Subject :than we have in recent weeks," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. "We gave u
BUFFALO, N. Martin Havlat Authentic Jersey .Y. -- Steven Stamkos called it an "uncharacteristic hat trick." Even though one of the goals counted for the other team. Stamkos scored twice for Tampa Bay and overcame putting another goal in his own net as the Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in overtime Saturday night. "Its a tough bounce, but we responded," Stamkos said. "We get a power play after that and tie it up and that was a good push back from us." With the game tied at 2, a delayed penalty to Cory Conacher drew Lightning goalie Ben Bishop to the bench for an extra attacker, but Stamkos back pass missed Michael Kostka and bounced off the boards in the neutral zone before gliding into the empty net. "I dont know if he took a puck and had 10 of them in a practice if he could throw it in," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Gosh, that was tough to watch. And when the puck goes down the ice, of course its like going in slow motion." And for Stamkos, who would later score the winner in overtime, it was the first time seeing an "own goal" in person. "Ive seen it a couple times, never live," Stamkos said. "You see it on the highlights. Im sure Ill make them now in the un-top 10, but as soon as it went over our Ds stick I knew it had a pretty good chance to go in." Alex Killorn and Ryan Callahan also scored for the Lightning, who have earned at least a point in 11 consecutive games. With the win, Tampa Bay remained two points behind Montreal for second place in the Atlantic Division after the Canadiens beat Florida 4-1. Matt DAgostini, Cody Hodgson and Cory Conacher scored for Buffalo, which finished March with a 2-11-1 record. The first period had little flow, with Buffalos failed power play near the midpoint the only time either team threatened to score. That changed at the 12:20 mark, as DAgostini freely carried the puck over the Lightning blue line before firing a point blank wrist shot over the right shoulder of Bishop to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead. Rasmus Ristolainen and Johan Larsson picked up assists on the goal, giving the rookies points in back-to-back nights for the first time in their careers. Buffalo doubled its advantage at the 14:07 mark when Zemgus Girgensons stripped Kostka deep in the Tampa Bay zone, and Christian Ehrhoffs slap shot was redirected into the goal by Hodgson. Girgensons played his first game since missing 11 with a lower-body injury. The lead wouldnt last the rest of the period. Tampa Bay picked up its first goal on Killorns shot that beat Matt Hackett between the legs. Killorns 16th of the season came at the 17:52 mark, and Stamkos scored the tying goal with 14 seconds to play. Bishop was called upon to make a pair of trio of stops four minutes into the second period, as he stopped Tyler Ennis once and Brian Flynn twice before Victor Hedman took a penalty for forcing the net off the moorings. Then came the Stamkos own-goal, and Conacher was given credit for it as the last Sabres player to touch the puck. Conacher was traded from Tampa Bay to Ottawa along with a fourth-round pick for Bishop in April 2013. Bishop recounted watching the puck go in the net from the bench. "It was kinda funny, actually," Bishop said. "One of those things that just happened, thats the first time Ive ever seen it live." Trailing 3-2 and already on the power play, Tampa Bay received a 60-second two-man advantage when Mike Weber took a cross-checking penalty. Its the sort of play Sabres interim head coach Ted Nolan is trying to eliminate from his young team. "You want to see how certain people react," Nolan said. "The one penalty we take to make it 5-on-3, theres no need to cross-check someone in the back of the head twice. Thats just a bad, bad penalty." The Lightning only needed 52 seconds to capitalize. Playing in front of family and friends, Rochester, N.Y., native Callahan tapped in a cross-crease pass from Teddy Purcell to tie it at 3 at 10:07. "I was a Sabres fan, so its definitely nice to come in here and play," Callahan said. The Sabres had several shots at a winning goal with just over five minutes to play, but Bishop made several saves before referee Dave Jackson lost sight of the puck and blew his whistle. Two minutes later, Larssons attempt at an empty net was deflected out of play by Eric Brewers outreached stick. Drew Stafford took a hooking penalty in overtime, and Stamkos walked in from the point to put the winning goal past Hackett. NOTES: Tampa Bay outshot Buffalo 33-28. ... The start of the game was delayed 10 minutes as the Sabres inducted goaltender Dominik Hasek into their Hall of Fame ... Ville Leino missed the game with an undisclosed illness. He left Thursdays 6-1 loss to Nashville after feeling light-headed. Sharks Jersey .C. - Bernhard Langer overcame a bad start Saturday to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Champions Tours Greater Hickory Classic. Antti