Thomas journal: Let's ride momentum of big Game 5 win

Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas will be sending USA TODAY regular journal entries throughout the playoffs.Day 11: Sunday, May 10 (Bruins beat Hurricanes 4-0)That was a huge win. I've talked about this before, and it's much "funner" is that a word? "more fun," I guess, to talk after we win a game. Coming home tonight, being down three to one in the series, we obviously needed to win this game. Being at home was a huge boost and the energy of the home crowd really helped us a lot, I think. Our goal going into the game was to not look at the big picture, but to look at the small picture: just win this game and take it from there. Up and down the line, to a man, everybody brought the effort tonight. It was actually "pretty" to watch from a goaltender's perspective. This is the type of game that we've been looking to play all along. Hopefully we can repeat it in Carolina two days from now. I think this was the most emotional game of the series, and I think we feed off of that emotion. We're a team that doesn't mind mixing it up, but it takes two to tango, and we hadn't really put Carolina's back up against the wall where they felt like they needed to really engage us. We got enough of a lead tonight where they felt like they needed to go head to head with us. Zdeno Chara, the big man, went down at the end of the second period and made my heart skip a beat. He's obviously such an important part of our team. You know he's not going to be down and stay down unless he's really hurt. He's never faked anything, and he's one of the toughest men I've ever met in my life, so it was great to see the crowd's reaction when he returned to the ice at the beginning of the third period. I think that gave everyone on the bench energy. In the locker room, we knew that he was going to be coming back in the third, but I think when the crowd cheered like that, it gave us another boost. Our backs were against the wall and we showed a lot of character. We did what we needed to do for tonight. Now we have to repeat it. I think every game we won earlier this year in the playoffs, I've kind of said, "Now we need to clear the plate and start over again." Now in this case we need to ride the wave of momentum up until the puck drops on Tuesday so that we can carry it over. I'm very happy to be headed to Carolina tomorrow, and having just been there and just having experienced their crowd, we know what it's going to be and we know that it's a tough place to play. But, we're going to have to find a way to do it. Granted, it's only 15 minutes after our game, but I feel good about our chances right now. One way or another, I'll talk to you after Tuesday's game and hopefully it'll be with the same happy face :-)-TTDay 10: Saturday, May 9 (Bruins lose to Hurricanes 4-1)I think I said last time that our backs were against the wall. Well now we've moved beyond that point and we are really behind the eight ball. As a team we envisioned Game 4 as the turnaround game of the series. We felt good going in to the game about our team confidence and team attitude, but sports fate had a different story for us.You have to give Carolina credit. They are doing all the right things.They have a jump in their legs that we don't have right now and that we have to find. Anybody who plays sports knows those times when everything comes easy and you are working hard without actually having to work hard. You feel great about yourselves, have a lot confidence and I think that's where Carolina is right now I think it's our job to find some way to knock them out of that zone. We need to break it down into little steps. What is absolutely critical and obviously necessary to keep our season alive is to win the next game at home. If we do, then they have pressure to close it out at home in Game 6. And if we can beat them on their home ice, then it goes to Game 7 and all of a sudden the focus changes to them and whether or not they are going to blow the series after being up 3-1.But that all starts with a W in Game 5.I'm at the practice rink right now regrouping. I think at this point down 3-1 in the series we can draw on the experience we had last year in the playoffs where we were down 3-1 and came back and ended up taking Montreal to seven games. And maybe this time the outcome in that seventh game can be different. I think we need to channel a little bit of that Boston energy. When I think of great postseason comebacks, I think of the Red Sox being down to the Yankees three games to nothing in 2004. And they weren't just losing to the Yankees, they were getting humiliated by them. But everyone knows the history there and what happened they were able to come back and win the series.But the comeback started with that first win. And that's exactly where it has to start for us.-TTDay 9: Thursday, May 7 (Bruins lose to Hurricanes 3-2)Sorry for not checking in immediately after last night's game. Thought it would be best for me to collect my thoughts and take some extra time to reflect on the game before writing another blog. This blogging thing is a lot easier to do after a win than a loss, that's for sure.It was obviously a tough loss last night. Carolina now has the 2-1 lead in the series and they looked like the hungrier team last night. For most of the year, we were always the hungrier team and that was a big reason why we got a lot of our victories. I think for us to get back on track, every player to a man needs to step up. This is something we need to do as a team, not something one or two individuals can do on their own. We need to collectively start pulling the rope in the same direction. Coach decided to give us the full day off today with no practice. Time off to kind of regroup, rest physically and get mentally ready for Friday. Heading over to the