Thomas, defense were caught off guard
It was, as all on the ice would concur, a heck of a move.
Montreal sharpshooter Alex Kovalev, going one-on-one with Zdeno Chara in the second period, spun the captain inside out with a spin-o-rama, clearing a lane for an open backhander on the Boston net.
Tim Thomas, however, thought he had tracked the puck the entire way.
"In hindsight, I guess," Thomas said when asked if he was thrown off. "At the time, I didn't think I was fooled at all. Just thought it was a regular save."
Thomas (26 saves) thought he squeezed every hole shut. But when he heard the crowd explode - a healthy percentage of the full house was dressed in bleu, blanc, et rouge - Thomas knew he hadn't squeezed hard enough.
It was an untimely goal allowed by a netminder who appeared to bring his best stuff to last night's effort. In the first period, after fourth-liner Tom Kostopoulos was left open in front to one-time a feed from Maxim Lapierre, Thomas held his ground and booted out the point-blank shot. Later in the first, during Montreal's first power play (Glen Murray hacked Michael Ryder's stick out of his hands), Kovalev took a cross-ice pass from defenseman Andrei Markov and hammered a one-timer that Thomas gloved at 14:13.
At the other end, Thomas's teammates weren't helping him out, as they put all 15 first-period shots into the reaches of Carey Price.
"We're not putting the puck in the net, and as long as you don't do that, eventually a team like that will score," said coach Claude Julien. "When they do, it kind of takes the wind out of you. And that's what happened tonight."
Later in the second, Thomas saw Kovalev pull off another sparkler, splitting Chara and Dennis Wideman to gain entry to the slot. Thomas thought Kovalev was losing the handle on the puck, so he started to attempt a poke check. But that's when Kovalev beat Thomas for his second goal.
Thomas has lost four of his last five starts and might give way tomorrow to Alex Auld.
Affiliation extension
The Bruins announced an eight-year extension of their AHL affiliation with Providence.
"The partnership between the Boston and Providence organizations has never been stronger and we are excited to extend our affiliation agreement," general manager Peter Chiarelli said in a statement. "The close proximity of the two cities makes the relationship mutually beneficial for both teams on the hockey operations and marketing sides of our businesses."
The Providence Bruins have served as Boston's AHL affiliate since 1992. Providence, led by coach Scott Gordon, is currently the AHL's best club, with a league-leading 100 points.
"We're excited to continue our long-term partnership with the Boston Bruins," Providence owner H. Larue Renfroe said in a statement.
"We take a lot of pride in helping develop the top Boston Bruins prospects, and we look forward to continuing that role over the next eight seasons."
Bearing gifts
The Bruins honored Glen Murray last night for appearing in his 1,000th game Sunday. Murray received a surfboard, watch, and commemorative stick from the Bruins . . . Bobby Orr turned 60 yesterday . . . The Canadiens had suffered only 91 man-games lost to injury entering last night's game, with fourth-line agitator Steve Begin leading the way with 27 (shoulder, groin, flu-like symptoms). The Bruins came in with 310 man-games lost. Forwards Alex Kovalev and Christopher Higgins and defensemen Andrei Markov, Mike Komisarek, and Mark Streit have appeared in every game this season for the Canadiens. However, the Canadiens lost Komisarek in the first period when he suffered a lower-body injury and didn't return. After the game, Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau didn't know the extent of Komisarek's injury. He might have been hurt when he was checked into the boards by Milan Lucic. Komisarek skated only four shifts for 2:45 of ice time . . . The Bruins assigned Matt Lashoff to Providence yesterday. Lashoff was a healthy scratch last night. He appeared in five games during his most recent recall, which came while Chara was out . . . Wideman turned 25 yesterday.
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.
rising
falling 