By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, May 26, 2011
BOSTON — Lightning G Dwayne Roloson takes little credit for his perfect record in elimination games.
Roloson said his 7-0 record is more a reflection of teammates.
"It realistically has zero to do with me," he said. "It's about what they've done in front of me to allow our teams to win."
But as the Lightning faces elimination tonight in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final against the Bruins, it likely needs a better performance out of Roloson.
Roloson allowed four goals on just 20 shots in Wednesday's 5-4 win in Game 6, and he was pulled in Games 2 and 4 of this series. However, knowing how competitive and mentally strong Roloson is, Lightning coach Guy Boucher expects a strong game.
"You look at the last six minutes of (Wednesday's game), and he was right there holding the fort," Boucher said. "That's what he's done for us, whether it was during the season or the playoffs. I know he's a competitor, and (today's) a great day to compete. So he'll be competing."
The Bruins have had success against Roloson but know it won't be easy to continue.
"He's been playing extremely well," C Gregory Campbell said. "We've just been stressing getting traffic in front of him, creating a lot of guys in front of the net. (David Krejci) got a goal there with kind of a scramble to the net (on Wednesday). We have to be relentless with him. He is making the first saves, and if he sees the puck, he's going to make the save. So he's like any other goaltender. Nobody likes traffic."
MEDICAL MATTERS: It looks like Lightning LW Sean Bergenheim will miss his second straight game due to an undisclosed injury.
Bergenheim, third in the league with nine playoff goals, was hurt during the first period of Game 5. Boucher said Bergenheim would see team doctors Thursday and this morning but didn't appear optimistic.
"Right now, it doesn't necessarily look like something positive for us," Boucher said.
Boucher also said D Pavel Kubina (upper body), out since Game 1 of the second round, won't play.
HAVE THE POWER: The Lightning's success on the power play Wednesday, going 3-for-4, was a confidence-builder. Bruins C Patrice Bergeron said they gave Tampa Bay "too many good looks," especially from the point.
And coach Claude Julien predicted Boston's penalty-kill unit "will redeem itself because I know these guys and know this team."
"I think we have a good idea what they're going to do on the power play," Julien said. "The power play is about creating opportunities and a little bit of luck. And there was a couple loose pucks that came out right on their stick. And we can make some adjustments and will make some adjustments."
BEEN THERE: While the Bruins have some bad memories of Game 7s, having lost three of their past four, they say they can draw on a positive one: a home victory over Montreal in the first round this season.
"We know we've been there before, so it's nothing new to us," Krejci said. "Hopefully, we can use our experience to our advantage."
Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@sptimes.com.