mall now, plan on walking around outside a bit, enjoy the nice weather down here in Raleigh. Talk to you again after Game 4,-TTDay 8: Sunday, May 3 (Bruins lose to Hurricanes 3-0)Just finished with Game 2 against Carolina. Obviously, it didn't have the result that we hoped for going into the game. As a team, we thought we could play better than we did in Game 1 of the series, and that was a goal going in tonight. But that isn't the way that it worked out. It's our first playoff loss this postseason, so it's a different feeling in the locker room than every game that we've had so far. I've been saying all along "not too high, not too low." We've been practicing the 'not too high' part, but now we get to practice the 'not too low' part. Everything's not going to go your way on every night. I think as long as you learn your lessons and you take that into the next game, you can turn a negative into a positive. It's a lot quieter atmosphere after this game than all of our previous games, but we'll go home tonight and I'm sure some of us will be thinking about the game. But we have to forget it. By tomorrow morning we have to wipe the slate clean and go back to practice and get ready for Game 3 on Wednesday. We'll be leaving for Carolina on Tuesday, so we'll be going on the road. We'll be in their home building, so we'll have to rise to the challenge. It's a little bit different playing on the road. They get the last change, and I've heard that Carolina's crowd in the playoffs is pretty wild. It should be a pretty exciting atmosphere. I think the key is to not let it intimidate you, but to actually use the same energy that the home team is using, just like we had to do in Montreal. I wonder what the weather's going to be like in Carolina. I'm going to have to look it up on the internet. It's probably a little bit warmer than here in Boston, but we've had a little bit of a heat wave compared to the harsh winter that we had, so it's been pretty warm here already. I've never been to Carolina in May, so it'll be interesting to see that state in a green stage as opposed to the brown that it usually is when we go to visit. Sometimes it's a good thing to get on the road with your team because you spend a little more time with your teammates. And you get to hang out with guys that you don't really get to see outside of the rink at home go to dinner with them and maybe a movie the night before a game. In a certain way, I'm kind of looking forward to the road trip. Basically, it's time to regroup a little bit. We only have two days off in between games, which actually gives Carolina a little time to rest because they came off a seven-game series, but we'll use the time to rest and re-focus ourselves. Talk to you next time from Carolina,-TTDay 7: Friday, May 1 (Bruins defeat Hurricanes 4-1)Hello everyone:I'm here inside our locker room, just wrapped up the first game of the second round of the playoffs. Again we won the first game of the series, which I think is a very good sign. We had a little bit of rust after the nine days off, but we were doing our best to make sure we didn't use that as an excuse. I think we did a good job. Having said that, there might have been some rust. There's nothing you can do to avoid it, but we shook it off and came on strong in the second and third periods. We tried to simulate game situations all week in practice so that we would be ready and I think for the most part we did as good of job as can be done under the circumstances. We had one day where we even scrimmaged five on five for the majority of the practice. Even when you scrimmage in practice, it doesn't seem to have the same structure as a game ends up having. Even if guys are trying as hard as they can at practice, it doesn't have the same feel. From a goaltender's perspective, I think it's probably a little easier to simulate game-type situations in practice than it is for the forwards and the defensemen. I didn't personally feel like I had that much rust. Having said that, I did feel a little bit. You have to get used to game situations.But, I think we battled through that as a team, and it ultimately showed up on the scoreboard. Carolina's obviously a team that never gives up, so even in the third period, going into the period it was 3-1, we wanted to get the next goal and not give them a chance to come back, because they've shown time and again that they will. Not only do they come back during games, but they were down 3-2 in Jersey in the series and they came back and won the series. One win is just a feather in the cap, and same as in the first round, you enjoy it for half an hour, maybe a little longer than that a couple of hours tonight but, by tomorrow morning, we've got to push the reset button and be ready to play the next game. As a team I think we know that we have to play even better than we did tonight, because they're going to play even better. We still have quite a challenge ahead of us, but we know that. And we're going to prepare ourselves as best we can.