When the Tampa Bay Lightning needed help in goal, they acquired Dwayne Roloson from the New York Islanders. What they didn't realize at the time was that they were acquiring a Washington Capitals killer. In two games against the Capitals as a member of the Lightning, Roloson has stopped all 57 shots he's faced and has two shutouts to show for it. Surprisingly, this is not rare for Roloson. In his career, Roloson, for lack of a better term, owns the Capitals.
Prior to Wednesday's game, Roloson was 7-4-3 in 14 career games against the Capitals with a .918 save percentage and a 2.22 GAA. After shutting out the Capitals 1-0 January 4 in his first game with Tampa Bay, Roloson started the next night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He lasted about 27 minutes and gave up five goals on 23 shots, including one just seven seconds in. In case you were wondering, Roloson is 3-5-2 in 12 career games against the Penguins with a .884 save percentage and a 3.55 GAA.
His mediocre numbers against Pittsburgh are more of the norm than his impressive stats against the Caps. With Wednesday's win, Roloson now has eight career victories over the Capitals. To put that into perspective, only nine other teams have been defeated by Roloson more during his career. That 2.22 GAA (which is now lower) is also a problem for Washington; only three other teams have been stymied more per game by Roloson throughout his career.
The Lightning have a two-point lead in the Southeast Division and will face the Capitals two more times this season. If history holds, at least they know they have an ace in the hole when it comes time to face the Caps once again.