Niemi . Louis Cardinals had a major need at shortstop and signed a veteran free agent who, while having PED issues, has been a potent hitter throughout his career. LONDON -- Greg Jennings showed that the Vikings have someone other than Adrian Peterson who can make big plays. Jennings and Peterson provided the kind of 1-2 punch Minnesota had been hoping for when it signed the wide receiver in the off-season, and each scored two touchdowns in a 34-27 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Londons Wembley Stadium for the Vikings first victory of the season. "It would have been a long flight back to take after a loss," Jennings said. "It was a special day. To do this at Wembley Stadium is a once-in-a-lifetime experience." Not so for the Steelers, who fell to 0-4 for the first time since 1968. Thats a hole only one team has dug itself out of to make the playoffs, the San Diego Chargers in 1992. So much for the city of Big Ben giving a lift to Ben Roethlisberger. "We are in unchartered territories and the water is dangerous right now, so we have to stick together and get out of it," Roethlisberger said. "Right now, you could say were the worst team in the league. That hurts." In one of the most entertaining NFL games yet in the annual International Series in London, Jennings provided the biggest highlight -- breaking several tackles on a 70-yard catch-and-run that opened up a 10-0 lead for the Vikings (1-3) in the first quarter. "You throw a 5-yard hitch, and he goes 70 yards," said quarterback Matt Cassel, who started in place of the injured Christian Ponder. "It makes your job a lot easier. Those guys made plays all night." Not to be outdone, Peterson ran for a 60-yard touchdown in the second quarter. They still needed a big stop from the defence in the closing moments, when Everson Griffen stripped Roethlisberger of the ball on the 6-yard line with 19 seconds left and Kevin Williams recovered the fumble to seal the victory. "It feels great to get our first home win of the season," Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier said. "And we had to come all the way to London to get it. I think Ill always have a special place in my heart for Wembley Stadium." He suddenly has a bit of a quarterback controversy as well. Cassel finished 16 of 25 for 248 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers. But with Ponder hoping to have recovered from a rib injury after the coming bye week, Frazier said he doesnt expect a permanent switch. "If youre asking, our quarterback is Christian Ponder," Fraziier said. Joe Thornton Jersey. . "Now well discuss a lot of things when we come out of the bye, but ... were going to enjoy this victory for a little while at least." Regardless of the quarterback, Peterson and Jennings will pose a threat to any team going forward. Peterson ran for 140 yards on 23 carries while Jennings finished with 92 yards on three receptions. That offset two touchdown runs by Pittsburghs rookie running back LeVeon Bell, who made his long-awaited debut for the Steelers after a foot injury. He gave the team its first rushing touchdowns of the season by breaking off to the right for an 8-yard score to make it 10-7, somersaulting into the end zone, and again pulled Pittsburgh within 3 by plowing in from the 1-yard line in the third quarter. But Peterson and Jennings added their second touchdowns to help Minnesota pull away, although Pittsburgh made sure it was a tense finish after Jerricho Cotchery caught a 15-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and Shaun Suisham kicked a 28-yard field goal to make it a one-possession game with 3:40 left. The Steelers got the ball back on their own 22-yard line with 1:43 left and no timeouts, and Roethlisberger completed six passes to get a first-and-goal at the 6. But after spiking the ball, he overthrew Cotchery in the end zone and was stripped on the next play. Roethlisberger finished 36 for 51 for 383 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. The Steelers are still looking for their first turnover of the season, as they failed to recover Cassels fumble on the Vikings 38 in the second quarter, with the ball bouncing forward before being recovered by Jerome Simpson for a 10-yard gain. "We came up short, but we played better than we have in recent weeks," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. "We gave up explosive plays, you cant do that. ... Were going to focus on getting better, and thats whats going to change the outcome of football games." ------ NOTES: British heavyweight Boxer David Haye blew the Vikings giant horn when the team ran onto the field before the game, while Kiss member Gene Simmons sang the American national anthem. ... This is the seventh year of the International Series in Britain, but the first year Wembley will host two NFL games, with the Jacksonville Jaguars playing the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 27. ... Jennings has seven career 70-yard TD catches. Jerry Rice holds the record with nine. ' ' ' |
