Dwayne Roloson back in goal for Tampa Bay Lightning as they look to avoid elimination
The fifth game had a lot hovering over the fact as to who would be the starting goalkeeper for Tampa Bay Lightning. It was not decided till the very last day that Mike Smith would be the starting goal keeper for the team.
With that gone now, Lightning face a very difficult task of avoiding elimination as they are 3-2 down in the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston Bruins. This Tuesday Lightning’s management did not hesitate at all in unveiling the starting goal keeper.
"(Roloson) was the guy that took us here, and that's how I felt before last game", Boucher told reporters. "But I felt like it was time to give him a little breather (for Game 5) ".
Roloson’s performance in the fourth game was by no means the level of game that he possesses. He is among one of the best goalkeepers present in the National Hockey League but the fourth game saw him allowing three goals out of the nine shots that were fired towards his goal.
As a result, he was brought out and Smith came on as his replacement.
The remaining part of the game was played by Smith and he made 21 saves to maintain a 1.00 saves percentage. Lightning’s forward-line was also brilliant on the night as they scored five goals to win the game 5-3 and level the series at 2-2, dismantling some of the pressure off them.
After earning the starting position in the fifth game, Smith wasn’t able to come up with the same level of game that was expected of him.
In the end, Lightning lost the fifth game by 3-1 which has put them in a very difficult position in the series.
Now, they have to win both, the sixth and the seventh game, if they want to make their way into the Stanley Cup Finals.
Even though Roloson has been brilliant during the course of the current play-offs, he hasn’t found the touch as yet in the current series.
A lot is expected out of Roloson as Lightning needs a strong performance from him.
"He's one of the hardest working guys on our team", Boucher said. "He puts in a lot of hours and a lot of time. And he's like everybody else -- at some point or another he just needs to breathe a little bit".
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