The Anaheim Ducks were in a bit of a bind Sunday night when it came to their goaltending position.
Already without goalie Frederik Andersen due to some muscle tightness, the starter for Sunday night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche was supposed to be John Gibson. He got hurt in warmups. That forced emergency callup Jason LaBarbera into action as the starter, but the Ducks still needed someone to back up.
Most teams have an emergency backup goalie a phone call away when they're at home, but the Ducks were on the road in Denver.
So who could they turn to? None other than the team’s goaltending consultant and former NHL netminder Dwayne Roloson. Clad in a No. 79 jersey, the 45-year-old goaltender took a spot on the bench and looked a little bit shocked to be in the spot he was in.
Here it is Dwayne Roloson on the bench as the backup for @AnaheimDucks pic.twitter.com/RZiutag0LI
— Matt Sitkoff (@msitkoffNHL) November 3, 2014
Roloson retired after the 2011-12 season at age 42, so maybe he wasn’t all that rusty. He is a veteran of 606 NHL games spanning 14 seasons in which he posted a 227-257-82 record, .908 save percentage and 3.12 goals-against average.
Considering Roloson is a former NHL player, you might be asking yourself how he's eligible to play since he's retired and without a contract. NHL PR pointed out the rule that makes him a legal emergency backup.
Rule 5.3 explains how Dwayne Roloson would be permitted to play for ANA should he be needed as emergency 3rd goalie. pic.twitter.com/WJPRUMHPuH
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 3, 2014
LaBarbera, meanwhile, was playing his third game in as many days. He started Friday and Saturday for the Norfolk Admirals in the American Hockey League. He won both of those starts against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
It's obviously not the ideal situation to start a game for the Ducks, but is it ever fun for the rest of us when a team has to scrounge up the ol' emergency backup.
