SportsGal	SOMERVILLE, MA
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                Ask any Hub hockey fan what the current hot button issue is and you’ll get a resounding response:  The NHL All-Star Ballot has been released and the heroic efforts of Tim Thomas have been reduced to a write-in. He got shafted, cheated—bamboozled—and Bruins fans are in an uproar.

                And shouldn’t we be?

                Tim Thomas is the reigning NHL King of Clutch right now, boasting a League best 94.6 save percentage and 1.76 goals against average. Also, his two shutouts on the season put him in a tie for second in the League in that category. With ten Eastern Conference goalies to stock the All-Star ballot with, leaving Thomas off the list is so incomprehensible that I can only assume that this is either an absurd accident, or that he’s simply been victim of a snubbing. I hope for the sake of NHL staff that this is a case of the former and not the latter because I know a few fans who would love to show all responsible parties where they can shove a hockey stick.

                Don’t think that we’re entirely ungracious. We Boston puckheads are thrilled to see that Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, and Marc Savard all got the nod; but it’s not good enough. I’ll even go so far as to say that Tim Thomas is a more justified choice than Martin Brodeur. Who in the name of all that is hockey-holy ever thought they’d hear that sentence uttered? I certainly never imagined I’d have cause to speak against Brodeur, but after being listed as an injured reserve and missing five games between November 3 and 12, he simply doesn’t merit the spot. I think the same goes for New York Islanders goalie, Rick DiPietro, whose knee injury has him relegated to the IR List at least until December. So can Bruins fans really be called greedy for wanting Thomas to be on the ballot?

                Absolutely not.

                Friday’s game versus the Chicago Blackhawks is a perfect example of how deserving our net-minder is. Thomas made 31 saves—18 of those coming in the first period—against a team who has scored 21 goals in their last 4 games. The ‘Hawks had a chance to capitalize when they were awarded a penalty shot in overtime but Thomas hardly looked rattled as he shrugged Patrick Sharp’s offering off his left pad. It’s exactly this capacity to remain cool as a cucumber that has been so impressive of Thomas this year. Sure, we’ve got a whole lot of hockey left, but it’s his thus-far efforts that must be recognized.

                So let’s make Tim Thomas an All-Star.

                As HubHockey pointed out, the NHL has left it up to Bruins fans to get our goalie into that game and I see no reason why we can’t do it.  Websites and social networking groups are popping up all over the internet to make supporting Thomas that much easier. VoteForThomas.com is one site I’ve browsed that links fans directly to the XM Radio voting site and it’s where I’m headed as soon as this blog gets posted.

               Let’s all show some Black and Gold pride, shall we? I’m impressed as it is that any of you can see straight enough to read this after celebrating last night’s 6-1 domination of Les Habs; but shake it off, quit reading, and start voting!