Questions in Tampa's and Boston's net highlight some important issues that need to be addressed.
It seems the closer we get to the answer of who will win the Stanley Cup this season, there more questions are being raised.
Let’s start with the Boston-Bruins-Tampa Bay Lightning series:
Q: Who starts in goal for the Lightning for Game 5, Dwayne Roloson or Mike Smith? I was quick to jump on the Mike Smith bandwagon watching him blank the Bruins for the second time in a relief appearance Saturday afternoon, but upon reflection, I’m not so sure. Smith truly did play superbly as his team carved out an amazing comeback after having fallen behind 3-0 in the first period. And there’s no denying Roloson has struggled in two of his past three starts, although to his credit, he was on his game in Game 3 when the Bruins won 2-0. Bottom line is: If the Lightning are to win the Stanley Cup, it’s going to be with Roloson between the pipes. He is the goalie that got them this far and surely he is capable of shaking off a few sub-par performances.
Q: Can Tim Thomas find his game? Thomas allowed five goals in Game 2, but was able to win even though it wasn’t one of his best nights. He shut the Lightning out in Game 3 and appeared to be headed for a third straight win early in Game 4 until Tampa Bay exploded for five goals (the fifth into the empty net). The losses have not been Thomas’ fault, but he needs to come up big tonight for his team to remain in contention.
Q: Can Bruins power-forward extraordinaire Milan Lucic make an impact? The Bruins definitely need him to show up on the scoreboard. The team’s leading scorer in the regular season with 30 goals and 62 points in 79 games is supposedly skating on a bum foot and has just one assist in four games. You know Lucic is giving it his all, but the Bruins need points from him.
Q: Can rookie Tyler Seguin make an impact? After scoring three goals and six points in back-to-back games, the 19-year-old centre has been blanked in the past two games. The Bruins are still keeping his minutes to under 14 per game, but a team desperate to score might want to consider bumping those minutes up. The Bruins, after all, don’t have many offensive weapons to draw on.
Q: Can the Bruins find a way to contain Simon Gagne? It’s not so much that Gagne is a force shift-to-shift. It’s just that he has a knack of knowing when to strike for maximum affect. Gagne scored the winner Saturday and in eight career playoff games against Boston he has six goals – three of which decided the game.
And now on to the Vancouver Canucks-San Jose Sharks series:
Q: What’s up with the Sharks’ power-play? After going an impressive 6-for-13 to open the Western Conference final, the Sharks couldn’t find the net with the man advantage in Game 4, despite being given the game’s first five power plays. Their passing wasn’t sharp and they really didn’t produce an overabundance of quality scoring chances. Obviously that needs to change if the Sharks are to remain alive in this year’s playoff scene. The good news for the Sharks is, even though they lost, the limited Vancouver to just 13 shots on goal.
Q: Where is Dany Heatley? One shot on goal in Game 4; are you kidding? Heatley has not had a good year, but he had the chance to redeem himself with a successful playoff. Instead he has been little more than a passenger. Maybe it turns out he’s playing hurt, but if he’s not, then what we are seeing is a mere shell of the player who was once one of the most feared gunners in the game. San Jose coach Todd McLellan said it best after Game 4: "Dany needs to find way to get himself open for quality chances." As it is, Heatley seems to be merely going through the motions.
Q: Will Joe Thornton be able to play in Game 5? The big centre was leveled by Vancouver’s hitting machine Raffi Torres with 10 minutes remaining Sunday and didn’t return to action. After the game Thornton, who has been very good in this year’s playoffs, insisted he’d play in Game 5.
