Tampa's Dwayne Roloson and Boston's Tim Thomas entered this round ranked 1-2 in the league in both goals-against average and save percentage this postseason. But on Saturday, it was a different netminder who stole the show.
After Roloson allowed three goals on the first nine shots he faced, he was pulled for the second time in the series. Mike Smith entered for his second relief appearance against the Bruins, and for the second time he was perfect in his outing.
In Game 2 in Boston, Smith stopped the bleeding too late, and the Bruins hung on for a 6-5 win even though he stopped all eight shots he faced in the third period. On Saturday, Smith came in a little earlier to shut down the Bruins by stopping all 21 shots he faced in the final 42:02. Even more importantly, he gave the Lightning a chance to claw out of that early 3-0 hole and rally for a 5-3 win in Game 4 at the St. Pete Times Forum.
"Smitty has been terrific," Tampa coach Guy Boucher said. "Whenever he was asked to play since Roloson has been there, he's been terrific. I mean, he's just been terrific. So whenever it's time for him to help the team and try to change the momentum around, I don't hesitate. It was the same in Boston. We put him in. He didn't get scored against in the third period. We were trying to come back. He played well again.
"I don't remember the last bad game he's played," Boucher added. "So obviously, when there's an opportunity to help the team and try and turn things around, we're not afraid to use him. He did a good job today."
It was a tough spot for Smith, who came in cold with 2:02 left in the first after Roloson gave up a shorthanded goal to Patrice Bergeron to make it 3-0.
"I didn't have time to think," Smith said. "We got behind the 8-ball there in the first and that's what I am on the bench for — to get in there, settle the team down and get a little bit of a change of momentum. It ended up working out."
Boston wasn't able to get anything past Smith, but the Bruins felt they were as responsible for that as Smith was.
"I don't think it's anything he did," Bruins forward Brad Marchand said. "Obviously he made some big saves at the right time, but we didn't get the traffic in front of him that we needed to. He was able to see all the pucks that came at him. That's what we did so good against Roloson. We were getting bodies in front and we weren't able to do that to Smith. And he did make some good saves, you've got to give him that. But we have to do a better job in front."
Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg agreed that the Bruins didn't do enough to test Smith after rattling Roloson so successfully.
"It's still the same thing, we've got to get guys and pucks in front of the net," Seidenberg said. "We had a few chances with guys in front and a couple tips there, but they didn't go in."
So will Smith get a chance to switch from his relief role to starter as the series shifts back to Boston for Game 5 on Monday? Not likely.
"We have our No. 1 goaltender," Boucher said of Roloson. "He's taken us to this place right now. And that's the reason why we're here.
"We just finished this game now," Boucher added. "We're happy we just beat a terrific team and we're just happy that we were a lot harder to play against today. And Smitty was part of it and Roloson is. It doesn't change the status."
