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Roloson stymies Caps again; Bolts gain first in Southeast

Jan 13, 2011 - 5:02 AM Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Dwayne Roloson made 23 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning vaulted back into sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division with a 3-0 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Roloson shut out Washington for the second time since joining Tampa Bay. The 41-year-old blanked the Capitals in his Lightning debut on January 4, 1-0 in Washington.

"I was able to see probably about ninety-nine percent of the shots. They played phenomenal," Roloson said.

Dominic Moore, Sean Bergenheim and Simon Gagne scored for Tampa Bay, which returned home from a 2-2-0 road trip to win for the seventh time in its last eight games at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The Lightning have 57 points this season, two more than Washington.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 35 shots for the Capitals, who failed to collect at least a point for the first time since December 18. They had gone 6-0-3 in their previous nine games.

"I thought we came out with a lot of emotion and were ready to play," said Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau. "Even after their second goal, I thought there was a lot of life on the bench."

Moore and Bergenheim put Tampa Bay ahead 2-0 with goals in the first period.

Nate Thompson weaved his way up the ice, crossed the opposing blue line and dropped anchor inside the right circle. Moore, driving toward the net, deflected Thompson's shot that was stopped by Varlamov and banged in his own rebound at 3:58.

Bergenheim, who was providing a screen, batted in a Victor Hedman rebound out of mid-air with 3:56 remaining.

Gagne beat Varlamov on a breakaway to give the Bolts a three-goal advantage at 18:18 of the middle stanza.

Roloson needed to make just five saves over the final 20 minutes to record his 26th career shutout.

Game Notes

Tampa Bay improved to 7-3-1 against the Southeast Division this season...Washington forward Alexander Semin missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury.