He wasn’t there to save them
Thomas has struggled to regain his old form
For the second time in three games, Tim Thomas played behind a leaky defense that waved in opposing sharpshooters like the parking attendants around TD Garden.
But Thomas hasn’t been blame-free for the 10 pucks he’s fished out of his net in the Bruins’ two losses. Like just about every other teammate - save for the fourth-line sparkplugs - Thomas is still trying to find his game.
“Timmy can’t be excluded from our team,’’ said coach Claude Julien after last night’s 6-1 loss to the Ducks. “He had a tough night as well, just like everybody else.’’
Through three games, Thomas is 1-2-0 with a 4.00 goals-against average and an .868 save percentage. He stopped 24 of 30 shots last night, and while he could certainly use more action to find his comfort zone, Tuukka Rask might be due for his first start tomorrow against the Islanders.
During Anaheim’s second-period five-on-three power play, Thomas couldn’t do much to get a bead on Teemu Selanne’s smoker of a one-timer at 2:13. He couldn’t be faulted for Bobby Ryan’s third-period goal, which the up-and-coming forward tipped through the goalie at 12:46.
But Thomas has a history of making timely saves when his teammates don’t have their best stuff. It was part of the reason why he won the Vezina Trophy last season, as he repeatedly bailed out his club when breakdowns took place. So far, that goalie hasn’t arrived yet.
“The sixth goal tells you how the night went,’’ Thomas said of Corey Perry’s shorthanded goal. “Make the save and it goes in off his helmet. Not all of them were like that. But it just sums up the night.’’
“I guess I don’t have to have that in the back of my mind,’’ Bergeron said with a laugh.
When healthy, Bergeron has been the default left-point player on the Bruins’ No. 1 power-play unit, usually skating alongside Zdeno Chara. Former coach Dave Lewis liked Bergeron’s defensive mind-set at the point. Claude Julien saw the same thing - a two-way player who could scoot back on defense just as effectively as he could tee up one-timers or thread passes to Marc Savard on the right side.
But with an abundance of point men who have rocket shots or puck-moving ability on the roster (Chara, Derek Morris, Dennis Wideman, Andrew Ference, Matt Hunwick), Julien has taken Bergeron off the first unit and yanked him off the point entirely.
So far this season, Bergeron has manned the left wall on the second unit, where he and David Krejci can cycle low and look for scoring chances for themselves, for Mark Recchi in the slot, or for Wideman and Ference at the point.
It’s been a good fit. In the Bruins’ 7-2 win over Carolina last Saturday, Bergeron notched a power-play assist. From the left boards, Bergeron dished a pass to Wideman, who hammered a one-timer past Michael Leighton.
“I’ve played forward my whole life, so it’s not as big a change as playing the point,’’ Bergeron said. “It’s definitely an adjustment. But at the same time, I like it a lot. I feel like you can move a little bit more. I’m very happy about being down there.’’
Last season, Bergeron had 14 of his 39 points on the power play (1 goal, 13 assists). But given Bergeron’s crafty game and his increased confidence this season, Julien thought he’d be a better fit down low. At the point, Bergeron was more of a stationary player who would distribute the puck and occasionally drift down the wall.
Now Bergeron is free to attack seams, skate the puck in off the boards, and go behind the net. He’s still looking for one-timers, although with the angle being sharper from the left wall, it’s not as effective a shot as from the point.
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. 
