Lightning blank Leafs for fifth straight win

Lightning blank Leafs for fifth straight win

Published Jan. 25, 2011 9:23 p.m. ET


TAMPA, Fla. (AP)
-- Dwayne Roloson is focused on wins, not shutouts.

Roloson made 26 saves in his third shutout in 10 games this month, Teddy Purcell had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory.

"I've forgotten what the score was," Roloson said. "I know we won, and that's all that matters to me."

Roloson, acquired in a trade with the New York Islanders on New Year's Day, took a shutout into the third period of a 7-1 win Sunday over Atlanta.

"He's been in the league this long for a reason," Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf said of the 41-year-old Roloson. "If he sees the puck, like any goalie in the league, he's going to stop it. Tonight he played well, but we didn't generate a lot in the first to really test him any."

Simon Gagne also scored for the Southeast Division-leading Lightning, who have opened a 12-game homestand with consecutive victories. Purcell has five points in the past two games, including three assists on Sunday.

"We wanted to build off that last game we had," Purcell said. "We're rolling a little bit right now."

Toronto All-Star center Phil Kessel had his goal drought reach seven games despite having six shots. The Maple Leafs completed a stretch of five games in seven days with a 1-4-0 record, including losses in the final three contests.

Gagne put the Lightning up 1-0 on his third goal over the past two games at 5:11 of the first. Purcell made it 2-0 with a power-play rebound with 7:16 left in the first.

Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer stopped 15 of 17 shots -- including a pair of breakaways by Martin St. Louis -- in the opening 20 minutes.

"They were all over us. We didn't have the answer, except Reims kept us in the game," Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson said. "The second and third period, I thought we played really well."

Reimer finished with 29 saves.

"They're a skilled team," he said. "We found that out in the first. They've got a bunch of players that can shoot the puck and make plays."

Toronto had almost as many penalties (three) as shots (four) during the first. The Maple Leafs went without a shot in the second half of the period.

The Maple Leafs outshot Tampa Bay 13-4 during a scoreless second. Roloson made several quality saves, including an in-close chance by Tyler Bozak.

"We're very happy with what's going on with our goaltenders," Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher said.

Tampa Bay center Steven Stamkos, the NHL scoring leader, had a six-game point streak (seven goals, 10 points) snapped. He enters the All-Star break with 38 goals and 67 points.

NOTES: LW Nikolai Kulemin played his 200th game with the Maple Leafs, which is second-most on the current roster. Only D Tomas Kaberle, who appeared Tuesday in his 869th game with Toronto, has played in more. ... Tampa Bay LW Ryan Malone missed his second consecutive game due to a mid-body injury. ... Lightning D Brett Clark assisted on Purcell's goal and snapped a personal 13-game point drought.

Updated January 25, 2011

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