Really happy to watch them play much better and have some success around the net today - at both ends! After getting embarrassed yesterday I was hoping they would have a decent response.
Looking ahead to the schedule, there's alot of home games coming up - 12 of the remaining 20. That's a good thing.
This team is much better when Garon is in the net and Marty, what a legend!
They are now more familiar with Garon, and he's playing more consistently, so that's to be expected. But I think if you compare yesterday with today, the opponent has more to do with it. Each goalie has now allowed 9 GA over 2 games each vs PIT - Garon 5 & 4, and Roli 1 & 8. For 3 games this season, the Pens have been able to exploit the entire Bolt lineup.
Nice win today. These wins ought a be encouraging to the guys in that locker room. I mean with a little more help on defense and goaltending this team is very very good. With the way Garon plays it makes you think with just a little help on defense alone this team can be very very good. Boucher has these guys working and playing hard out there. Imagine with just a little added talent on defense. SFY can do just those things with those draft choices. It has this bolts fan thinking big for 2012 season and beyond. It should be fun to watch this team play for the last bit of the season. No matter what happens. They show up.
They are now more familiar with Garon, and he's playing more consistently, so that's to be expected. But I think if you compare yesterday with today, the opponent has more to do with it. Each goalie has now allowed 9 GA over 2 games each vs PIT - Garon 5 & 4, and Roli 1 & 8. For 3 games this season, the Pens have been able to exploit the entire Bolt lineup.
Don't get me wrong, I love what Rolo did last season for us and what he has done earlier in his career and he seems to be a great guy..
..but he is playing like crap this season and im sure he would be the first one to admit.
I know Rolo is your favourite and it is always tough to hear criticism against a player you like but when he will retire you will be thankful that he played for such a long time and had so many great moments, this season it's not just working for him.
Don't get me wrong, I love what Rolo did last season for us and what he has done earlier in his career and he seems to be a great guy..
..but he is playing like crap this season and im sure he would be the first one to admit.
I know Rolo is your favourite and it is always tough to hear criticism against a player you like but when he will retire you will be thankful that he played for such a long time and had so many great moments, this season it's not just working for him.
I appreciate your comments, and the fact you have put them in context of his entire career, and not just this season, and really that's all I would like from this board. My comment wasn't a defence of his play this year, believe me, I've seen him struggle before. It is especially tough this season knowing it's probably his last, but no worries, there are lots of great memories! Having followed his career as long as I have, and knowing what he's battled through to just be in this league, I'm not worried about Roli. He's had a pretty decent career and I respect the hell out of him. I would like to see him hit that 600 GP milestone, but not at the expense of the team losing games, and I know he feels the same way - the wins for the team are the priority.
I agree the team plays better with Garon - he's playing better, he's had more consistency and more starts as a result. A team gets more comfortable with the guy playing the most and we've seen it before where Roli has been the guy. Garon deserves to be playing more.
However, you have no idea how deja vu this season is - when I heard Garon was signed, and then I heard Boucher saying at the beginning of the season that he would be 'managing' Roli's starts, I had a bad feeling. Did any other named starting goalies have their backups get game #2 of the season, right after a win? These 2 guys cannot seem to both play well when they are on the same team, which is really too bad.
One thing that does bug me is fans blaming Roli for his own bad play and also for Garon's, because Garon was only supposed to be the backup and so it's Roli's fault he is playing more than expected. Garon is a big boy, and he set out this season to earn the #1 spot - as he did in 07/08, and since he has earned it, he is responsible for his play. I hope he can buck tradition and play well for the Bolts next year.
All I was pointing out was that PIT has been tough this season with both guys in net, so to go from the Pens game to the Devils game and imply it was about who they are more comfortable with, I don't quite agree. On the whole of the season, sure, but Saturday's game was not all on Roli and the fact the team plays better in front of Garon. PIT has torched both guys this season with the exception of 1 game. I'm glad Garon didn't have to come into that mess on Sat and that the entire team responded better on Sun to salvage a win out of the road trip. Maybe I read too much into your comment and if so I apologize.
Hopefully, with the favourable home game % down the stretch they might be able to sneak in the playoffs, in spite of losing the guys they've lost. If not, I'm hoping Bolts fans will remember Roli more for what he did last season as opposed to what he didn't do this season.