-TTDay 6: Tuesday, April 28Hello from beautiful, sunny Boston. Haven't been able to say that for most of winter! It's been six days since we clinched the series against Montreal and it looks like it will be at least a few more days until we start a new series. It's unusual to get this kind of a break anytime during the season, let alone during the playoffs. If you finish your series early, you are usually rewarded with some type of break but this one is unusually long. But having said that, it comes at a good time for me. I have been battling some sort of spring cold and it's one of the toughest bugs I have ever run across. I'm currently on the 10th day since I got it, but I'm still feeling some symptoms.The break also couldn't have been better timed for a very important part of our team, Zdeno Chara. We were greeted with the news yesterday evening that a new addition to the Chara family arrived Elliz Victoria Chara. Congratulations to the big man and his wife.I have been watching a lot of hockey during this break but tonight (Tuesday) is a very important night for us. I will be watching intently and at approximately 10 p.m. we will know who our next opponents will be. Even when I'm not playing, I'm a hockey fan so I've always loved watching playoff hockey. But it's been a unique experience this year between this break and still being involved in the playoffs. Watching the games now has a little bit of a different meaning. Usually when you are in the playoffs and even during the regular season you are so busy yourself that you do get to see a little bit of hockey but you don't get too focused on it, because you are either too focused on your own games or too tired from the night before to watch. With the good weather we've had in Boston even with the cold bug I've had I've had more time at home to get some things accomplished that get put on the back burner during the season. I've enjoyed a cookout with my parents and just in general it has been a pretty relaxing time. But I think that will all change after tonight. I think we will start going back in game mode once we know our opponent. I'm sure our coaches have video ready on each of our three possible opponents (note: the Bruins will be playing the Carolina Hurricanes) and they are ready to break it out whenever we know for sure who that opponent is. As a team we have tried to stay focused over this break, but I think that will be a little bit easier when we know who our opponent is actually going to be and who we will be focusing on.Day 5: Wednesday, April 22 (Bruins defeat Canadiens, 4-1. Win series 4-0)Just clinched the series. We swept Montreal. And I guess I can say "swept" now that's one of those words like "shutout" that you just don't say until after it happens.What a difference a year makes. It was a huge victory for this team for many different reasons one of them being it came against our most heated rival in Montreal. I think the experience of winning two huge playoff games on the road will pay off down the line. We also showed that we can have the killer instinct and finish off a team when we have them down. It was a huge milestone for me, with it being my first playoff series victory. I've had playoff series victories in other leagues but this is my first one in the NHL.Now we have a week off to rest up mentally and physically. Even though we swept the series, I think everyone on the team is probably a little bit mentally fatigued because of the mental energy we put forth and how focused and determined we were. We didn't want to let up.I'm gong to take time to enjoy clinching the series a little longer than I celebrated any of the other victories individually.I've said "not too high, not too low" but for the next 24 hours or so, we deserve as a team to revel in the fact that we accomplished something of the magnitude that we did.Hopefully this playoff series means a lot to the Boston fans. It's really amazing to look back where we were even 3 years ago as a team and where we are today. Having said that, we have a lot more that we can accomplish, but I'm not going to worry about that until tomorrow evening or the next morning. Taking off from Montreal, heading home to Boston, can't wait to get home.Ciao,TTDay 4: Monday, April 20 (Bruins defeat Canadiens, 4-2)Hello from Montreal.Game 3 is now in the books. The team pulled out a huge victory on the road and withstood a very tough push from Montreal in a very tough place to play. For a player, Montreal's building is probably the loudest rink that I know of in the NHL that I have experienced on the road. And it's even louder in the playoffs. But you have to put that aside and stay focused on your game, but at times that is very tough to do. When we came out at the start of the game, the first 10 minutes were just like what we expected it to be we knew Montreal was going to come at us hard. But even knowing what it is going to be like, it is still hard to handle. We survived their first push, got down 1-0, but a goal by Phil Kessel changed our attitude from just trying to withstand their push, to trying to take the lead. I think it was important for us to keep the momentum the whole way through and not give them a chance to get the momentum back.We won the game 4-2 but it was a tight game the whole way through. The team had a fantastic third period, one of the best third periods I can recall during my time in the NHL. That definitely made my job easier. Our depth showed again tonight too. We lost Matt Hunwick for Games 2 and 3 and Shane Hnidy stepped in and did a great job in both games. We lost Milan Lucic for tonight's game and in comes Byron Bitz who played a great game and made a great play to set up a go-ahead goal.I think the experience of playing in the playoffs here last year was a huge help for not only knowing what it is going to be like playing here, but actually experiencing what it is going to be like. The majority of our team went through it last year and I think it helped us get the job done tonight.Heading back to the hotel now for some dinner and to celebrate this win for an hour, hour-and-a-half. Then we'll get our rest and wake up tomorrow and forget about this because we have to get ready to come up big again in the next one.You'll hear from me again after Game 4.Day 3: Saturday, April 18 (Bruins defeat Canadiens, 5-1)Just finished up Game 2, a huge win for us: five to one. Montreal came out with a big push, we withstood it and pushed right back, and we were able to capitalize on our chances. This game was better than the first game, we kept the momentum the whole way through. We didn't really allow them much of a push back.Overall, it was a great team