Good luck finding a better two-save sequence in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs than this third-period duel between goalies Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins and Mike Smith of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Here's Thomas robbing Steve Downie with the stick after the puck glances off the post:
Said Thomas after the Game 5 win:
First, I want to say that my recollection might not be exactly the way the video is. That's happened on a couple of goals lately.
So the way I remember it, it got out to the point and there was a couple of different sets of screens. There was one set of our forward and their guy up top and one set of their guy and our guy closer to me.
So I saw him getting ready to take the shot but I couldn't see the puck. That's probably why he had to shoot wide is our guys were taking away the shooting lanes. But I picked it up somewhere. It was about halfway to me, but I saw it was going wide. And I was out towards the top of the crease, so I didn't have time to get my whole body back.
With the way the new boards are nowadays in all the arenas, you've got to be on your toes for those big bounces. The big bounce came out.
It was just a reaction and a desperation. And I'll admit I got a little bit lucky there.
Here's Smith snagging a Zdeno Chara backhander on an odd-man rush:
Interestingly, both Downie and Smith were question marks for Game 5; Downie having missed the third period of Game 4 after being hit from behind by Nathan Horton; Smith getting the surprise start for Dwayne Roloson after the Bolts' playoff hero had been pulled in two of the last three games.
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