Goalie fits like a glove

This past week, the bends in Thomas's hockey road were justified when he signed a four-year, $20 million contract extension, a payday that seemed so long in coming. Thomas has a no-trade clause for the first three years of the contract. There are no restrictions on the fourth year, when he will be paid $3 million.

"In hindsight, I'd have to say everything worked out perfectly," said Thomas before yesterday's 1-0 win over the Rangers, his fifth shutout of the season. "Here I am in a great hockey town and in a great situation. I'm looking forward to the next four years, playing in that hockey town and for that organization. I'd have to say everything worked out as it should have."

For the last three years, Thomas has been among the biggest bargains in the NHL. Thomas, in the final season of a three-year, $3.3 million contract, is a leading candidate to nab the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goalie, as his numbers show: 34-11-7, 2.07 goals-against average, .933 save percentage.

But his new contract reflects the Bruins' confidence that Thomas, who turns 35 April 15, might not have played his best hockey yet. Thomas ("I don't feel like an old goalie," he said with a smile) has appeared in 217 NHL games and has not suffered a major injury.

"I've seen somebody who's improved," said general manager Peter Chiarelli. "He's at such a high level right now. But he's improved at this age each year. He's improved a lot. He's gone from a high level to a higher level to a higher level, and he's maintained that.

"It's taken him a while to get here. He's gotten here and he's been tremendously successful. But he's still improving. I feel he's got a lot of hockey ahead of him - he hasn't had a lot of hockey behind him, NHL speaking."

Thomas would have become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Teams are tightening their belts and are expected not to be as generous with terms and salaries for free agents as they were. But had Thomas hit the open market, he might have done better than the $5 million average annual salary he earned from the Bruins.

Thomas, however, felt that the fit in Boston was better than any other situation he'd find this summer.

"With free agency coming up potentially this summer, you have to think about, 'Would you rather go someplace else or would you rather stay in Boston?' After weighing things over, over, and over, the answer always kept coming back Boston," said Thomas. "It's a great place to play. Great teammates. Great fans. I'm very happy to be looking at the next four years in Boston.

"I'm very happy this is done. I think I've done a really good job of just concentrating on hockey throughout the year, even though we've had our talks off and on.

"Now this gives me a 100 percent chance to just focus on hockey and leave the rest of the stuff and not think about it. I think this puts me in an opportunity to play to my full potential going down the stretch. That's what I plan on doing."

"He'll be evaluated and we'll probably be able to tell you whether it's day-to-day or week-to-week," said Julien.

Ference missed 31 games earlier this season because of a fractured right tibia.

Dennis Wideman also had to miss several shifts in the third period because of an apparent leg injury. Wideman skated 26 shifts for 21:44 of ice time, blocking a game-high three shots. Steve Montador, who started the game on the fourth line, took several shifts on defense.

"We've got some guys that are banged up from today," Julien said.

Aaron Ward sat out because of an undisclosed injury suffered Thursday against Ottawa. Ward left practice early Friday and required treatment. Julien said Ward should be able to play Tuesday against the Senators. The Bruins were also without Phil Kessel (five straight games missed) and Shawn Thornton (three) because of undisclosed injuries.