(SportsNetwork.com) - Tuukka Rask had a first-hand look at how important Tim Thomas was to the Boston Bruins franchise. Rask and the Bruins will face their former teammate on Thursday night, when Thomas is expected to start for the Florida Panthers against visiting Boston. Thomas, a former ninth-round pick by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 draft, signed as a free agent with the Bruins in 2002 and made his NHL debut with the club that season, appearing in four games. He eventually became the No. 1 goaltender with the Bruins and went 196-121-45 in 378 regular-season games with the club. The 39-year-old also posted a postseason record of 29-21 in 50 games with the Bruins, logging a 2.07 goals against average and .933 save percentage. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2011 after helping lead Boston to its first Stanley Cup title since 1972. Thomas, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, played one more season with the Bruins before sitting out the lockout-shortened campaign. He became a free agent this past offseason and appeared in training camp with the Panthers on a professional tryout before signing a one-year deal just before the start of the season. Thomas has made three appearances with the Panthers, allowing nine goals on 60 shots faced. However, he has not played since exiting last Tuesdays game versus Philadelphia early with a groin injury. He is expected to play tonight, per Floridas official twitter account. "All those years shooting on him in practice and what not, I think itll be fun to finally shoot on him in a game and Im sure hes looking forward to it as well," said Bostons Milan Lucic. "Im sure hes happy to be back in the NHL playing and hes found a new home here in Florida." Thomas year off allowed Rask to grab hold of Bostons starting goaltender job after he spent the majority of his career backing up the former since being acquired from Toronto on June 24, 2006. Rask went 19-10-5 with a 9.29 GAA in 36 games last season, helping the Bruins get to the Stanley Cup Finals. "I never thought that we would play against each other. But Im glad that he made his comeback and proved people wrong again, and I hope he does well," said the 26-year-old Rask, who is 7-1-0 with a 0.86 GAA, .972 save percentage and three shutouts lifetime versus the Panthers. Boston will play three straight on the road after opening the season with four of five at home and lost for the second time in its past three games with Mondays 3-2 setback to Detroit. Loui Eriksson and Milan Lucic tallied for the Bruins, while Rask made 24 saves. "Were really struggling with our finish right now. The chances are there but goals are not coming easy," noted Bruins head coach Claude Julien. The Panthers, meanwhile, begin a six-game homestand and have lost five of seven to begin the season. They were last in action on Tuesday, a 4-3 setback to Nashville. Jonathan Huberdeau, Marcel Goc and Matt Gilroy netted goals in the loss, while Jacob Markstrom surrendered all four goals on 30 shots. "We did some good things tonight with our forecheck and creating turnovers," said Huberdeau. "We can look to build on that for our next game and get some of our mistakes straightened out." The Bruins won all three of their meetings with the Panthers a season ago, outscoring them 11-2. They have won nine of the last 11 encounters overall and six of the past seven in Florida. Derek Stepan Jersey . "This doesnt end anything," he said. "Weve got 10-1 in our last 11 games, and were going home in first place. We just have to keep playing the way we are right now. Ryan Kesler Jersey . Milan was held to 1-1 at home by Torino. Cagliari scored six minutes from halftime when Mauricio Pinilla blasted home from the penalty spot after Facundo Roncaglia tripped Marco Sau. The home side could have doubled its tally in stoppage time as first Fiorentina defender Stefan Savic almost scored an own goal then Albin Ekdals shot clipped the top of the upright. http://www.hockeyauthenticusaonline.us/Kyle-Palmieri-Jersey/ . Monta Ellis had 30 points and nine assists, Nowitzki was another of seven Dallas players in double figures with 11 points and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-104 Tuesday night. Jamie Langenbrunner Jersey .75 million contract for the 2014 season and avoided arbitration. The team announced the agreement on Tuesday. T. J. Oshie Team USA Hockey Jersey .J. -- Kyle Palmieri thrilled his personal rooting section with an overtime winner that sent the Anaheim Ducks to their seventh straight win.To ask, “How many wins do the Winnipeg Goldeyes have in their last 10 games?,” one would find the answer in the question. The Goldeyes ran their winning streak to 10 games with an 8-4 win over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Saturday night at Newman Outdoor Field before 3,990 spectators, including a small, vocal crowd of Winnipeg fans. The win increases Winnipegs lead to franchise record 8 1/2 games in the American Associations North Division over the St. Paul Saints and matches a franchise record 10 victories in a row. “It was a good effort all around,” Goldeyes pitching coach Jamie Vermilyea said on the Jewel 101 post-game show. “Chandler (Barnard) filled up the zone early and often and the guys were swinging the bats. Its been a broken record for those guys lately. “The guys are doing well with situational hitting and taking advantage of the RBI opportunities.” The Goldeyes consistently pounded on Fargo starter Jake Laber by scoring in five consecutive innings from second to sixth innings. Winnipeg got on the scoreboard in the top of the second when Ryan Pineda beat out a double play ball, which allowed Brock Bond to score from third. The Goldeyes went up 2-0 in the top of the third, as Casey Haerther scored on a Donnie Webb sac fly. In the top of the fourth, the Goldeyes created some breathing room for themselves when Tyler Kuhn hit a two-RBI triple with one out. Kuhn then scored on a Josh Mazzola sac fly, for what stood up to be the game-winning run. Reggiee Abercrombie added a triple himself in the top of the fifth, which scored Webb.dddddddddddd Abercrombie then scored on a Luis Alen sac fly. The Goldeyes completed their scoring streak in the top of the sixth when Kuhn scored on an RBI single by Ray Sadler. During the offensive onslaught, Goldeyes starter Barnard retired 11 RedHawk batters in a row from the second to fifth innings. Fargo finally got to Barnard in the bottom of the sixth when Ronnie Bourquin hit a three-run home run. Barnard rebounded to retire three of the next four batters he faced to get out of the inning. The RedHawks added a run in the bottom of the eighth and made it interesting with two runners on the base in the bottom of the ninth, but Chris Kissock struck out Nic Jackson to end the game. The Goldeyes have now won five consecutive series. Haerther paced Winnipeg with a four-for-five night at the plate to up his league-leading batting average to .427, while Kuhn had two RBI. Bond was the only player not to register a hit for the Goldeyes, who had 16 hits in the game. Barnard went 6 1/3 innings for his third consecutive win in as many starts for the Goldeyes. “When hes aggressive with that sinker, hes going to be good,” Vermilyea said. Laber suffered the loss for Fargo. Winnipeg tagged him for eight runs on 13 hits. The series finale goes Sunday afternoon in Fargo at 1 p.m. Ethan Hollingsworth (2-0, 2.55) will take the ball for Winnipeg against Fargos Brian Ernst (3-4, 6.60). 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