Roloson or Smith?

[D3 Mighty Ducks]

Who do the Lightning go with in Game 5 in Boston? Roloson has led the charge this post-season for the Lightning but as of late it looks like the fatigue has caught up to him. Roloson has let in 11 goals on his last 66 shots he's faced. Or do you go with Mike Smith who came in to relief Roloson yesterday and the team responded with 5 unanswered goals. I know a lot of you would say to go back with Roloson, the guy who basically carried you here, but I'd have to disagree. I believe in keeping the team that won you the game together. Which means starting Mike Smith in Game 5 and letting him steal the spotlight and the lead the Lightning to the Cup Final.

Thoughts?

[face]

i say rest roloson for another game, give smith a start. let roloson play game 6, he did look tired. but the thing is, i don't make the decisions in tampa bay right now.

[DwightShrute]

go with the guy that got you there IMO

it's easy to always dump on goalies but usually its the team in front that needs to be criticized. Always blaming the goalie is usually done by the short sighted fans who really don't understand the game.

Look at the 3rd period in Vancouver in game 2 with Niemi letting in 4 goals. The team in front of him gave up and it was a shooting gallery. Yet, some will say Niemi sucks. LOL. And Thomas yesterday giving up 5 in the last 2 periods.

[DennisGreen]

History suggests that they roll with Rolly and I think they will. He looked bad last game but he's got them this far so I don't see them letting Mike Smith take over now.

[mcaulay777]

Great too see Mike Smith get to play.Saw him play here in Des Moines when he played for the Iowa Stars in the AHL when he was in the Dallas Stars Organization.

[Jackson Hole]

I think you have to go with Smith, for whatever reason the Bruins haven;t scored with him in net.

Rolly has been pulled twice already, not that all the goals were his fault.

Ride the hot hand in Smith

[steviec27]

You gotta think if they start Smith what will that do to Rollys confidence. Could knock him down or fire him up, who's to know.

Sometimes after a bad game it's good for the goalie to get back in there and put it right. He dont wanna be on the bench thinking the coach has no faith in him.

I'd go with Rolly.

[Lint Pockets]

doesnt matter either way bruins are winning at home and then winning the series.

[Jackson Hole]

IF you dont start Rolly do you lose him for the rest of the playoffs. I dont think he was pulled for a lack of confidence, rather Boucher needed to change the momentum.

[Marauders]

Got to go back to Roloson to avoid any goalie controversy. But he will be on a short leash should he get off to another bad start like he did last game.

[Seattle Slew]

Roloson gets one more start for sure before they switch. If he plays bad in Game 5, you gotta go Smith in Game 6.

[FindTheLock]

If not for roloson the lightning wouldn't have made it out of round 1. he's old and had a few bad games, but his defense was a major letdown in front of him. The 1rst goal in game 3 was WEAK, but it wasn't rolosons fault. The second goal was rolosons fault, but that didn't matter because the lightning didn't score to help him out. I think Roloson is still the main guy, and he should start until he lets too many get past him. The lightning need to clean up their sloppy passing in front of their own net.

[DennisGreen]

Roloson is in for game 5 confirmed on Twitter via Bob McKenzie.

[D3 Mighty Ducks]

go with the guy that got you there IMO

it's easy to always dump on goalies but usually its the team in front that needs to be criticized. Always blaming the goalie is usually done by the short sighted fans who really don't understand the game.

Look at the 3rd period in Vancouver in game 2 with Niemi letting in 4 goals. The team in front of him gave up and it was a shooting gallery. Yet, some will say Niemi sucks. LOL. And Thomas yesterday giving up 5 in the last 2 periods.

Who you calling a short sighted fan? When did I blame Roloson for going down 3-0 after the first period? All I am saying is if the Bruins haven't scored when Smith is between the pipes why not stick with whats working. The momentum has shifted in favor of the Lightning after their 5 unanswered goals. I think the logical thing for the Lightning to do and if I were a coach would be to roll with Smith and let Roloson ride the pine for Game 5. I wouldn't completely rule out Roloson starting in game 6, but no doubt Smith should start game 5 and keep the winning team together. Am I making any sense or am I just a "short sighted fan"?

[D3 Mighty Ducks]

Roloson is in for game 5 confirmed on Twitter via Bob McKenzie.

Dumb move in my opinion by the Lightning. Really dumb move.

[FindTheLock]

one thing is for certain. No lead in this series is safe. It has made no difference whether the Goalies were hot or cold, so far what it really boils down to is who has the better offense, and for that reason I like tampa to win this series. thomas gave up 4 unanswered in game 4, I wonder why no one is talking about pulling him out of the net?

[KnuckKnasty]

In my opinion, the only reason the series isn't 3-1 or 4-0 TB is there goaltender problem. They've shown that they compete against the Bruins (especially Thomas). Roloson has had some good games and some poor games. He came back pretty strong after his let down in game 2. Lets hope that he does the same in game 5. Sometimes goaltenders have breakdowns. I say start him and game 5 and see how he performs.

In Game 1: 31-33 (93%) and game 3: 23-25 (92%)
In game 2: 21-27 (77%) and game 4: 6-9 (66%)

With the goaltender situation in mind, who do you all think is going to take this series?

