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Who owns the Caps? This year it’s Dwayne Roloson as Tampa downs Washington 3-0

Mathieu Perreault, Brett Clark, Dwayne Roloson

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Brett Clark (7) and goalie Dwayne Roloson (35) keep Washington Capitals center Mathieu Perreault (85) from the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Tampa, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011.(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

AP

Dwayne Roloson has been in the league for a while now but shutting out the Washington Capitals is something that was a bit difficult to do. In 13 seasons, he played the Capitals 13 times and shut them out twice. When the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Roloson from the Islanders, he’s gotten thrown to the fire and has faced the Capitals twice after tonight’s game.

In the span of nine days, Roloson has shutout the Capitals twice as the Lightning pulled out a 3-0 win in Tampa Bay over Washington. In what wasn’t typical Washington style, Roloson didn’t have to do a lot of work in earning his fourth shutout of the season, stopping just 23 shots in the win. Goals from Dominic Moore, Sean Bergenheim, and Simon Gagne helped ice the game for Tampa.

For Roloson, his work in goal is making life easier for the now Southeast Division leading Lightning. While the Lightning were trotting out Mike Smith and Dan Ellis on a rotating, nightly basis keeping opponents out of the net was proving difficult. With the veteran and battle-tested Roloson, things in Tampa Bay are improving faster than even GM Steve Yzerman may have thought they would.

As for the Capitals, it’s another game where the effort was lacking and the offense just wasn’t there at all. Semyon Varlamov had a busy night stopping 35 shots in the loss and if the offense can’t pick up the slack when the defense is being stretched to the limits like that, something’s got to change. It’s nights like these where the lack of a solid second line playmaker stands out. If Washington needed a reminder that winning the Southeast won’t be a given this season, Dwayne Roloson and the Lightning are happy to keep reminding them.