oston Bruins netminder Tim Thomas was awarded the 2011 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. Thomas, already the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff's Most Valuable Player after helping Boston take down the Canucks in last week's Game 7, topped Roberto Luongo -- his counterpart in the Cup Finals -- as well as Nashville's Pekka Rinne.
The 37-year-old Michigan native finished the campaign with a record of 35-11-9 to help the Bruins to the Northeast Division title. He also led the league with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage, the latter being the best mark since the statistic was introduced in 1976-77.
Already a Vezina winner in 2009, Thomas ranked second in the league with nine shutouts. He won his first eight decisions of the season to set a Bruins record and also won his first nine road games to become the first NHL netminder since Chicago's Glenn Hall in 1965-66 to accomplish the feat.
It was a stunningly positive turnaround from his 2009-10 season, when Thomas endured hip surgery and lost the starting job to Tuukka Rask, going 17-18-8 but posting a 2.56 GAA with five shutouts.
A former ninth-round pick of the Quebec Nordiques back in 1994, Thomas became just the second Bruins goaltender in the modern era (1982-present) to win the Vezina, after Pete Peeters in 1983.
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oston Bruins netminder Tim Thomas was awarded the 2011 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender.
Thomas, already the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff's Most Valuable Player after helping Boston take down the Canucks in last week's Game 7, topped Roberto Luongo -- his counterpart in the Cup Finals -- as well as Nashville's Pekka Rinne.
The 37-year-old Michigan native finished the campaign with a record of 35-11-9 to help the Bruins to the Northeast Division title. He also led the league with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage, the latter being the best mark since the statistic was introduced in 1976-77.
Already a Vezina winner in 2009, Thomas ranked second in the league with nine shutouts. He won his first eight decisions of the season to set a Bruins record and also won his first nine road games to become the first NHL netminder since Chicago's Glenn Hall in 1965-66 to accomplish the feat.
It was a stunningly positive turnaround from his 2009-10 season, when Thomas endured hip surgery and lost the starting job to Tuukka Rask, going 17-18-8 but posting a 2.56 GAA with five shutouts.
A former ninth-round pick of the Quebec Nordiques back in 1994, Thomas became just the second Bruins goaltender in the modern era (1982-present) to win the Vezina, after Pete Peeters in 1983.
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