THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
For one of the rare times this season, the Blue Jackets tonight will have the second-best
goaltender in the building when they play host to the Boston Bruins in Nationwide Arena.
Boston's Tim Thomas leads the NHL in goals-against average (2.08) and save percentage (.932),
with 28 wins in only 43 starts.
"What makes him so good is how hard he competes," Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason said. "He
never quits on any puck, never quits fighting for it. That's why he's been a great goalie now for
three seasons."
Mason is second behind Thomas with a 2.24 goals-against average and ninth with a .918 save
percentage, while leading the league with eight shutouts.
But while Mason, 20, has rocketed to NHL acclaim, it was not an easy path to the NHL for Thomas,
34.
He was drafted in the ninth round (217th overall) by Quebec in 1994, then spent four years
playing at Vermont. His pro career took him to Finland, Sweden, the East Coast Hockey League and
the American Hockey League before he got a look with the Bruins in 2005-06.
Thomas earned his 101st career win on Saturday in Chicago.
"He's just so (darn) competitive," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He's one of those
goalies, where, when you get a chance, you better put it through the back of the net.
"He's a lot like Dominik Hasek, eh? He never quits on a puck."
Peca out
Center Michael Peca is lucky he didn't suffer a broken jaw when he was drilled on the left side
of the face by a puck March 1 in Vancouver.
"Iron jaw," Peca joked.
Still, he suffered a concussion, which will keep him out of his fourth straight game tonight. He
was cleared to practice yesterday -- he wore a yellow no-contact sweater -- but he won't be cleared
to play in a game until Thursday at the earliest.
"I feel OK now," Peca said. "The only symptom I had was a headache. But these days, they treat
them by taking every precaution."
Familiar foe
Center Antoine Vermette used to face Boston eight times a season as a member of the Ottawa
Senators in the Northeast Division. Vermette was traded to the Blue Jackets last week.
The Bruins, at 43-15-9, have the NHL's top record.
"People talk about structure," Vermette said. "Boston excels at that part of the game. They're
very well-positioned. If you get ahead of yourself, if you're not smart about checking your guy,
they can spread you out a bit and pass the puck through you."
Slap shots
The top three plus-minus ratings in the NHL all belong to Bruins: defenseman Dennis Wideman
(plus-34) and forwards David Krejci (plus-33) and Blake Wheeler (plus-32). The Blue Jackets are
10-3-1 against Eastern Conference teams this season. Boston is 9-5-2 against the Western
Conference.
aportzline@dispatch.com
