The NHL does a lot to protect goaltenders from getting hit by opposing players. Tim Thomas decided not only did he not need to be protected, but that he was going to take the contact to Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks. Sedin would have had a great chance to score on the play, but Thomas took the body to stop him.
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That is certainly one way to keep the puck out of the net. One has to wonder if Thomas could have been called for an interference penalty because there was clearly no intent to play the puck. If that is ruled legal, then one has to wonder if more goaltenders will start being more proactive in defending their crease as Thomas did.
