VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Tim Thomas grabbed the Conn Smythe Trophy and took it for a long skate.
The Boston Bruins goalie, maligned for his wandering ways and demoted last year as he struggled with a hip injury, was named the most valuable player of the NHL postseason on Wednesday night with a spectacular run to his first Stanley Cup title.
“It still hasn’t kicked in, if I’m completely honest,” the 37-year-old goalie said after shutting out the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 to win Game 7 of the NHL finals and help the Bruins earn their first title since 1972. “I can’t believe it’s over. We’ve had our battle meter up so high for so long, it feels like we’re moving onto the next series or something.”
Thomas held the Canucks to eight goals in seven games, posting his second shutout of the series and his fourth of the playoffs in the finale. Thomas, who set a new record for total saves in the postseason, also shut out the Canucks in Game 4 while winning all three finals games in Boston.
“Their goaltender was real tough to beat,” Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. “The way they played in front of him was real tough to beat. We had some grade ‘A’ chances and we weren’t able to score.”
He is expected to win the Vezina Trophy next week after setting a modern record with a .938 save percentage in the regular season, eclipsing Dominik Hasek’s mark.
On Wednesday, he became just the second American player to win the Conn Smythe. New York defenseman Brian Leetch was the first to win it, doing so in 1994, after the Rangers defeated the Canucks, interestingly enough, in a Game 7.
There were few doubts regarding Thomas’ Conn Smythe credentials — win or lose in Game 7 — especially after playing every minute of the postseason for Boston. In fact, he won three Game 7s — an NHL first.
“I think I went even further than I thought,” Thomas said. “I never envisioned three Game 7s in one playoffs and still being able to come out on top.”
Thomas has an unconventional style, often skating far out from the crease to cut down angles and hustling back to make the save. As well as he stopped the puck in the series, he is perhaps even more beloved in Boston for getting physical with the Canucks when he felt they were invading his crease.
A native of Flint, Mich., Thomas was an All-American at the University of Vermont who was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques. He played for nine teams in five leagues in three countries on two continents — winning the MVP in Finland — before coming to the Bruins for another chance in the NHL in 2005.
Thomas won the Vezina in 2009 and made the U.S. Olympic team last year, but a hip injury cost him his Bruins starting job to Tuukka Rask. He was also a backup in the Olympics to Buffalo’s Ryan Miller.
But after offseason surgery, he won his NHL job back … and isn’t likely to give it up any time soon.
SOX CATCH BRUINS FEVER: Bruins coach Claude Julien took the podium on Wednesday, just hours before Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals vs. the Vancouver Canucks, and spoke in generalities.
There was no bulletin board material. There were no threats. There were no guarantees.
Just the obvious.
“We’re hoping,” Julien said, “for a happy ending.”
He got one.
And so did everyone else in Boston.
As the Bruins battered their way through this postseason, they were able to capture Beantown’s attention much like the Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots did in recent championship seasons. Indeed, the city wrapped its arms around Julien’s bunch and jumped on board for what was an eventful 10-week ride, a journey that ended joyously with a 4-0 Game 7 victory over the Canucks at Rogers Arena.
The first-place Red Sox caught the fever, clearly. They were often seen wearing Bruins gear in and around the city, and Fenway Park has had a “Good Luck” sign, complete with a Bruins logo on its green fencing for more than a month.
“They love their teams. (It’s) a sports town,” Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford said Wednesday, before Boston defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0 in St. Petersburg, Fla. “There are Bruins fans everywhere. They’re real passionate. I’ve been watching them. You definitely get caught up in all of that, because everybody’s watching it, wearing Bruins jerseys.
“You get excited about it.”
It was hard not to.
Even before the make-or-break date Wednesday night in Vancouver, the Bruins orchestrated a run for the ages, complete with just about everything hockey had to offer. There were three seven-game series — vs. Montreal, Tampa Bay and the Canucks — and even a dominant four-game sweep of Philadelphia in Round 2.
Goaltender Tim Thomas, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoffs’ most valuable player, led the way on the ice — with four shutouts and all 16 postseason wins — as well as in front of the microphone — with his colorful jabs and well-thought-out responses.
Rookie forward Brad Marchand stirred the pot with some feisty play in the corners, and his 11 goals, many of which came directly in front of the net. He scored two in Game 7.
But it was rarely easy for any of the Bruins on this odyssey. They fell down two games vs. both the Canadiens and the Canucks, and fought off elimination four times, all told.
The second time they were in an 0-2 hole, Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who has won two championships in Boston, felt motivated to chime in. Francona, in fact, called and spoke with Julien.
On Wednesday at Tropicana Field, before starter Josh Beckett pitched a one-hitter that most Bostonians probably missed, Francona was asked if he’d make a call again to his friend in the coaching fraternity prior to the drop of the puck.
“He’s got to take it from here,” he said, smiling.
Francona knew enough to leave Julien alone. He knew he had the weight of the city’s shoulders on him already. Not to mention the pressure of having to live up to the championship standards the other three pro teams in town have set.
Well, consider that weight lifted.
And now, after nearly four decades, the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox can make another place at the championship table for a friend.