WILMINGTON -- Tim Thomas is charged with the tall task of playing just as well in the playoffs as he did in the regular season. Given that he set the NHL save percentage record at .938 this season, all eyes will be on the Boston netminder to see how far he can bring the B's.

Yet simply sustaining his regular season success is not the only thing that surrounds Thomas as he prepares to kick off the 2011 postseason against the Habs on Thursday. The storylines for the 36-year-old netminder are plentiful, but once the games begin, Thomas’ focus will be on the ice. 

A LONGER STAY AT LAKE PLACID 

Unless a pair of defensemen are injured and Matt Bartkowski has to jump in, Thomas is likely to be the only American-born Bruin to play in this series. That means that the Bruins’ two days in Lake Placid between Games 3 and 4 might be a little more special to him than for his teammates. 

The site of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice,” Lake Placid means something to Thomas, who recalls watching USA defeat the Soviets as a five-year-old. 

“Huge,” Thomas said when asked what it meant to his love for hockey. “It was the biggest influence of my youth as far as hockey went, by far. Jim Craig, just the whole US Olympic experience. I'm 36 years old, almost 37, and I can still remember seeing it on TV when it happened.”

Thomas actually got to play there while in college, as UVM played in the ECAC finals there back in the 1990’s.

"All we did was drive in, play and drive out,” Thomas recalled. “I haven't gotten to see very much of it."

Thomas looks forward to seeing more of Lake Placid and taking in the atmosphere, but he made it clear Tuesday that it is ultimately a place for the team to practice. The B’s are leaving Montreal for a couple of days to avoid distractions such as the Zdeno Chara/Max Pacioretty fiasco, so Thomas won’t get carried away with history while they’re in Lake Placid.

“It’s going to be a place to get away outside of Montreal. Zee probably shouldn't need a security guard there in Lake Placid, you know,” he said with a laugh. “I think it's more for that purpose -- a way to step back and relax -- instead of being in downtown Montreal and part of the circus.” 

NOT BUILDING IT UP

One interesting storyline in this series is that both Thomas and Carey Price have had less success than they’d like in the opposing team’s buildings.  Thomas has a 3.50 goals against average in two starts at the Bell Centre, while Carey Price is at a 5.11 mark this season at TD Garden. 

Thomas, who was 0-1-1 in his starts in Montreal this season (he came 2:22 away from a shutout on Jan. 8 before losing, 3-2, in overtime) isn’t concerned about how the goaltenders have fared in the different arenas. When it comes to this series, he’s just as concerned with keeping focused in Boston as he is in Montreal. 

“Even if I'm home in Boston, if I make a good save and people are cheering about it, unfortunately, because of the way the game is, I have to just block it out and start worrying automatically about stopping the next puck. I don't have to time to stop and go, 'this is pretty cool, 20,000 people are cheering for me.' You can't really do that.” 

Thomas said that in his first taste of postseason action in Montreal back in 2008, he got so caught up in trying to "appreciate the atmosphere" that it messed him up in the first couple minutes of the game .

“It can be one of the funnest places to play. There's so much energy,” he said of the Bell Centre. “You have to learn to channel it to good. Sometimes you have to block the energy, so you can just remain focused and calm, but other times you can use the energy. The atmosphere can make it easier or harder. It's up to you. Whichever way you want to channel it.”

As for it being a difficult venue, Thomas had an interesting take.

“There is no toughest place to play,” Thomas said when asked if the Bell Centre was the hardest arena in which to play. “Has Montreal won a Cup since they've been in the Bell Centre? Well then it can't be the hardest place to play. 

“Every year, it depends on the team you're playing against more than it does the building. The building shouldn't matter. Obviously, the home crowd can help fuel the energy of the home team, but the away team has to be able to overcome that.”

GOALIE FIGHT A DISTANT MEMORY

The image of Thomas struggling to seemingly climb up Price’s sleeve in the fantastically short-lived (and overrated, as they often are) goalie-fight on Feb. 9 is one that might remain in the minds of Bruins fans forever. 

Yet for Thomas and Price, while it may be an amusing image, it’s one that they’ve put on the back burner. The two get along and have the same understanding of things. 

“I bet we're both too focused on trying to stop the puck to worry about that stuff,” Thomas said. “It isn't like we have each other's phone number. We're both pretty busy and stuff."

Thomas has been able to laugh about the fight since the night it happened. He had said he had a strategy going into the fight, but that it failed him. 

“That's the way it goes. I mean, there's not much to look back on, and I've already looked back on it,” Thomas said. “I actually have to look forward to tomorrow and start getting ready to play that game.”