Roloson Emerging as Bona Fide #1 Goalie
Looking at Dwayne Roloson in net, you would think the guy is a spring chicken.
Certainly he's acted as such in the past few games he's started. Though shaky in the Isles' 4-1 loss to St. Louis, he's been very good in net in the month of November, and stole the show last night with a 58-save performance in the Islanders' 4-3 overtime win over the Maple Leafs. Facing a team known for throwing plenty of frozen rubber at opposing goalies, he made save after acrobatic save, keeping his team in the game in the beginning and somehow salvaging a point when they lost grip in the end. Sure, Josh Bailey scored the game-winner with about a minute left, but it was Roloson who kept them from being humiliated in regulation. It was only by the grace of the hockey gods and a couple of weird bounces that the Isles had even gotten out to a 3-0 lead in the first place; if you look at the shot totals and the faceoff win percentages of the respective teams, there should have been no way New York could even come close. Watching the actual game made it even more mind-boggling, but it all goes back to the man in between the pipes.
Of course, this all built up over time. Fans had been wondering when we would be seeing this Dwayne Roloson, after he struggled a bit (particularly in shootouts- but then again, who is as good at them on this team as Rick DiPietro?) but he's seemed to find his groove somehow, as the Isles go up and down as far as wins and losses. One thing they do need, other than a reliable defense, is a steady presence in net, and Roli has started to become that. His five-hole still needs a little bit of work, but overall his angles are great and his athleticism is astounding. (I'd say "for a man his age," but a. there aren't many other guys who I know can do that and b. Christine might yell at me... lol.) Though Martin Biron has been good, he hasn't been able to have the same luck on the Island so far (either that or he just can't play with this D). This might be why we're seeing Roloson get slightly more starts now, and in my opinion it's well-deserved.
Kudos to Roli for last night's performance. Keep it up!
LET'S GO ISLANDERS!
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3 comments:
Yes his body was fluid last night and yes he made 58 saves however what any team needs in a goalie is consistency, let's come down from last night's high and see what he does from here...in the long run. There is no reason a 40 year old can't move like that. Martin Brodeur is 37. As much as I like Biron, he so does not fit on LI, not his fault, just not a good player/organization match up.
Ok so the Isles didn't have the best game but it certainly wasn't their worst - I'm just glad it was the other team who could only get 3 of 61 shots past the goalie.
And If it sounds like I'm yelling it's probably because I don't have my hearing aide in. : )~
Don't lie, you just like to yell at me. =P
Heh? I can't hear you. I'm old like Roloson. Oh Lordy I'm older. Where's a cliff?
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