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Dwayne Roloson makes stellar Tampa Bay debut, shuts out Washington 1-0 in overtime

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We know by now that Dwayne Roloson has had a solid season with the New York Islanders and he offered the possibility of giving the Tampa Bay Lightning a goalie they could rely on more often than not when they traded for him Saturday night. Tonight, Roloson made his debut with Tampa Bay and proved the Lightning right, for one night at least, why they made the move to acquire him.

Roloson stopped 34 shots on the way to a 1-0 shutout win over the Capitals on the road in Washington. Martin St. Louis scored off a rebound in overtime to get Roloson the win and put the Tampa Bay Lightning alone in first place ahead of Washington in the Southeast Division.

Roloson’s effort is the exact thing they needed on a night when Semyon Varlamov was equally as good. Varlamov stopped 37 shots in a tough overtime effort for the young Russian. For Tampa Bay, if Roloson is able to perform like this on a regular basis, the Capitals are going to have their hands full in dealing with them (and Atlanta) all season long. After consecutive seasons of coasting through the regular season without much fight heading to the playoffs, a dramatically tougher Southeast Division might be just what Washington needs to be better prepared for the playoffs.

As for now, Tampa Bay is riding high and after a great December they’re starting off January on the right foot and they’ve still got their main men from their 2004 Stanley Cup team in St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier. With Steve Stamkos there to provide a focus for their offense and to learn from them, Tampa Bay could be the team no one wants a piece of in the playoffs.