Log In | Register
TAMPA — Dwayne Roloson might have answered some questions about whether his skills are slipping at age 42.
Roloson made 28 saves in his 29th career shutout, Vincent Lecavalier scored a power-play goal late in the second period and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Winnipeg Jets 1-0 on Saturday night.
"He really battled," Lecavalier of Roloson. "Made a lot of huge saves. Overall as a team, we played a solid game."
Roloson, making his first start since a 7-4 loss to Florida on Oct. 17, made a leg save on Evander Kane's breakaway in the second. He improved to 10-0-0 in 14 games against the Atlanta-Winnipeg franchise.
"He's bounced back," Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher said. "Not surprised at all."
Roloson entered with a 1-2-1 record and 4.54 goals-against average in his previous five games. The shutout was his first since Feb. 1 against Philadelphia, a span of 29 games.
"It's gratifying," Roloson said. "To be honest with you, our defensive guys blocked a lot of shots. It's just one game. I try to forget about how many games you've played and all that."
Tampa Bay has won 12 consecutive games against the Atlanta-Winnipeg franchise. The last victory in the series for the relocated Jets came on Oct. 3, 2009, when Atlanta beat Tampa Bay 6-3.
Ondrej Pavelec stopped 26 shots for the Jets, who were coming off a 9-8 win Thursday at Philadelphia.
"It's a difficult one," Pavelec said. "You let eight goals in and you get the two points, and now it's a one-goal game and you get the loss. I mean, it is what it is. That's why hockey's so nice."
Lecavalier scored with 39.2 seconds left in the second. His tough-angle shot from below the right circle beat Pavelec.
"I saw there was a little bit of an opening," Lecavalier said. "Not a great goal, but get the puck on net and see if it goes in."
Pavelec was surprised on the play.
"There were two guys in front of me, so I didn't see him at all," Pavelec said. "My fault, but things happen like that."
Pavelec made 23 saves through two, including a power-play rebound shot by Lecavalier midway through the second.
"I think that we recognize that we're not going to have the ability to score nine every night," Jets coach Claude Noel said. "I thought we played hard. I thought Pavelec was outstanding. I thought he was great. I thought he rebounded real well in the game."
Steven Stamkos extended his point streak to six games (two assists, seven points) with an assist on Lecavalier's goal.
Winnipeg's Alexander Burmistrov had his six-game point streak snapped. He had three goals and eight points during that stretch.
NOTES: Roloson came off the bench to stop all 10 shots he faced in Thursday's 5-3 loss at Nashville. ... Winnipeg recalled G Peter Mannino from St. John's of the AHL. Jets G Chris Mason is sidelined by a groin strain. ... Tampa Bay RW Ryan Shannon was in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous four games. ... The Jets placed D Derek Meech, who has a lower-body injury, on injured reserve and announced that forward Brett MacLean was claimed off waivers by Phoenix.
