|
OTTAWA -- Thursdays game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators showed two teams heading in opposite directions. Mario Addison Jersey . Ryan Callahan scored a power-play goal midway through the third to give Tampa Bay its fifth straight win, 5-4 over Ottawa, and hand the Senators their fifth loss in a row. Tampa, who sits second in the Atlantic Division with 83 points and 11 games remaining, is peaking at the right time. "We just seem to be scoring tons of goals," said Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop, who stopped 27 shots for his 34th win of the season. "Were rolling right now and we have a big game against Pittsburgh so hopefully we can keep it going." The Senators have talked about the need to play better and play smarter, but head coach Paul MacLean says its the same mistakes that keep coming back to plague his team time and time again. "Groundhog day," MacLean said. "Thirteen giveaways, six minor penalties, we played too much in our zone and ends up in the same thing." Teddy Purcell scored twice for the Lightning (39-24-7). Valterri Filpulla and Eric Brewer also scored. Clarke MacArthur, Erik Karlsson, Ales Hemsky and Milan Michalek scored for the Senators (28-28-13). Robin Lehner faced 28 shots as he lost his sixth straight game. Trailing 5-4, Ottawa had a great opportunity to tie the game as Callahan took a penalty with 55 seconds remaining in regulation. With Lehner on the bench, the Senators had a two-man advantage, but were unable to beat Bishop. "We competed to the end, but once again we didnt find a way to win," said Senators captain Jason Spezza. "We fought right to the end, but once again we found a way to lose." Callahans power-play goal midway through the third had given the Lightning a 5-3 lead, but the Senators made it a one-goal game as Michalek deflected a Karlsson shot from inside the blue-line at 17:07. Brewer scored his first goal in 95 games to give the Lightning a 4-3 lead at 3:48 of the third with a great shot off his backhand to sneak the puck in under the crossbar. "Ive seen him do that a few times," said Bishop. "Hes good for a couple of those a year." Hemsky made it 3-3 after displaying some great puck handling before beating Bishop late in the second. The goal earned him a standing ovation from the 17,136 on hand. "Its a nice goal, but in the end it really doesnt matter if you lose," said Hemsky. "The people reacted great." Asked if he minded being the goalie on the end of Hemskys highlight-reel goal, Bishop could only laugh. "It doesnt really matter when you win," he said. "It doesnt matter how many highlight goals they score if we win the game." The Lightning had taken a 3-2 lead at the five-minute mark of the second period on a power-play goal by Filpulla, who knocked home a rebound just out of Lehners reach. Lehner was at a loss for words after the game. "What is there to say now, I dont know, its pretty empty," he said. "Its tough to be in there right now. I can say again, yeah I sucked a Im trying to be there and trying to step up to make saves, but the players are so good in this league and they get too much time. Its tough. "I dont think the effort has been the biggest issue this year. I think were cheating some times. We go really offensively and then its pretty empty back home." The Senators ended the first period tied 2-2 after getting off to a horrible start. Purcell, who hadnt scored in his last 19 games, opened the scoring just 23 seconds into the game. Ottawa managed to tie the game on MacArthurs short-handed goal midway through the period. It was MacArthurs 21st of the season, tying a career high. The Lightning regained the lead on Purcells second of the night as he managed to dig the puck out through traffic in the crease and then shoot it in off the post. Karlsson rounded out the scoring with a power-play goal, beating Bishop with a shot from just inside the blue-line. Notes: G Craig Anderson (upper body injury) and G Nathan Lawson (lower body injury) missed the game. D Patrick Wiercioch and LW Matt Kassian were a healthy scratch for the Senators a The Lightning signed free agent forward Cody Kunyk to a one year, two-way NHL contract. Kunyk, 23, skated in 37 games for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks this season, posting 22 goals and 43 points. D Keith Aulie, D Mark Barberio, C Tom Pyatt and RW Nikita Kucherov were healthy scratches for Tampa. Antoine Cason Jersey . But after playing in England for more than a decade, Reo-Coker already recognized a key issue. He faces an adjustment as he prepares for his first Major League Soccer season. Jonathan Stewart Jersey . Louis Blues will try to remain undefeated against the defending Stanley Cup champions this season when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks for Wednesdays Central Division showdown at United Center.STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Goals by Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard gave Belgium a 2-0 win over Sweden in a World Cup warm-up game Sunday. After a slow start, the Belgians took advantage of a Swedish defensive mistake that allowed Axel Witsel to set up the Everton striker in the 34th minute. Hazard easily rolled in the second goal in the 78th from a pass by Kevin De Bruyne. "In the first 10 minutes of the match I felt we were a bit hesitant, they played a bit soft," Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said about his team. "Then they got five to six opportunities and they found a solution to get into the game." Sweden, which played without injured star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, had its best chance in the 68th minute when Jimmy Durmaz hit the crossbar after a corner. Ibrahimovic decided to sit out the game just before the start citing back problems. Expectations are high on Belgiums young team, wiith stars like Lukaku, Hazard and Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany, ahead of the World Cup. Carolina Panthers Hats. . It is the countrys first World Cup in 12 years, and it will play Russia, South Korea and Algeria in Group H. Lukaku, who scored the two decisive goals against Croatia that sent Belgium to the World Cup, also scored a hat trick against Luxembourg on Monday. The 21-year-olds position in the team has become much more important after Belgiums No. 1 Christian Benteke went down with an Achilles injury in April, and out of the World Cup. Hazard said the atmosphere in the team is good ahead of the tournament. "There are always things to work on but I think at the end of the day we kept a clean sheet and I think except for the first 15 minutes the organization of the team was good," he said. Sweden failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing to Portugal in a playoff. cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
