Dwayne Roloson helps Tampa Bay Lightning defeat New York Rangers 2-1
Goalie Dwayne Roloson stopped 22 shots and Vinny Lecavalier tallied the game-winning goal early in the final period, as the Tampa Bay Lightning held off the New York Rangers 2-1, at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Martin St. Louis scored a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay, who were coming off their record tying 12-game home stand, which saw the team go 7-3-2.
With this victory, the Lightning moved ahead of the Washington Capitals to take first place in the Southeast Division. Tampa Bay now has five points less than the Philadelphia Flyers, who currently sit top of the Eastern Conference.
An excited Roloson said after the game, "I know it sounds like a cliche, but I go out every night trying to do everything I can to give the team a win. Tonight, we battled through and we're able to get a close victory."
Brandon Prust notched the lone goal for New York, who had won their last two games. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist allowed two goals on 19 shots in the defeat.
Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella was pleased with his side’s performance despite the defeat. He said,"We defended, we had problems with their speed early on but then we finally got our fore-check going. They sit back, watch it, dump it in - we knew how
they were going to play. We got around the puck as the game went on. We had some chances, didn't score right to the bitter end."
Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute of the opening stanza. The goal came in a give-and-go play between Steve Downie and St. Louis. Downie gave a pass from the slot to St. Louis, who one-timed the puck past Rangers net-minder.
New York then equalised the game when Prust scored a short-handed goal in the 10th minute of the middle stanza. Prust put the puck in the back of the net on a breakaway and knocked a shot over Roloson to make it 1-1. The goal was reviewed and allowed to
stand.
With the score tied in the third period, the Lightning went ahead thanks to a miscue from the New York Rangers.
Just over a minute into the final frame, Dan Girardi was called for boarding. Girardi was soon followed by Brian Boyle, who was called for delay of the game. Less than a minute after the penalty to Boyle, St. Louis gave a pass to Lecavalier in the right
circle, who rifled a one-timer past Lundqvist for a decisive 2-1 lead.
Roloson saved 10 shots in the final stanza, including a block on newly-acquired Bryan McCabe with 26 seconds remaining, to hang on for the victory.
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