Dwayne Roloson Shines In Tampa Bay Lightning Debut, Earning 1-0 Shutout Win

Newly acquired goaltender Dwayne Roloson shined in his Tampa Bay Lightning debut as the Lightning shut out the Washington Capitals 1-0 in overtime.

This game was definitely a goaltenders duel, with Roloson making 34 saves and his counterpart, Semyon Varlamov, making 37 saves for the Capitals.

The turning point for the Lightning came in the second period when Roloson stopped 21 shots by the Capitals.

The only score came with two minutes remaining in OT when Martin St. Louis took a Vincent Lecavalier rebound and fired it past Varlamov to end the game.

This was the Lightning's first win at the Verizon Center this season. The previous two games were won by the Capitals—6-3 on November 11th and 6-0 November 26th. Granted, the Lightning were without Simon Gagne for both of those games and Lecavalier for one of those games.

The Lightning, at 53 points, are now leading the Southeast Division and, if the playoffs were to start today, they would be the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.  They are tied with the Philadelphia Flyers as the best team in the Eastern Conference.  

The Lightning now head into Pittsburgh for a showdown with Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 5th to end the first half of the season. The second half of the season begins January 8th against the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa.

The Lightning face these same Capitals, for the first time in Tampa, next Wednesday, January 12th.