[Miser]

Got to stick with Roloson he's the horse that got them here

[FindTheLock]

In my opinion, the only reason the series isn't 3-1 or 4-0 TB is there goaltender problem. They've shown that they compete against the Bruins (especially Thomas). Roloson has had some good games and some poor games. He came back pretty strong after his let down in game 2. Lets hope that he does the same in game 5. Sometimes goaltenders have breakdowns. I say start him and game 5 and see how he performs.

In Game 1: 31-33 (93%) and game 3: 23-25 (92%)
In game 2: 21-27 (77%) and game 4: 6-9 (66%)

With the goaltender situation in mind, who do you all think is going to take this series?

game 2 was won by the refs. That's all there is to say about that game. Boston didn't deserve to be within 3 goals if the refs didn't send them on the PP after phantom penalties added up to about an entire period of being a man down or worse for the lightning. Tampa shouldn't have any problems winning this series as long as roloson gets some help in front. Some of the lightnings defenders are turning the puck over like they are trying to get an assist on the boston stat sheet.

[bobbyk1133]

Roloson should get the start. If they lose game 5 and get desperate they could always turn to Smith in game 6.

As shaky as Roloson's been, we are talking about SMITH here! I don't care how good he looked in relief--it's a much different story when you prepare as the starter. There's a reason why Yzerman shipped Ellis out of town and brought in Roloson....

[dazed99]

Roloson is confirmed game 5 starter

[skm39]

It doesn't matter who they start because Tim Thomas just guaranteed the Bruins will win the series

[FlashinLeather]

gotta go with the man that got you there, roli all the way

[avssakic]

Roloson with the bounce back game tonight

[k13]

It doesn't matter who they start because Tim Thomas just guaranteed the Bruins will win the series

ha, great, now they are going to lose for sure.

[sanchez]

You gotta think if they start Smith what will that do to Rollys confidence. Could knock him down or fire him up, who's to know.

Sometimes after a bad game it's good for the goalie to get back in there and put it right. He dont wanna be on the bench thinking the coach has no faith in him.

I'd go with Rolly.

roloson is a 41 year old pro hockey player

i don't think self confidence is an issue

he isn't 15 years old

[bigsmitty]

Have to start Rolly but I'm sure he's on a medium leash-three or four goals seems like the "over/under" point in that regard through the first forty minutes. Cheers

[hockey216]

either goalie can get it done. roloson didn't have a perfect game in game 4, but none of those 3 goals were his fault. he could have had the 3rd one, but it was still a big turnover that led to a chance in the slot. he's the 2nd best goalie in playoffs behind thomas. smith has been good too. either way i dont think they can go wrong. but i expect roloson in net. hes been solid all playoffs. cant blame him for crazy defensive breakdowns right in front of the net.

[D3 Mighty Ducks]

It doesn't matter who they start because Tim Thomas just guaranteed the Bruins will win the series

Heard about this as well. Thomas has the ability to steal a game or two like we've seen him do in the Montreal series. When a goalie guarantees anything you know hes going to be playing his heart out. If we all agree that Roloson will be looking for a chance to redeem himself after getting yanked in 2 out of 4 games this series and Timmy Thomas is guaranteeing winning the series, the Under 5.5 might be a worth a look tonight.

[the_situation]

Roloson easily

[DwightShrute]

Who you calling a short sighted fan? When did I blame Roloson for going down 3-0 after the first period? All I am saying is if the Bruins haven't scored when Smith is between the pipes why not stick with whats working. The momentum has shifted in favor of the Lightning after their 5 unanswered goals. I think the logical thing for the Lightning to do and if I were a coach would be to roll with Smith and let Roloson ride the pine for Game 5. I wouldn't completely rule out Roloson starting in game 6, but no doubt Smith should start game 5 and keep the winning team together. Am I making any sense or am I just a "short sighted fan"?

I wasn't calling you short sighted. Sorry if you took it that way. I was making a general statement to guys that 'always' blame the goalie. You obviously know hockey and don't fall in that category.

[FindTheLock]

I don't think the goalie mattered as much as the defensive turn overs getting cleaned up when smith got to come in. If Roloson stayed in the game after surrendering those first 3 goals I think he could have pitched a shutout too, providing he got the same blocks smith got. Roloson got hung out to dry in the first period by his defense. I don't blame him for most of those goals, but he did let a few weak ones in recently, and I am not denying that. I am a lightning fan and I want roloson in the net tonight. I have seen what he can do and having a few bad games isn't going to make me forget that.

[General Custer]

Gotta stick with the guy that got you there. Roloson knows hes got a short leash especially playing on the road but after almost 20+ years of pro hockey I dont think nerves and such get to him very much. Starting Smith in Game 5 would show a complete lack of faith in Roloson and would pretty much guarantee him riding the bench for the remainder of the playoffs

[D3 Mighty Ducks]

I wasn't calling you short sighted. Sorry if you took it that way. I was making a general statement to guys that 'always' blame the goalie. You obviously know hockey and don't fall in that category.

All good bro

[DwightShrute]

All good bro