a, Reynolds has had stints with the Orioles, Indi

TAMPA, Fla. -- Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing went through his mind: "Youve got to tie up your skates. I might get a chance." The 15-year NHL defenceman made the most of a rare shootout opportunity, scoring in the 13th round to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night. "It just happened to go in," said Salo of his first successful shootout goal, coming in his third ever attempt. "It was obviously good for us. Its a good feeling." The shootout was tied at 4 through 12 rounds before Salo put a backhander past Evgeni Nabokov. Ben Bishop preserved the win by making a glove save on Johan Sundstrom. Ryan Callahan had two goals for the Lightning, who trail Montreal by two points for second place in the Atlantic Division. Tampa Bay, 6-0-4 in its last 10 games, has two games in hand on the Canadiens. "First and foremost, we got two points," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "So, thats what we need out of the game. Were going to have to do better than that. Give the Islanders some credit, they played really hard. Definitely, there were positives in the game, but as a whole, were a better 5-on-5 team than we showed tonight." The Islanders, out of the playoff race, got goals from Ryan Strome and Matt Donovan. Right wing Kyle Okposo, who has a team-best 27 goals and 69 points, was a late scratch due to a lower body injury. "We are trying to play hard at this point of the season, and were trying to get better each and every day," Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic said. "I thought we played a pretty good game." All three games between the teams this season were decided in a shootout, with the road team winning the first two. "I dont mind them when were winning," Callahan said. "When you lose them, you hate them." Callahan pulled the Lightning even at 2 on his second goal of the game, coming on a rebound 5:50 into the third. "We didnt have our best game, but really willed a way to win," Bishop said. Donovan put the Islanders up 2-1 while lunging forward in the slot at 9:17 of the second. It ended the defencemans 39-game goal drought. After Callahan redirected Radko Gudas shot past Nabokov just 29 seconds into the second, Strome put a shot past Bishop to tie it at 1 at 1:33. New York had a short-handed goal by Hamonic from centre ice waved off due to an offside call in the second. Hamonic stole Bishops errant long-range pass from the corner and put the puck into the vacated net. The Islanders failed to score during a 5-on-3 power play early in the third. Tampa Bay came up empty on a power play that covered the final 69 seconds of overtime. NOTES: Tampa Bay C Valtteri Filppula had an assist to extend his point streak (10 assists, 14 points) to 10 games. ... The Islanders recalled forward John Persson on an emergency basis from Bridgeport of the AHL. Persson, selected in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, made his NHL debut. Cheap Atlanta Falcons Jerseys . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta. Wholesale Atlanta Falcons Jerseys . It will be their 15th head-to-head meeting and fourth in the post-season (Sunday at 2pm et/11am pt on CTV) and for his part, Brady isnt downplaying just how big the game is for him. "Im excited - Its everything you could ask for as an athlete," the New England Patriots quarterback told WEEI Radio in Boston on Monday. http://www.cheapfalconsjerseysauthentic.com/. As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators. Atlanta Falcons Jerseys 2018 . This has become the Raptors mantra as they embark on a new era with a new regime and, in the not-so-distant future, a new image. Falcons Jerseys China . Coetzees finish, with six birdies and no bogeys, took him to 19-under 268 overall and past South African compatriots Thomas Aiken and Justin Walters, the overnight co-leaders. Coetzee was flawless on the East Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club to clinch his maiden title after 24 top 10 finishes.ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Cardinals are prepared to live with the swings and misses, knowing that when Mark Reynolds connects the ball really travels.They have lacked a power bat off the bench, or power anywhere for that matter, and Reynolds also could platoon with Matt Adams at first base. Manager Mike Matheny promises he wont have batting coach John Mabry tinker too much with a stroke thats boom or bust.We need to capitalize on what his strengths are and not focus on the weaknesses, and realize hes got a power component thats very rare, Matheny said at the Winter Warm-Up fan festival. Make some subtle changes to maybe improve, but also not be afraid to get up there and try to drive the ball. Thats why we did bring him in.General manager John Mozeliak points out something of a happy medium approach would help both parties. Reynolds is playing for his fifth team in four seasons.I think we understood what we were buying, Mozeliak said. But thats not to say we also werent hopeful of maybe a little bit of an adjustment.The Cardinals made it to the post-season for a franchise-record fourth consecutive season without relying on the long ball, totalling 102 homers for second-worst in the major leagues. Home runs were down across the board among the starters and the bench contributed just 12.Thats why the Cardinals think the 31-year-old Reynolds is a good fit. He holds the major league record of 223 strikeouts in 2009 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and is just a .229 career hitter, but he hit 44 homers in 2009 and has 21 or more in each of his last seven seasons.Though he batted a paltry .196 last year with Milwaukee — and fanned neearly once per three at-bats in a part-time role — Reynolds managed to hit 22 homers.ddddddddddddhe one thing weve talked about a lot is whos the power off the bench, Mozeliak said. Historically, we just havent had a great answer for that. At the minimum, were hoping he can do that.Certainly, Reynolds would love reducing the strikeout count without sacrificing too much pop. But theres a limit.When theres two outs and nobody on base and I have two strikes, Im not going to try to hit a ball to second base, Reynolds said. Im going to try to drive the ball in the gap and get in scoring position, and I dont want to compromise that.After playing his first four seasons with Arizona, Reynolds has had stints with the Orioles, Indians, Yankees and Brewers. He chose a one-year deal with St. Louis for opportunities at the corner infield spots and perhaps some outfield, too, for a chance to play for a faithful fan base and above all join a team accustomed to playing deep into October.I had other opportunities to go other places where I could have probably played more, at least on paper, but it didnt look too good for the post-season, Reynolds said. I wanted to be here.The move figures to be a motivator for the left-handed hitting Adams, who batted .318 against right-handed pitchers but just .190 against lefties. Only three of Adams homers came against lefties.Reynolds hasnt exactly crushed lefties, either, with a career average of .231. But his on-base percentage of .351 against lefties is impressive.Im definitely not here to ride the pine, Reynolds said. Im going to try and make it tough on Mike to keep me on the bench. ' ' '