A Midseason Rescue Mission - The 2011 Dwayne Roloson Story

(Bruce Bennett/Bruce Bennett Studios)

By Michael Wax

As the ball drops and the calendar flips from 2010 to 2011, the Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves as the surprise of the NHL at 22-11-5. Under first-year owner Jeff Vinik, first-year general manager Steve Yzerman, and first-year head coach Guy Boucher, this team is destroying all preseason expectations. Steven Stamkos is 2nd in the league in goals (31) and points (56) in just 38 games, and Martin St. Louis is right behind him in scoring with 50 points. However, this team is lacking the most crucial thing for any true Stanley Cup Contender: Goaltending.

Dan Ellis and Mike Smith started the season with the Lightning, and both were struggling mightily. Ellis put up a .886 save percentage, while Smith countered with an even worse .883, and both were allowing over three goals a game. Boucher’s group of merry men, who were surprisingly scoring and bought into their defense, were practically begging for a solution in net. On January 1, 2011, right after a 2-1 OT win over the Rangers, the Lightning found their liferaft.

The Trade

Yzerman would trade prospect defenseman Ty Wishart to the New York Islanders. In exchange, the Lightning would acquire the oldest goaltender in the league: Dwayne Roloson.

At first glance, Roloson’s 6-13-1 record looked like quite the eye sore. But his .916 save percentage was anything but. You see, Roloson provided stability. Now, stability is never going to sell you tickets. But stability was exactly what this Tampa Bay Lightning team needed. And, in a way, it allowed the 41-year-old to accomplish something that he had never accomplished in his career: winning the Stanley Cup. His best chance previously came at 36 years old back in 2006 with Edmonton, when an injury in the finals cost him the chance to hoist the Stanley Cup.

The Mission

Just 3 days after the trade, on January 4th 2011, the old man proved that he still had it. In a game that went past regulation, Roloson backstopped the Lightning to a 1-0 overtime shutout against Washington.

His first 11 games in a Lightning uniform saw four shutouts, and while things did slow down at times, Roloson would finish the season with a .912 save percentage in 34 games, and even allowing fewer goals per game than he did with the Islanders before the trade (2.64 with NY vs. 2.56 with Tampa).

The Lightning would finish the season 26-12-6 after the Roloson trade, with 18 of those wins coming under Roloson himself. The Bolts found themselves 5th in the Eastern Conference and matched up with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. 

What followed was one of the great individual postseason runs this franchise has ever seen.

The Run

After taking game two in Pittsburgh, the Bolts dropped back-to-back 3-2 games at home to face a presumably insurmountable lead. Game four was especially tough to swallow, with Roloson making 50 saves but allowing a backbreaking goal along the boards from James Neal to end it. Many teams and goaltenders falter after those moments. However, the Lightning seemed to be the team of destiny.

Roloson responded to the tough Game 4 with three straight wins, including a shutout in Game 7. He became the first goalie in Lightning history to record a shutout in a series-clinching game, back before Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy made it common. His .959 save percentage over those three games was something to behold, including that 36-save shutout in game 7, the oldest goalie in NHL history to record a Game 7 shutout.If the Penguins series was a mild surprise, round 2 against the No. 1 seed Washington Capitals was a shock to the system. In a sweep, Roloson kept the good times going, with a .925 save percentage, including a 35-save performance in the Game 2 OT win. With the sweep, the Lightning reached the conference final for the first time since 2004 and the second time overall.The good times ended in the conference final, as the Bruins solved Roloson in a way he hadn’t been solved in the postseason so far. Roloson was pulled in game 2, game 4, and didn’t start game 5. Game 7 was his masterpiece, with 37 saves, many of them highlight-reel worthy. The only problem was that the man on the other end, Tim Thomas, stopped everything. The Bruins got a goal Roloson had no chance to stop, and just like that, the ride was over.

Finally

For one last harrah, Roloson gave everything he had and then some. His .924 save percentage ranked 2nd among goalies who reached at least the conference semifinals, and he created countless memories. For this writer, that 2011 team got me hooked on hockey.

Sometimes the most important player in a season is the one who shows up in the middle of the year and changes the complexion of the game. In 2011, Dwayne Roloson gave the Bolts the rescue mission they needed.