Sky’s Not Falling on Roloson

Goalie Dwayne Roloson could have told his teammates it would be like this. Change, radical change, is just hard for some to accept.

That’s it; the Minnesota Wild is done, finished, kaput.

Such were the doom-and-gloom predictions, when the Wild lost four of six games in early November.

And so, the long cold winter sets in.

There was more of same when the Wild went on a 0-2-2-1 streak in early December.

OK, the Wild’s tumble has begun. We really mean it this time. Honest.

As Mark Twain observed about himself, the reports of the Wild’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Of course, Twain had to deal with only one premature death notice. Coach Jacques Lemaire’s bunch was offered up for autopsy every time it lost a couple games after an 8-1-2-0 start.

“I don’t think there is a lot of talking about that in the dressing room,” Wild General Manager Doug Risebrough said. “But maybe there is some feeling about disputing the disbelievers.”

Roloson, 33, has tilted at those windmills as well, trying to prove his own worth. The team and the goalie should have earned a little more respect by this point in the season. Instead, the doubters remain.

The Wild is fifth in the Western Conference with 58 points, needing only one more victory to match last season’s total. Roloson, nicknamed”Red Light Roloson,” has a better save percentage and goals-against average than New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, Colorado’s Patrick Roy and Montreal’s Jose Theodore. In fact, he has better numbers than every goalie in the NHL except Marty Turco of Dallas.

Roloson, however, has yet to get his due. In fact, one of the times the Wild was supposed to collapse occurred Jan. 6, when Manny Fernandez suffered a knee injury. Roloson, who had shared the goal with Fernandez, was thrust into a night-in, night-out role. Once again, the sky was falling in St. Paul, Minn.

Even in his own backyard, there were a few questions.

“I don’t think Rolo can take the load over the whole season,” said Risebrough, who as Calgary’s general manager signed Roloson as free agent in 1994. “There are advantages to splitting time over the season. But he has held up well.”

Roloson has a 4-4 record since Fernandez was injured and two of those losses were 1-0. He has allowed 13 goals in those eight games, which included 2-1 victories over the Mighty Ducks and Kings last week that solidified the Wild’s hold on a playoff spot.

A chunk of that can be attributed to Lemaire, who sits on a lead like a mother hen on an egg. Roloson, though, deserves some credit. He has a 1.95 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage.

Before this season, he had a 2.83 goals-against average in 147 NHL games spent with Calgary and Buffalo.

“The more I play, the better I play,” Roloson said. “I’ve always been like that.

“The physical part doesn’t worry me. It’s the mental part that can be hard. I’m fine physically. I have been given some morning skates off. It’s the mental part that I have to work at.”

At least respect is trickling in on the home front.

“There is a big difference in Rolo since I signed him in Calgary,” Risebrough said. “He is more patient. I think it has a lot to do with maturity.”

Much the same can be said about the Wild.

Deck Chairs on the Titanic

San Jose General Manager Dean Lombardi seems to have recognized what was being said all a long about the Sharks: The coach wasn’t the problem.

Colorado General Manager Pierre Lacroix may be on the verge of such a realization.

Both teams were thought to be Stanley Cup contenders. Both fired their coaches in November.

History isn’t on their side. New Jersey is the only team in the NHL to fire its coach and win the Stanley Cup in the same season, when Larry Robinson replaced Robbie Ftorek with eight games left in the 1999-2000 season.

Lombardi moved to stabilize the Sharks’ defense last week, bringing in Kyle McLaren, Boston’s holdout stay-at-home defenseman in a three-team deal with the Bruins and Montreal. McLaren signed a four-year deal worth about $8.3 million.

The Sharks, who improved their record in each of the last six seasons, have wallowed at the bottom of the Pacific Division all season and were eight points out of a playoff spot before playing the Kings on Monday. They are 8-8-4-3 since Ron Wilson replaced Darryl Sutter.

On similar footing is the Avalanche, which was 10-8-9-4 when Bob Hartley was replaced by Tony Granato and has been 9-6-1-1 since.

The Avalanche, an organization with arrogance from the top, has won seven consecutive division titles, but is in eighth place at the moment. Injuries to Joe Sakic and Derek Morris have left huge obstacles in their path. And that sound echoing through the streets of Denver is Rob Blake’s creaking back, which makes the Avalanche’s current spot precarious.

Lacroix has always been able to pull off a deal to prop up the Avalanche -- Blake, Roy, Ray Bourque. So far, he has been unable to bolster the roster, failing in his recent attempted to pry Scott Gomez away from New Jersey.

Blackhawks’ Black Eye

It’s unlikely that Chicago’s Theo Fleury is working on a 12-step program that has “strip club brawl” as one of the steps, so there is certainly cause for concern in the Windy City. His recent escapade leaves everyone wondering if he has slipped back into an old habit, substance abuse.

Fleury has already served a 25-game suspension for violating the substance-abuse program’s provisions this season. He will not face league suspension for the recent incident. The Blackhawks also chose to let Fleury continue playing, despite his violating team rules. The Blackhawks are in a playoff race and Fleury scores goals.

“I worry about him,” Coach Brian Sutter told reporters. “That’s the way he will be the rest of his life. I worry about him in a much different way than I would other players. As a coach, you got to be incredibly understanding to every individual.”

How much more understanding is extended to Fleury remains to be seen. Tyler Arnason, a talented rookie, was with him on the outing and, like Fleury, ended up with a black eye. Unless this was a “scared straight” field trip -- “See what can happen Tyler? Now drink your milk!” -- it is doubtful this is the type of mentoring the Blackhawks want for their prospects.

One-Timers

Roy had consecutive shutouts last week, after a team pep talk from Bourque, a close friend of Roy. They were Roy’s first shutouts this season.

NHL officials seem intent on doing everything possible to prop up the Buffalo franchise. They granted Mark Hamister and Todd Berman another 10-day extension on their exclusive negotiating rights to purchase the financially troubled team. It was their third extension

Lombardi recently offered Owen Nolan to the Atlanta Thrashers to get his hefty contract off the books. It may also have been an attempt to relieve Wilson of a sticky situation. Nolan was Sutter’s captain and, at the time, that coronation was greeted with some raised eyebrows.

Mike Gartner, chairman of the goals and dreams program run by the NHL Players Assn., recently went to Russia to deliver $100,000 worth of hockey equipment to underprivileged children.

Toronto officials are said to be chasing Pittsburgh’s Alexei Kovalev. Kovalev is fourth in the NHL with 58 points this season, but is also weighed down by a five-year, $31-million contract extension he signed last summer. The trade would be a white flag from the Penguins for this season, which won’t help in their struggles to get taxpayer money for a new arena.

Fans will get to vote for the MVP of Sunday’s All-Star game. Fans can log on to www.NHL.com or www.ESPN.com during the third period to vote. Their votes will count 35% toward the total vote. The Penguins’ Mario Lemieux probably will not be that MVP. He is expected to miss the game because of a groin injury. He has missed eight of the Penguins’ last nine games.