NEWSPost India

With the current NHL season just about one quarter of the way through and casting an eye over the league, what players have surprised you with their unexpectedly high level of play? Two names spring to mind. Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins and Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Both have raised eyebrows around the National Hockey League for different reasons, but primarily because of the excellent play from both players early in the 2010-11 season. Thomas has been almost unbeatable in the Bruins’ net while Stamkos has continued where he left off last season with deadly scoring ability and leads the league in points.

The start that Thomas has enjoyed this season could be the story of the year if he can continue riding this winning streak. He leads all NHL goaltenders with 4 shutouts which rivals the record set by Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk of 4 shutouts in 15 games that was set a lifetime ago during the 1955-56 season. And Thomas owns a sparkling .959 save percentage and only trails Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Mathieu Garon for the league lead in goals against average, although Garon has only appeared in half the games as Thomas.

All this is very welcome news for Boston and Thomas in particular, as many in the hockey community had decided the 36-year-old Thomas was washed up after his dismal play last season. Poor goaltending combined with a severe lack of scoring on the part of Thomas’ teammates resulted in a big drop in the Bruins points total last season, although the team did surprise many by advancing as far as they did in last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs. Boston was lucky to have Tuukka Rask step up and play extremely well for them. This season it looks like Rask’s turn in the doghouse as he has been in net for 4 straight losses.

Stamkos Will Easily Hit 50 Goals Again This Season
Right at the end of last season, Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos surprised everyone by finishing the season with 51 goals and tying Sidney Crosby for the most goals thereby earning a share of the coveted Rocket Richard Trophy given to the player (or players in the event of a tie) who score the most goals during the regular season.

Stamkos finished the year with a flourish and looks to continue his torrid pace this season as he has 16 goals in his first 18 games this season. That along with the 14 assists he has earned put him right at the top of the league for scoring, one point up on Crosby.

Stamkos is still just a kid really, even though he is now in his 3rd season with the Lightning, he won’t turn 21 until February, so he is really turning into the blue chip player that Tampa Bay hoped he would develop into when they drafted him. Although it is extremely unlikely that he can continue scoring at the rate he has shown early in the season, he would hit the 70 goal mark. Unlikely, but not unheard of. We’ll have to see where he is in 6 months time.