(SportsNetwork. Nike Juvenate White .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. Nike Roshe One Flyknit Womens . Brazil will announce a coach on Tuesday to succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari, who resigned after Brazil failed to win the World Cup -- eliminated in a humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals. Nike Air Max 2016 Flyknit Print GS Deep Blue/White/Pink Womens Shoes . The team announced Thursday that the 19-year-old midfielder signed as a "home grown" player. The Sherbrooke, Que., native played five games in the developmental league and twice started reserve league games this season.NATAL, Brazil -- Rock-solid defenders who constantly chase, tackle and bully their opponents have been the key to Greece tactics ever since they became European champions in 2004. A decade ago, that team conceded a miserly four goals at Euro 2004 and its successor only conceded four in qualifying to secure its place at the 2014 World Cup as Greece stayed true to its reputation for hard work and ruthless discipline at the back. That all changed when the squad arrived in Brazil. The teams much-vaunted defence was torn apart in a 3-0 defeat by Colombia, whose display of speed and style sometimes left the Greeks standing around like statues. Greece now faces Japan in Natal on Thursday in a game that could very well put either team out of contention. Japan lost to Ivory Coast 2-1 in its opener, meaning neither team can really afford another defeat if they hope to advance out of Group C. Japan advanced to the round of 16 four years ago but lost to Paraguay on penalties. Greece has bowed out in the group stage in its previous two World Cups. For Greece, the need to rebuild its solid back line will be all the more important at a World Cup that is so far seeing crowd-pleasing flair in attack and plenty of goals: 44 in the first 14 games. Colombia scored in the fifth minute, forcing Greece out of its comfort zone right from the start and attacking with speed on the flanks. Greek frustration was reflected in two of its players drawing yellow cards in the second half. "That wasnt whhat people expected," Greece forward Andreas Samaris said. Nike Free Tr 5.0 Flyknit Womens. . "I know what everyone expected of Greece though: that we would have 11 men behind the ball, defend, defend, defend and give everything to keep a clean sheet. "We went out to win against Colombia, and that philosophy will not change. We just hope it brings a better result for us because Japan is now a must, must-win game for us." Like Colombia, Japan is likely to attack at speed through the Europe-based trio of Shinji Kagawa, Yuto Nagatomo and Keisuke Honda. Against Ivory Coast, Japan had the better of the first half but ultimately struggled as the game got more physical in the second half. The arrival of the Ivorians star striker Didier Drogba as a second-half substitute also raised his teams performance and there was only a muted response from the Japanese. AC Milan midfielder Honda said that the team was determined to bounce back against Greece. "Nobody feels good about losing and obviously it was a shock," Honda, who opened the scoring with a powerful first-half strike, was quoted as saying. "But its not a shock that we lost, the thing that shocks me is we lost because we could not play to our strengths. "We gave our opponents front line too much respect. Mentally we were weak but that is not a problem that cant be fixed. A little bit more spirit can turn things around ... of course we still have an opportunity to get through the group phase." Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '