Dwayne Roloson Manny Fernandez
4 Seasons With The Wild 6
62-71-26-17 W-L-T-OT/SO 113-102-20-20
.917 Save Percentage .913
2.39 Goals Against Average 2.47
Never in the brief history of the franchise, has Minnesota been blessed with a better tandem of goalies (With all respect to current tandem of Backstrom/Harding).
Fernandez was a Wild original. He was on the team from the very first game until his trade to Boston following the 06-07 season, when he was replaced by Niklas Backstrom. Roloson joined the Wild in their second season, and left them at the trade deadline of 05-06, when he went on to help Edmonton reach their first Stanley Cup Final since 1990.
Together, the pair registered 132 wins and averaged a 2.45 Goals Against Average between them in 4 seasons (Would of been 5, but the lockout of 04-05 happened).
But perhaps, there was no better shining moment for the both of them during the Wild's run to the conference finals in 2003. Yes, the Wild won both series in 7 games, but during those series, there was a goalie switch, that helped turn the momentum to the Wild's favor, enabling to come from behind from a 3-1 deficit both times.
Thats how the tandem worked, one would be in, then when he would start to fall off a bit, the other would step in and pick up the slack.
Roloson did earn an All Star appearance for the Wild in 2004, when the game was held here in St. Paul. During that season Roli posted a line of 19-18-11 with a meniscule 1.88 GAA. Manny's best year came in 05-06 when he went 30-18-7-1 with a 2.29 GAA.
Both goalies could of/should of been a #1 during there time here. But instead, they split the time, and shared the rewards.
The Wild weren't a very successful team during the duo's time together (Lack of offense...). But, they always gave the team a chance to win. Every night.
Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #9.
Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell
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