effort, the team played very well in front of me. Just in general, we played the kind of team defense that we practice playing all the time, but it doesn't always come to fruition in the game. We had effort, consistent effort every time. We had composure with the puck, got the puck out, made the smart plays both in our defensive zone, but also in their offensive zone. Really, it was a phenomenal effort from my point of view.Remind me not to get on Patrice Bergeron's bad side. I've known Bergy for a long time, since his first year here actually. Probably me and P.J. Axelsson are the only ones who have been around that long. Knowing what he's gone through with some injuries, when I saw him getting into a fight, I was a little bit worried, but I thought it was a great step forward for him."I'm not just going to sit there and take it" was his mindset. It shows that he's not afraid and that he's getting past some of the issues that he's had, and not just getting past them, but I think people in Boston are going to be talking about that fight for a long time. It isn't something that he does very often. It's not really part of his game, but now we know that he's not a guy to be messed around with. I try not to get excited when my team fights because it takes away from my game, but I couldn't help but get excited after that one.It was a huge for us to get both wins at home. We're on the road tomorrow. I want to enjoy this tonight, but tomorrow it's back to getting ready for the next game. That's the way the playoffs are.You have to get ready one game at a time, not too high, not too low. You can't get too high on your victories or too low on your losses. It's tempting to get over-excited right now, but we have to keep our feet on the ground. Day 2: Thursday, April 16 (Bruins defeat Canadiens, 4-2)Just got finished with the game, finished up with the media. It was a big win for us. It's always important to get the first win of the series. It was much better this year being at home as opposed to last year when we opened up the playoffs on the road and I felt a lot more comfortable. Plus, with the experience with last year's playoffs I knew what to expect a little bit better. It was another emotional, tight game out there. We were prepared for the physical game that we had to play tonight but I thought we handled the momentum swings real well. We had the momentum early, they kind of took back some momentum in the second period and we were able to bear down and get the momentum back in the third and ultimately get the win.The first and eighth seed doesn't seem to matter that much in the playoffs, it's about what team comes out and performs the best that night. The talent level in the NHL from top to bottom is actually so close that there's very little that separates one team from another. The playoff atmospheres are incredible in Boston and Montreal, but to play my best I have to kind of ignore the crowd whether we are at home or on the road. I didn't really get to celebrate with the crowd tonight until we scored the fourth goal with 13 seconds left.I'm going to enjoy the fact that we won the game for a little bit tonight, but not too long because we have to get started to get ready for the next one. If we don't win the next game then the first one doesn't mean nowhere near as much. When I go home later tonight I will think about the game, revel in the fact that we won the first game of the series, but by tomorrow morning it will be back to business and we will be focused on Game 2 and what we accomplished tonight isn't as important. What will be important in the morning will be getting ready for the next game.Talk to you again after Game 2.Day 1: Tuesday, April 14It's only Tuesday afternoon and Game 1 isn't until Thursday so I'm trying not to get too excited about the playoffs starting, too early. I don't want to look too far ahead and I know I will get more excited starting Wednesday as the game draws closer.Practice today went well. Not too long, but not too short, not too hard, but not too easy. The coaches are finding a delicate balance at practice to get us ready for Thursday and I think the team responded well today. I did some individual drills with our goaltending coach Bob Essensa to clean some things up and overall I thought it was a pretty good practice for myself and the team.There's no denying the fact that because we are playing Montreal it is definitely an important series. There's obviously a long history between the two teams and it is one of the best rivalries in hockey, and in my opinion is the best rivalry in hockey. I think there's a lot of interest from the general public as well and you can tell that from the increased attention from the media that were out at practice today. But from my point of view as a goalie, I do my best when I'm just playing my game and not really thinking about who we are playing. My focus throughout the playoffs will be focusing on one game at a time, not looking too far ahead and maintaining an even keel. As one of assistant coaches Doug Houda reminds me quite often, "not too high, not too low."I understand that the regular season records are thrown out the window once the playoffs start, but how you played hopefully isn't. My teammates and I would like to carry over the positive momentum from the regular season in to the postseason and continue to do the things that made us successful during the regular season. Today was more or less the calm before the storm. Wednesday I will treat pretty much the same way as today practice in the morning and then hang out at home with my family during the afternoon and evening. I try to spend as much free time with my family as possible before the games get going, because once they do, I'm pretty much useless around the house.Thanks for reading and I will check in after Game 1 with another entry.