Rolston shows his value despite not scoring many goals

Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune

Wild forward Brian Rolston beat Colorado goalie Jose Theodore to finish a 2-on-1 short-handed breakaway with Pavol Demitra and give the Wild a 2-1 lead in the third.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: April 15, 2008 - 3:03 PM

DENVER - Hockey novices often wonder why there are first and second assists in hockey, but Brian Rolston's play in Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals could be reason to add third and fourth assists.

It's so easy to judge Rolston's value purely by goals and points -- and he came through with some big ones in the Wild's 3-2 overtime victory over Colorado on Monday night, with a third-period shorthanded goal and an assist on Pierre-Marc Bouchard's game-winner in overtime. But the fact that the four-time 30-goal scorer still was looking for his first playoff tally and had one assist heading into Monday's Game 3 doesn't diminish the fact he has been one of the Wild's best players.

In Games 1 and 2, Rolston was on the ice and played a part in all five Wild goals. Here are three examples where he didn't get assists:

• Todd Fedoruk's tying power-play goal in Game 1 came because of Rolston's Torii Hunter-like leap to save the puck at the blue line.

• Pavol Demitra's tying power-play goal in Game 2 came after Demitra was booted from the faceoff circle. On the draw, Rolston tied up Ben Guite for the Colorado center's only faceoff loss of the night.

• On Keith Carney's winner, Rolston created traffic, and this was 10 seconds after Rolston bumped Ruslan Salei off the puck.

"Obviously you want to get points, but I feel really good about everything that's going on," Rolston said. "It's very important for our so-called skilled players to be there every night just like [Colorado's] guys have been there."

Wild coach Jacques Lemaire has been delighted with Rolston for some time. "Even when we were struggling [in February and early March], he was one of our steadiest players, the guy that was working the hardest to get things back in line," Lemaire said. "He just kept doing it. And he got into the playoffs and he's still doing the same thing."

Rolston is trying to knock off an Avs team with which he spent 50 games in 1999-2000. He was traded to Colorado from New Jersey for Claude Lemieux, then was dealt to Boston in the Ray Bourque deal.

"I think you have to go through those things in order to become the player you are," said Rolston, who was on a checking line in Colorado with Shjon Podein and Stephane Yelle. "I just didn't fit in. I wasn't the player I am now."

Missing Branko

Right winger Branko Radivojevic missed Game 3 and probably will miss tonight's Game 4 because of what's believed to be a knee injury.

With the Wild facing a team with tons of firepower, the Radivojevic loss wreaked havoc on Minnesota's lineup. It suddenly lacks a pure checking line.

"It's a problem," Lemaire said. "And with [left winger Stephane] Veilleux playing right wing most of the time, he's not playing as well. That makes it a little difficult."

Lemaire considered playing Matt Foy in order to keep Veilleux at left wing but instead opted to play Aaron Voros and Chris Simon. For Simon, it was his Wild playoff debut and 74th playoff game of his career.

Energy to burn

Before Game 3, Lemaire raved about the job defensemen Kim Johnsson, Brent Burns and Martin Skoula were doing.

"I can't ask more from the three guys. I just can't. They've been great," Lemaire said. "They play pretty much exactly like we want them to play. We want them to move the puck, support the attack but not lead the attack."

Told that it seems Burns still wants to lead the attack, Lemaire quipped, "He's got more energy than the other guys, and he wants to spend it."

Etc.

• One goal going into Game 3 was to take advantage of Colorado's propensity to block shots (41 in two games). The coaches were stressing faking shots and "trying to go around them," Lemaire said.

• New Wild owner Craig Leipold attended Monday's game.

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