11-16-2019, 02:03 AM
TAMPA, Fla. Wilt Chamberlain Jersey . -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are tightening the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. Jonathan Bernier made 33 saves and the Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Thursday night. The second-place Lightning have a one-point lead over Toronto and Montreal, which beat Vancouver 5-2. "The last week and a half (has been tough)," said Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, whose team has lost four of five. "I dont mind where we are in the standings as of today. We kind of built a bulge in the standings, point-wise, and now weve lost some of it. But in saying that, I rather be where we are right now than where some other teams are." Mason Raymond, Jay McClement, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak scored for Toronto, which was coming of a 4-1 loss Tuesday night at Florida. "We needed a response from our effort the other night, and we got it tonight," Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. "If you dont have goaltending, you dont have a starting point in the NHL. Were not any different than any other hockey club. The goaltender is your last line of defence, and our guys have given us a chance for a better part of this year." The Maple Leafs are 10-2-1 over their last 13 games. "We want to finish strong before the (Olympic) break with as many points as possible," Bernier said. Bernier had a number of strong saves early when Tampa Bay dominated the first half of the first period, and he made a glove save on J.T. Brown during the second. "It didnt look like we had it early, and once again Bernie was ready to play and kept us in it," McClement said. "Then we were able to get our legs." Ondrej Palat had the lone goal for Tampa Bay. Lightning goalie Ben Bishop left after two periods with an upper-body injury and was replaced by Cedrick Desjardins, and centre Valtteri Filppula also left due to a lower-body injury. Desjardins is filling in for backup Anders Lindback, who is sidelined by a lower-body injury. Both Bishop and Filppula will be evaluated Friday. McClement made it 2-0 on an in-close backhander that eluded Desjardins at 2:19 of the third. After Desjardins make a glove save a couple of minutes later on Troy Bodies breakaway shot, the Maple Leafs turned an errant pass by the Lightning into a 3-0 advantage on van Riemsdyks point-blank goal at 8:10. Bozak added an empty-net goal with 2:52 to play. Palat ended Berniers shutout bid and cut Tampa Bays deficit to 3-1 at 10:28 of the third. There was a scrum between the teams with 1:42 remaining after a Toronto defender made contact with Brown, who ended up colliding with Bernier. Five players received penalties on the play. Raymond opened the scoring 7:57 into the second when he skated in alone from the left wing boards and lifted a backhander over Bishop. Bishop kept the Lightning within a goal when he stopped a shot during a breakaway by Bozak with 4 minutes left in the second. The Maple Leafs, despite allowing eight of the first nine shots, outshot Tampa Bay 12-9 during a scoreless first period. NOTES: Tampa Bay RW Martin St. Louis will replace injured Lightning C Steven Stamkos on Canadas Olympic hockey team. Doctors ruled out Stamkos because he hasnt recovered sufficiently from a broken right leg. ... St. Louis has gone eight games without a goal since he tied a team record with four goals against St. Jose on Jan. 18. He had an assist Thursday. ... Toronto C Nazem Kadri had his six-game points streak end. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Lakers Jersey . -- Two nights after losing to the Eastern Conferences worst team, the Phoenix Coyotes handled the best. Alex Caruso Jersey . - The Seattle Sounders busy off-season continues with the team acquiring defender Chad Marshall from the Columbus Crew in exchange for a 2015 third-round pick and allocation money. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/961j-z...akers.html . PETERSBURG, Fla.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- LeGarrette Blount made one last big splash into a soggy end zone. The powerful back finished his 35-yard touchdown run up the left sideline by flopping with outstretched arms and capping the New England Patriots 34-20 win over the Buffalo Bills in a steady downpour Sunday. The victory gave the Patriots a first-round bye and the Gillette Stadium field an extra week to dry out. "He carried the team on his back most of the day," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. The rain "got worse as the game went along. It was definitely a running game." Blount rushed for a career-high 189 yards, returned two kickoffs for 145 and set a club record with 334 all-purpose yards. The Patriots (12-4) obtained Blount in an off-season trade with Tampa Bay and he shared playing time with other backs since then. On Sunday, the 250-pounder led the charge. He also scored on a 36-yard run and set up a touchdown and field goal with kickoff returns of 83 and 62 yards. The extra point after his 35-yarder put the Patriots ahead 34-20 with 2:31 left. "Every time I play I try my best to come out with the mindset to make a contribution to any part of the game, whether its kick returns or running the ball or catching it," Blount said. After his second touchdown, he hugged Belichick, who had a towel draped over his shoulders. Tom Brady was content to hand the ball off rather than throw through rain drops against a team leading the NFL in sacks and second in interceptions. "The water on the field at the end, it was just puddles," he said. Stephen Gostkowski kicked four field goals as the Patriots earned their eighth bye in Belichicks 14 seasons. The Bills (6-10) missed the playoffs for the 14th straight year, the leagues longest current streak. They won their previous two games. "It would be much different if we were ending on a three-game winning streak," Bills coach Doug Marrone said. "To say that youre close or anything like that, until you win we dont have a leg to stand on." New England won its 13th straight home game against Buffalo, including 12-0 since Gillette opened in 2002. The Patriots have the second seed and play in two weeks at home, where theyre 8-0. Denver, which beat Oakland, has the top seed. New England began its game with a chance to finish iin any of the AFCs top four playoff spots. James Worthy Lakers Jersey. "We put together a great season, but it doesnt matter much now," Brady said. The Bills played without quarterback EJ Manuel, who has a small tear in a left knee ligament, and wide receiver Stevie Johnson, excused for the second straight game after his mothers death. Backup Thad Lewis threw a 12-yard scoring pass to T.J. Graham late in the third quarter and led an 80-yard drive capped by Fred Jacksons 5-yard run with 10:20 remaining. After each of those touchdowns Blount had his long kickoff returns. His 83-yarder set up Bradys 5-yard scoring pass to Shane Vereen, followed by a 2-point conversion pass that made it 24-10. The 62-yarder led to Gostkowskis fourth field goal, a 35-yarder that put the Patriots ahead 27-17. The Bills turned over the ball on downs on their next possession. "Of course the ball is wet," Buffalo wide receiver Robert Woods said, "but we still have to make plays and catch the ball." Before the Patriots ran the next play, "Singin in the Rain" blared over the public address system, and drenched fans sang along. Then Manny Lawson intercepted Bradys pass and the Bills capitalized with Dan Carpenters 37-yard field goal. Buffalo tried an onside kick, but Nate Ebner recovered for New England. Blount then ran 10 yards before scoring his second touchdown on the next play. The game even featured a punt by Brady on third-and-32 from his 46-yard line midway through the third quarter with the score 16-3. It travelled 32 yards, where Jim Leonhard made a fair catch. "It could have been a lot better," Brady said. Brady finished 14 of 24 for 122 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Lewis went 16 for 29 for 247 yards and a touchdown. C.J. Spiller led the Bills with 105 yards rushing. NOTES: Bills tackle Marcell Dareus was benched for the first half for violating a team rule. In Buffalos previous game he was benched for the first quarter, also for violating a team rule. ... The previous Patriots record for all-purpose yards was 273 by Larry Garron in 1962 at Buffalo. ... Carpenters 51-yard field goal that tied the game at 3 made him the first player in Bills history with four field goals of at least 50 yards or more in a season. ' ' '