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| TAMPA, Fla. Fake Raptors Jerseys . -- Sometimes Steven Stamkos does things that his Tampa Bay Lightning teammates cant help but marvel at. "Just about every shift," linemate Tyler Johnson said. That was clear in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens when Stamkos went end-to-end before settling the rolling puck on his stick and firing a perfect shot far side past Carey Price. And even though the Lightning lost the game, that highlight and his two-goal night showed why Stamkos is the X-factor that can tip the balance of the series, no matter how well or how poorly the Habs play. "Thats what we expect out of him," winger Alex Killorn said Thursday. "As long as he continues that, I think he gives us a good chance of winning." Even with starting goaltender Ben Bishop and rookie-of-the-year candidate Ondrej Palat out with upper-body injuries, and even with more than a dozen players making their Stanley Cup playoff debut, the Lightning know they can count on Stamkos. And thats after the 24-year-old Markham, Ont., native missed four months with a broken leg. Stamkos returned March 6 and had five goals in his first seven games. But Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said that the stats were deceiving. "Those first 10-15 games, he wasnt himself," Cooper said Wednesday. "He was just slowly getting himself back. I would say these last five, six games that hes played, hes been an impact player for us." The only other player in the series who has the potential to make as much of an impact is Habs defenceman P.K. Subban, who has known Stamkos since the two played together for the North York Canadiens as eight-year-olds. Subban and Stamkos won a city championship together, then gold in 2008 with Canadas world junior team. Since, their families have remained close friends while theyve built up some healthy animosity as competitors. "I love playing against him," Subban said. "I like making him frustrated, and Im sure hell like to score on me. But the history that we have of playing each other, its been back and forth. When Im on the ice, Im sure he knows Im out there, and I know hes out there." Subban liked getting Stamkos involved in pushing and shoving after the whistle in Game 1 because it meant he was starting to get to him. Beyond that, the Habs defenceman expressed nothing but respect and admiration for his childhood teammate. "That guy, as far as Im concerned, hes probably the best goal-scorer in the league," Subban said. "Good players like him they find ways to be invisible on the ice, and they appear when they have to appear. And players like Stamkos, (Sidney) Crosby and (John) Tavares, they have that ability to disappear and then youre looking over your shoulder and next thing you know the pucks between your legs and hes tapping it in backdoor." That was one of Stamkoss goals, when Killorn gave him a perfect pass on a two-on-one past a siding Andrei Markov. But it was his first of Game 1, a wicked shot that followed a breathtaking rush, that had everyone buzzing. More impressive than banking the puck off the boards to evade Brandon Prust or even the shot itself was how Stamkos managed to settle the puck down in a split second. Teammate J.T. Brown knows he could do the same, but only if he had 20 seconds. Subban didnt realize Stamkos found a way to get the puck down before firing the shot by Price. He simply appreciated how Stamkos finished things off with such subtle skill. "I think sometimes as a shooter, they recognize when to release it," Subban said. "Its not about how hard it is, its just about where you put it and how quick you get it off. He got it off pretty quick. I dont think he needed as much power behind it because he was skating so fast. He had so much momentum already." It was the games most memorable play on a night full of them. It shouldnt be shocking that Stamkos brought his best with the spotlight so bright, given how he beams about being back in the playoffs for the first time since 2011. "Its an unbelievable experience," Stamkos said Wednesday. "Its the most fun a lot of guys have had playing hockey. The intensity is at a whole new level." Elite players find a way to reach or exceed that level. With Bishop unlikely to play this series and Palat a game-time decision for Game 2 Friday night, Tampa Bay as a team has plenty to work on. Turnovers are an issue and so is defensive-zone play, but Stamkos is far from a problem. Instead, he represents the Lightnings best chance to do something special at any given moment. "I dont know what he can do more," Johnson said. "Hes fun to play with, fun to watch, and Im glad hes on our team and not playing against him." Stitched Raptors Jerseys .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning their second straight NBA championship. Custom Toronto Raptors Jerseys . -- Kenneth Faried made a turnaround hook shot over Draymond Green with a half-second remaining, and the Denver Nuggets made Golden State wait at least one more game to secure a playoff berth with a stunning 100-99 win over the Warriors on Thursday night. https://www.cheapraptors.com/ . His big 2-minute outburst in the fourth quarter Tuesday night is all that really mattered for the Dallas Mavericks.Its been more than a year and a half since Canadas mens soccer team tasted victory. Too long for Benito Floro. So while Canadas pair of friendlies against Bulgaria and Moldova in Austria are a continuation of the coachs plan to bring young players into the Canadian team fold, theyre also very much about winning. "We need to win because it is very important for us to improve our psychology and mentality," Floro said Thursday from Laa an der Thaya, Austria, where the team has been based. "For us, they are two games that are very important." Canada — 110th in the FIFA rankings — faces No. 73 Bulgaria on Friday in Ritzing then meets 99th-ranked Moldova in Mauer on Tuesday. The Canadians went a woeful 0-13 last year, and scored just one goal — by Marcus Haber — in a 2-1 loss to Japan. Their last victory came in October 2012, a 3-0 win in World Cup qualifying against a Cuban side that dressed just 11 players (several Cubans left the team before the game kicked off in Toronto). "Were longing for a win," Atiba Hutchinson said. "Its been a while so I think were motivated enough to get that. We just have to go out and work as we always do and hopefully well be a bit more fortunate with getting that result, but well have that working spirit." Floro summoned a mix of veterans such as Hutchinson and Julian de Guzman and promising young players including Caleb Clarke, Samuel Piette, Daniel Stanese and Cyle Larin for these friendlies. Eight of the Canadians have yet to make their national senior debut, as Floro focuses on developing younger players one year out from the next CONCACAF Gold Cup and the resumption of World Cup qualifying. "The objective is the samee for every camp: to prepare players on our system of play because we need to improve our level in attack and defence. Cheap Raptors Jerseys. At the same time, we want to take the young players because the experienced players are good at teaching them how to work as an individual and in a collective," Floro said. "For the young players, this is a very good experience because our experienced players are very good people and they are always focused on teaching the young players how to do things in a good way." Floro is counting on players such as the 31-year-old Hutchinson, who plays professionally in Turkey, to help bring the younger ones along. "Were developing well and mixing some younger players is going to help us," Hutchinson said. "Its going to take some time to jell a little bit more but I think were trying to go in the right direction." On a team that sorely needs goal scoring, eyes will be on the six-foot-two Larin in these two friendlies. The 19-year-old from Brampton, Ont., earned conference rookie of the years honours after scoring a team-high 14 goals for the University of Connecticut. "We brought Larin into the Florida camp (in January) because we had a very good reference and we want to test him because hes a striker and we need a lot of players in this position," Floro said. "In that camp, we realized he is a young player but with good experience playing as a striker. He has a good desire to learn a lot about that and for us he is a good player for the present and the future." Canadas roster is comprised mostly of European-based players. Among the other veterans on the squad are Andre Hainault, David Edgar, Tosaint Ricketts and Simeon Jackson. ' ' ' |
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