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MONTREAL -- Nate Thompson scored twice, including in overtime, to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday afternoon. Chicago Blackhawks Jersey . Ben Bishop stopped 28 shots for Tampa Bay (32-18-5), which snapped a two-game losing streak. Daniel Briere was the lone goal scorer for Montreal (29-20-6). Carey Price made 34 saves. Thompson scored at 4:36 of overtime when Alex Killorn found him all alone in from of Prices net. The Lightning now have a five-point advantage over the Canadiens in the Atlantic Division. After the Lightning took a 1-0 lead in the second period, Briere levelled the score at 7:25 of the third, taking a cross-ice pass from captain Brian Gionta and firing home his ninth of the season over Bishops shoulder. The goal was Brieres second in as many games. Thompson was credited with the games first goal, at 5:58 of the second, after P.K. Subban put the puck in his own net. With Killorn in the penalty box for interference, Thompson skated into the Canadiens zone and sent an innocent-looking pass in the direction of the net. Subban deflected the puck between Prices legs to give Tampa Bay the lead on a short-handed goal. The Bolts tested Price early on, benefiting from a penalty shot at 4:41 of the first when rookie defenceman Nathan Beaulieu hooked Nikita Kucherov on a breakaway. Kucherov tried beating Price under the blocker, but the Canadiens netminder got the better of him. Sparks flew late in the second when Brandon Prust and Bishop shared a few words and exchanged punches during a television timeout. Prust approached Bishop, who took offence at his comments and swung at the Montreal forwards head. Prust answered with a couple of jabs of his own before referees separated them. All players on the ice got involved in the scrum. Five players were penalized on the play, including Price for leaving his goaltender crease. Bishop and Prust each got a minor penalty. Tampa Bay survived a late-game penalty before the game was sent to overtime. Christian Thomas, called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs on Thursday, made only his second career NHL appearance, and first for the Canadiens. His father Steve, assistant coach for Tampa Bay, was behind the Lightning bench. The Habs and Lightning go head-to-head for the fourth and final time this season on April 1, in Tampa. Notes: The Canadiens have now killed off 22 straight penalties. a Michael Bournvial was out with the flu. a Tampa centre Valtteri Filppula, who scored the shootout winner in the Lightnings last visit to Montreal in November, missed the game with a lower-body injury. a Lightning forward and Olympic hopeful Steven Stamkos, still not game-ready, practised with his team on Friday, taking light contact from his teammates. Stamkos underwent surgery on Nov. 12 to repair a fractured tibia in his right leg. Corey Crawford Youth Jersey .Y. - Henrik Lundqvist wasnt happy going into Game 6 against Montreal. Patrick Sharp Camo Jersey . Baumann misjudged a long ball from Milan Badelj and failed to clear after emerging outside the penalty area, allowing Maximilian Beister to open the scoring in the 37th minute.FORT MYERS, Fla. - Grady Sizemores long journey back from a series of injuries that almost ended his promising career is complete: He will be the Boston Red Soxs starting centre fielder on opening day. The three-time All-Star is set to play for the World Series champions Monday at Baltimore. "Its very exciting," Sizemore said Friday. "Its been a long road for me and Im happy to keep moving forward and to be in this position for this team." Sizemore beat out highly regarded prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. for the starting job. The Red Sox said Friday that Bradley will begin the season at Triple-A Pawtucket. Sizemore has not played in the majors since September 2011 with Cleveland. He has undergone seven operations since 2009, including surgery on both knees, his back and elbow. The Red Sox lost star centre fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to the Yankees in free agency during the off-season. Boston signed the 31-year-old Sizemore in January, hoping he could still make an impact. Sizemore hit .333 in spring training, going 13 for 39 with a home run, two doubles, three walks, and four strikeouts. He held up well in the outfield, playing 82 innings. "This is one of those situations where the game was taken away from a player and now that its back in his reach, that appreciation is only going to grow," Farrell said. "Theres a greater appreciation that I think any player goes through when theyre able to attain that level again. "He hasnt had any push back with the repetition and the volume in spring training, saying his body cant take it," Farrell added. "We have had a cautious level of optimism with each passing day." Entering spring training, the Red Sox were not sure what to expect from Sizemore. But hes passed every marker. Whats left is too see how he holds up during the rigours of a full season. Chris Chelios Blackhawks Jersey. "As far as the durability question, we answered it as best we could given the number of spring training games," Farrell said. "He will still be on a progression in the month of April where theres a prescribed number of games played and theres a progression to that. Its premature to give you an exact number of games per week. But were working toward an everyday status." Sizemore was a third-round pick of the Montreal Expos in 2000 before being acquired in a six-player deal by Cleveland in 2002 when Farrell was the Indians director of player development. Before his injuries, Sizemore was one of baseballs most dynamic players. A left-handed batter, he hit 20 or more home runs with 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four full seasons, from 2005-08, the most 20-20 seasons in Indians history. The only other players ever to record three 20-20 seasons within their first four big league seasons are Darryl Strawberry (1984-86) and Bobby Bonds (1969-71). Despite his time away from the game, Sizemore never gave up on his baseball career, though. "I didnt think it was over," he said. "I just didnt know if Id ever get back to feeling healthy. It wasnt really a matter of playing baseball. It was the little things like being able to run. It was one of those things where youre just trying to find answers." The last few years have not been easy on Sizemore. After appearing in a total of 639 games from 2005-08, he has played in just 210 since. But, on Monday, expect that to change. "Its nice to have some positive news," Sizemore said. "In the last couple of years everythings been so negative. Its almost hard to realize whats going on. Hard to sink in." wholesale jerseys ' ' ' |
