Somehow the Tampa Bay Lightning are only tied 1-1 with the Washington Capitals after two periods in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal. That they’re not in a deep hole should all be credited to their goalie, Dwayne Roloson, who continues to make a string of remarkable saves while the forwards and defense fall apart around him.
The Lightning were outshot 16-3 in the second period, bringing the game’s shot total to 27-9 in favor of Washington. They gave up numerous scoring chances, took three more penalties, and generally played terrible hockey. Roloson fought off a breakaway attempt (by Nicklas Backstrom), a two-on-one opportunity (by Marco Sturm), and 13 other shots in the period, virtually alone against the Capitals onslaught.
But he didn’t save every shot. After Martin St. Louis was unable to get a puck deep to give his team enough time to complete a line change, John Erskine quickly got the play started in the other direction. Backstrom’s shot was stopped by Roloson, but Brooks Laich found his way to the loose puck and whacked it into the net to tie the game at 14:52 of the second.