Gotta See It: Thomas’s ugly Boston return

Tim Thomas had a rough night against his former team, which can be displayed in these two plays, a goal by tough guy Shawn Thornton, and then Thomas taking out his frustrations on Carl Soderberg.

It turned into a laugher of a game, so it was fitting — albeit eyebrow-raising — that Tim Thomas’s postgame address began with a joke.

“I think I might’ve enjoyed myself watching the State of the Union more,” quipped Thomas, who is such a fan of President Barack Obama that he memorably skipped the Bruins visit to the White House nearly two years to the date. “No, probably not.”

(Ironically, Obama probably would’ve rather watched ESPN than deliver the State of the Union.)

Thomas’s former club was democratic in its assault of their old teammate. Eleven Bruins registered points in what was the Panthers netminder’s worst outing since signing with Florida. Thomas faced 41 shots and surrendered a season-high six goals in his on-ice return to TD Garden.

The most spectacular one came from an unlikely source. Thuggish, ruggish Shawn Thornton made an incredible individual effort in the third frame and roofed one on his old buddy.

Taunts of “Thom-as… Thom-as…” rained down from a crowd that gave him a standing ovation during the Panthers’ last visit to the Garden, when the Conn Smythe winner, sitting injured in the press box, was splashed on the Jumbotron.

Fun fact: Despite scoring just four goals this season, Thornton has now potted one on each of the last three Vezina Trophy winners: Sergei Bobrovsky, Henrik Lundqvist, and now Thomas.

“I don’t know if I ever scored a goal on him in five years at practice,” Thornton told reporters.

Things got ugly in the final minute of the game. Boston’s Carl Soderberg crashed the net looking for a rebound, and Thomas swatted the centreman with his stick. Soderberg hit the deck; Thomas was booed with fervor and dealt two minutes for high sticking.

“Nobody was really running into me, until the end there,” Thomas said. “Soderberg, the play before that, he did a pretty hard jab, and then all a sudden the puck’s up in the air, you’re catching it, and his stick is in my throat. With less than a minute left in the game and they’re up by four goals, 6-2, I took exception to that. But other than that, I didn’t notice. That’s the way the game is played nowadays. Guys are in and around the crease.”

Soderberg was fine afterward, and he maintained his innocence in the confrontation.

“He was the one that did it; you should ask him. I was just going for the rebound,” he said. “We can’t stop play because there is 30 seconds left. We have to try to score the whole game.”

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