Thomas rose to occasion

Tim Thomas couldn't make the save. Then again, it's not easy to stop a 6-foot-2-inch, 205-pound puck.

The shot on net, disguised as Florida Panthers center Joe Nieuwendyk, caught the Bruins goaltender unaware. And almost left him that way.

That the Bruins lost to the Florida Panthers, 3-2, at TD Banknorth Garden last night became almost irrelevant. What was remarkable was that Thomas could remember the Bruins lost to the Florida Panthers, 3-2. Or that he was at TD Banknorth Garden. Or that it was last night.

Somebody wondered whether trainer Don DelNegro had asked him his name while ministering to him after the goalie thudded headfirst to the ice when he was steamrolled by Nieuwendyk.

"I'm Batman," announced Thomas.

Just kidding. Thomas was mimicking a TV commercial. He had the wrong superhero, anyway. He could have been forgiven if he honestly thought he was Superman.

If nothing else, he survived the kryptonite boulder that rammed into him at 2:13 of the second period and went on to perform magnificently, even though his -- and the Bruins' -- four-game winning streak came to a crashing halt.

Nieuwendyk was trying to double the Panthers' lead to 2-0 when Boston defenseman Milan Jurcina launched him for an unplanned visit to the net.

"Nieuwendyk was going hard," said Thomas, "and there was nothing I could do. I was like a deer in the headlights."

His only recourse was to try to minimize the damage.

"I jumped to avoid putting pressure on my legs and back," said Thomas, "and the next thing I knew, the net went flying."

So did Thomas. But not for long. In an instant, he was plummeting to the ice like a diver into a pool without water.

"You're about 3 feet up and you can't see anything below you but ice," said Thomas. "It feels pretty odd. You see the ice and you figure you can't put your arms down to break your fall. You're only up there for about one-100th of a second."

Thomas was face down on the ice for what seemed an eternity, taking inventory of his body parts.

"I was thinking, 'OK, I didn't hurt anything,' " said Thomas.

But his consciousness was in question.

"I don't think I blacked out," said Thomas. "But how do you know?"

That was for DelNegro to determine. Dispatched to the scene immediately, he asked Thomas the customary questions: Any tingling in the extremities? Any stars sprinkled on the ice?

Negative on all counts. The diagnosis: Thomas could keep playing.

"Whiplash," the goalie said with a laugh. "I just jammed my neck. I didn't feel anything wrong. It's a little stiff right now, but I can still turn my head."

He certainly turned heads the rest of the night. Among his 25 saves were at least three that were truly bedazzling.

About three minutes after the ambush, Thomas foiled Stephen Weiss from straight on, and when the puck ricocheted to Chris Gratton, the goalie scrambled to the post to smother the second bid.

Then with 1:30 left and the Bruins trying desperately for the tying goal, Thomas somehow batted down a shot by Weiss, as if he were shooing a fly -- even while the impact was knocking his mask askew.

But on this misbegotten night, there was a perverse justice to Thomas's undoing. The eventual deciding goal came when Nieuwendyk's centering pass caromed off the skate of Bruins defenseman Paul Mara -- and past his own goalie.

"What are you going to do?" said Thomas, refusing to dispense blame. "I'll bet if you look at the highlights, there were two or three goals around the league scored like that tonight."

At least you couldn't say this goalie did everything except stand on his head to keep his team in the game. He tried that, too.