probably talking what, a single goal worth of difference in those second round performances? A goal or two in the other rounds? Too close to draw conclusions just based on numbers. Ward certainly lags behind in his Finals performance. I thought his Smythe win was contentious, but few Carolina fans have questioned it. He came off the bench to bail out the Hurricanes in the first round, which makes his case different than Thomas and Ranford in that respect.

 

[Michael Farkas]

The Flyers didn't even get off the bus in 2011. That was one of the weakest attempts at a playoff series I've seen. So that was a walk in the park. It gets overlooked how limp that effort from a typically-game Philadelphia squad. Not to say the Bruins didn't have a hand in squashing it, but Philadelphia was flat the entire series.

It is nice to see cooler heads prevail re: Thomas. We still can't undo the embarrassment of him ending up on that top-40 list...but now that people have finally been able to take themselves out of the moment, we're starting to see how unimpressive, uneven and unbecoming that playoffs and goalie was...

Now, like C1958 referenced, you talk about a playoffs for the ages...Jonathan Quick in 2012. Now that's a performance you can set your watch to. Predictable, consistent and without a wheelbarrows' worth of just crap goals at crap times...

 

[sr edler]

The sprawling save he made in double OT in game 5 against Montreal, right before Horton's goal was a thing of beauty.

You’re forgetting his best save of the whole playoffs:

 

[Michael Farkas]

^ yeah, plus however many Seidenberg pulled off the goalie in that run. It would have been nice if Kostitsyn's weak shot that hit the post and went in late in regulation of game 7, instead of out...would have accelerated Thomas' rightful dismissal from the league...

 

[96]

^ yeah, plus however many Seidenberg pulled off the goalie in that run. It would have been nice if Kostitsyn's weak shot that hit the post and went in late in regulation of game 7, instead of out...would have accelerated Thomas' rightful dismissal from the league...

Yeah, but it didn't and he went on the have the best playoffs by a goaltender of all time lmfao

 

[Michael Farkas]

I also find that funny.

 

[Big Phil]

Main issue with Tim Thomas in the 2011 playoffs is that compared to other Conn Smythe winning goalies, from winning or losing teams it is possible to find games where Thomas was responsible for the loss, giving up weak goals.

This did not happen with other Conn Smythe winning goalies during those playoff runs.

When you look at the long list of Smythe winners who were goalies, I think there were those times. Roy wasn't perfect in 2001. Struggled against the Kings. Giguere, although he didn't win the Cup, still won the Smythe and was so good in the first three rounds that he only had to be average in the final to still win it. I wouldn't call him "sharp" in the final. Roy again in 1993 let a soft tying and winning goal go past him vs. Quebec in Game 2. Granted he more than made up for it, but all Conn Smythe winners do.