Roloson, Pavelec STAR in Tampa Win

By on October 30, 2011

Tampa, Fla. –  Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec  made 26 saves on 27 shots;  enough to earn himself the number three star in Tampa tonight.  The problem for the Jets was his counterpart Dwayne Roloson was the number ONE star stopping all 28 shots he faced as the Tampa Bay Lightning downed division foe the Winnipeg Jets 1-0.

With the teams combining for 21 first period shots and no goals it was apparent early on that both goalies would be the centerpiece of the contest. 

Roloson and Pavelec would carry that strong net-minder play into the second period.

With 6:47 left in the in the second Roloson stoned Jets forward Evander Kane on a break-away which inspired the fans down  to my right to shout out the “Rollie,  Rollie chat.” It was the Jets 14th shot of the game and by far the toughest stop Roloson had to make.  I thought to myself at the time of that play may be the mo- swing  of the game.

With just over two minutes left in the second Lightning right-winger Marty St. Louis was robbed by Pavelec from point blank range.  St. Louis was fed by Vinny Lecavalier from behind the cage and St. Louis ripped a wrister high into Pavelec ‘s chest as he slid across the goal mouth  perfectly.

At 19:20 of the second the Lightning strike on the power play.  Steven Stamkos’ slap shot blast from the right point was neatly kicked aside by Pavaelec  to the corner.  The puck was picked up by Lecavalier who guided a quick shot from a sharp bad angle to lite the light.  Coach Guy Boucher said after the game, “Putting the puck on net in bad angles.  Our goalie coach says that all the time.  Normal angles and good shots goaltenders usually make the saves.  It’s bad angles that usually give us more and last year we made a trademark of that. I have always been a fan of that; Junior, American League or NHL to me the more bad angles you’ve got, the better because they bounce in areas the goaltender’s not used to.”

On the goal Pavaelec was out of position as it seemed as if he was attempting to locate the rebound and had no idea the shot was coming.

 A 1-0 lead, that had the feel of a huge lead and momentum push for the Lightning which seemed to convey a steady energy push in the crowd for the last forty seconds.

 “A sharp angle I got, kinda just put it on net.” Lecavalier said.

The energy would carry into the third and the good play between the pipes would continue.   The teams traded good shot after good shot that were turned away by Roloson and Pavelec.

Time would expire as Roloson made his twenty eighth save off the tape of Jets center Bryan Little.  Little snapped a wrist shot from the mid-slot that Roloson was all over.

Roloson said after the game, “It’s gratifying but at the same time it’s a lot of work to get here.  You gotta   make sure you keep focusing on doing the things you got to do to keep getting better and stay where we’re at right now.  To be honest with you our defensive guys, our D, blocked a lot of shots, a lot sticks on pucks.   Our forwards did a lot of great stuff at our end also, to allow me to see pucks and be able to devour the rebounds.”

The Lightning travel to Carolina for a one game road trip, before returning home to host the Chicago Blackhawks Friday and then to sunrise to play the Panthers in a late Sunday matinee.

Meanwhile the Jets play the Panthers in sunrise on Halloween and then have plenty of time to buy their “I Love NY” souvenirs as they play the Islanders, Devils, Rangers and Sabres in in five d

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