(SportsNetwork. D.J. Fluker Seahawks Jersey .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. Jaron Brown Jersey . His recovery time is expected to be six to eight months. Seidenberg was injured in the third period of Fridays 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, when he got his leg tangled with forward Cory Conacher. Byron Maxwell Seahawks Jersey . -- James Harden scored 31 points, including 25 in the second half, and the Houston Rockets dug out of a double-digit, first-half hole to beat the Orlando Magic 101-89 on Wednesday night. http://www.seahawksfansprostore.com/ . The Marlies centre set up three goals, including the game-winner, as Toronto cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Barons in American Hockey League action.PHILADELPHIA -- Playing their fourth game in five nights and missing their leading scorer, the sluggish Nuggets appeared well on their way to their third straight loss. Then they cracked down on defence and found a hot hand off the bench in Jordan Hamilton. Hamilton hit three straight 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter to help Denver overcome a slow start and the absence of Ty Lawson for a 103-92 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. "Hes been doing that for us. He spaces the floor," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said of Hamilton. "We finally got some movement when our guards started to attack, their defence started to converge and he found the open windows." The Nuggets (12-8) led by four with 4:28 to go before Hamilton, who finished with 13 points, made three 3s in a span of 67 seconds to push Denvers lead to 11. It came as part of a 15-2 run that turned an 86-all tie into a 101-88 lead for the Nuggets, who held the Sixers (7-14) to 15 points in the final quarter. "We found a way to contain them and force them to take some tough shots, and Jordan caught a little fire," said Andre Miller, who had eight points and seven assists. Nate Robinson led the way with 20 points and J.J. Hickson contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who had dropped their previous two contests. Tony Wroten finished with 20 points for the Sixers, who held a four-point lead at the half. Philadelphia has dropped 10 of 12. "The right run at the right time definitely helps," Evan Turner said. "I thought we had control of the game most of the game." Turner, the Sixers top scorer, failed to reach double-digit points for just the second time this year, finishing with six points on 3-for-12 shooting. Denver dominated from beyond the arc, where it hit seven 3-pointers to the Sixers three, and on the boards, where it won the rebounding battle 52-38. Philadelphia shot just 7 for 20 in the final quarter and didnt even attempt a free throw. "They went on that run, and we came back on offence and we got good looks," Thaddeus Young said. "But it seemed like we couldnt knock thhem down. Rashaad Penny Jersey. " Both teams played without their starting point guards. Lawson, who left Denvers 106-98 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday, was sidelined with a left hamstring strain. The fifth-year pro leads the Nuggets in scoring (19.3) and assists (8.0). Sixers rookie Michael Carter-Williams spent his third night in the hospital while recovering from an infection on his right knee and missed his second straight game. "Its being monitored closely, but nothing to get too overly concerned with," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said before the game. Philadelphia is 1-5 this season without Carter-Williams. The Sixers jumped out of the gate quickly on a 10-2 run. Denver took its first lead 23-22 with 1:53 in the first, but Hollis Thompsons 3-pointer with 47 seconds to go sparked Philadelphia to a 27-25 advantage after 12 minutes. The fifth game of a six-game road swing might have taken its toll on the Nuggets, who have been plagued recently with slow starts and trailed after the first quarter for the fifth straight game. Philadelphia played an unusually clean first half in which it turned the ball over just four times to take a 53-49 lead into intermission. One of the leagues worst in turning over the ball, the 76ers entered averaging 18 giveaways per night. Wroten started in Carter-Williams place and led the way at the half with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting. As a team, the Sixers shot 50 per cent from the floor before halftime. "Tony Wroten was hot," Hamilton said. "They were getting some good looks at the rim. ... Their reserves came in and scored some shots, and we said, Man, we just gotta crack down on these guys. And thats what we did." NOTES: Lawson did not play for the first time this season. The Nuggets were 8-1 last year without Lawson in the lineup. ... The Sixers outscored the Nuggets 64-42 in the paint. ... The 76ers observed a moment of silence prior to the game for South African leader Nelson Mandela, who died Thursday at 95. ... On Monday, the Nuggets wrap up their six-game road trip at the Washington Wizards and the Sixers host the Los Angeles Clippers. 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