NHL Playoffs 2012: Who Has the Goaltending Edge in the Bruins-Capitals Series?

Besides the obvious difference in age and experience, what exactly has separated Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas from his first-round counterpart in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs?

The modified, more operative question is probably this: What will separate them apart come Wednesday night?

After Boston’s season-extending 4-3 overtime victory in Game 6 on Sunday, there is at least one new fact to throw into the equation. Washington Capitals’ netminder Braden Holtby is 0-1 in his young NHL career when trying to close out an adversary.

On the flip side, Thomas is now 9-2 when trying to stave off the start of his summer.

In addition, Thomas improved to 2-1 in elimination games that go to overtime and holds an identical 2-1 record in overtime games in this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. He will enter Game 7 with a 5-4 record when trying to close out an opponent while Holtby will have the new experience of trying to avoid elimination.

Three of the first six Bruins-Capitals bouts have required sudden death with Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin winning Games 1 and 6, respectively, for Boston while Nicklas Backstrom gave the Caps a 2-1 triumph in Game 2.

In a cumulative 27 minutes and 31 seconds of overtime, Thomas has stopped 11 out of 12 shots while Holtby has repelled 16 out of 18. Their respective save percentages in that scenario amount to .917 for Thomas and .889 for Holtby.

Holtby’s goals-against average in overtime is 4.36 while Thomas has authorized an average of 2.18 instant deciders.

Both stats are minor and likely trivial details, but existent ones nonetheless.

And bonus action or not, each of the first six games have been decided by a single goal and by the very last goal scored in the game. Simply put, three of those goodnight goals have found their way behind Holtby’s back and another three behind Thomas’.

In the series as a whole, Thomas will carry a 2.18 goals-against average into Wednesday night’s rubber game, matching Holtby’s. The Caps rookie has an edge in save percentage with .935 as opposed to the .922 on Thomas’ transcript.

All but two of the 28 goals scored so far have been either go-aheads or equalizers. Thomas is the only stopper to have conceded a two-goal deficit to date, whereas Holtby is the only one guilty of letting a multi-goal advantage evaporate.

Thomas has allowed nine go-ahead goals and four equalizers, including three in Sunday’s win. Holtby has allowed seven go-aheads, including four in Sunday’s overtime loss, and six equalizers.

The 38-year-old reigning Conn Smythe winner and the 22-year-old call-up from the AHL have engaged in an epic staring contest and arm-wrestling bout that will fittingly be settled in a seventh game on Wednesday.

Only then will the contesting entities be set apart after two weeks of the goaltenders virtually personifying their teams and certainly catalyzing the story of the series.

But the freshest details, namely those generated from Sunday’s Game 6, may be the most telling to take into that rubber match.

Thomas may be in the early onset of his skill deterioration and doubtlessly has less energy than he did in his banner campaign last year. But he still has the same requisite willpower and mental toughness that won him four elimination games in 2011 and another on Sunday.

Holtby may have garnered justifiable confidence and his team justifiable faith in him over the last 11 days. But still has yet to see much of Boston’s strike force at its best.

For the better part of their series with the Capitals, the Bruins have done anything but play like the team that averaged 3.17 goals per game in the regular season, which was good for a tie with Philadelphia for second in the league.

The Bruins mustered only seven goals over the first four games and entered the third period of Game 5 having whiffed on 14 straight power-play opportunities.

But over the weekend, they tallied seven more goals in a span of two games, effectively doubling their productivity rate. Their man-up brigade is now on a two-game scoring streak, having converted two of its last six chances.

The top line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin all garnered two points apiece on Sunday after combining for two points over their first five battles with Holtby.

Assuming the Bruins forwards, and some prolific point patrollers as well, are permanently out of their spring hibernation, Holtby will have to right to feel a little more pressure on Wednesday. He missed his chance to win his first playoff round in the favorable atmosphere of the Verizon Center and now must take his mulligan at TD Garden, where the momentum is ostensibly flowing back in Boston’s favor.

Thomas is 2-1 in Game 7s played in front of the Causeway congregation, the two wins coming last year after a learning experience of a loss in 2009. He holds a lifetime home playoff record of 17-8.

And a bonus day of rest can only work in favor of the player who came off a short, celebratory summer and a slightly overworked homestretch with the March 3 injury to Tuukka Rask.

By the slimmest of margins, and owing to only partially related factors, the Bruins look to have the edge in the crease. But that could change at any time depending on what Thomas and Holtby’s praetorian guards bring to Wednesday night’s faceoff.