Young Goalie steals show as Bolts win 2-1 OT, acquire Roloson in trade

Tampa, Fla. (RSE) Jan 1, 2010–The goaltending position for the Tampa Bay Lightning (23-11-5) made news on and off the ice tonight.  Rookie Cedrick Desjardins was spectacular tonight in net making 34 saves, a number of them were of the highlight reel variety, as he notched his second victory in the NHL in as many starts in leading the Lightning past New York Rangers (22-14-3) 2-1 in OT. 

However the biggest news of the evening was made by Coach Guy Boucher at his press conference after the game; when he announced the team had acquired veteran Dwayne Roloson from the New York Islanders for defenseman Ty Wishart, who is currently playing in Norfolk in the AHL.

“It was an opportunity that obviously Steve (Yzerman) felt he could not pass up, it was an opportunity that sometimes you have to jump on.”  Boucher discussed the acquisition of Roloson after the game.

Roloson, 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, has played in 20 games with the Islanders this season, posting a 6-13-1 record, a .916 save percentage and 2.64 goals-against average.  He leads all New York goaltenders each category as well as games played.

This gives the team a stabilizing presence in net as the team makes a push in the Southeast Division and overall in the Eastern Conference.  The addition of Roloson makes the Lightning in the conversation of favorites to win the Eastern Conference.

Tampa Bay’s Energy line or DNA line as Coach Boucher calls them put the Bolts on the scoreboard first; as Nate Thompson passed the puck off the boards to Dana Tyrell who steamed up the ice and put in an excuse me shot that’s acted like a changeup passed Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist at 13:03 of the first period.  Tyrell is finally rewarded for his continued hard work and effort to score his 4^th goal of the season.

Tyrell then returned the favor as he fed Thompson who buried the puck 19 seconds into the overtime period his 6^th goal of the year.  It would have been a cruel way to have the game end had the Bolts not finished off the game as it deserved the two points in the game.

The only blemish on the night for the young goalie was Marian Gaborik who scored his 11^th goal of the year with 46 seconds left in the game.  It was also announced that Desjardins will be sent back down to Norfolk in the AHL.  The Lightning was able to learn that they have a special young player in Desjardins who was scheduled to be a free agent after the year.  So I would figure that the young man earned a contract for the future from the Bolts.

Game Notes:  Tampa Bay goaltenders are finally finding their mojo as the group of Mike Smith, Dan Ellis and rookie Cedrick Desjardins have put together a streak of solid play in the face of speculation that the team maybe looking for goaltending help outside the organization.  They have provided the Lightning with a 6-1-1 record with a 1.82 GAA .933 save percentage over the last 8 games played. 

Coming into the New Year the team had its best December in franchise history with an 8-3-2 record.  The trio of Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, and Marty St Louis has scored 12 of the last 14 goals, with only Ryan Malone and Pavel Kubina denting the score sheet.