But last years runner-up Jarkko Nieminen crashed

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Tampa Bay Lightnings current hot streak began with a home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Bolts hope to win a fifth straight game when they visit the Penguins for Fridays rematch at Consol Energy Center. Tampa recorded a 4-3 regulation win over the Pens on Dec. 23, as Tyler Johnson posted a hat trick to fuel the Lightning offense. That win halted Tampas 10- game losing streak in the series, giving the Bolts their first victory over Pittsburgh since Nov. 17, 2011. The Lightning have a chance to end another lengthy skid against the Pens, who have won the last eight meetings in the Steel City. Tampa is 0-7-1 all-time at Consol Energy Center and last beat Pittsburgh on the road at the now demolished Igloo on March 31, 2010. Tampa has posted victories against Carolina, Toronto and Buffalo since downing the Penguins. The Lightning, who will try to win five straight tonight for the first time since a six-game tear from Oct. 28-Nov. 9, is coming off Wednesdays 5-1 rout of the Sabres Ondrej Palat posted a goal and three assists to lead the Lightning in the New Years Eve rout of the Sabres. Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist, while Matthew Carle and Brett Connolly also scored for the Lightning. Our goals against have been going down and when it comes down to March and April, you really need to have your defensive play down, said Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper. Andrei Vasilevskiy needed to make just 10 saves to secure the win. No. 1 netminder Ben Bishop is expected to start tonight after not suiting up for Wednesdays game. Tampa said Bishops absence was not injury related, although he did miss four games recently with a lower-body issue. Bishop is 0-2-0 with a 4.26 goals against average in his career against the Penguins. He last faced them on Dec. 15 when he had to leave the game with an injury after stopping 4-of-5 shots. Vasilevskiy earned the win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 23, but was sent down to Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Thursday. Lightning defenseman Radko Gudas is questionable for tonight after sitting out Wednesday with an undisclosed injury. Tampas 15-4-1 home record is a big reason the club is sitting two points ahead of Montreal for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Bolts are just 9-7-3 as the visiting team, but hope to pick up a second straight away win tonight in the second stop on a four-game road trip. Pittsburgh was able to halt its longest losing streak of the season on New Years Eve, as it downed the visiting Carolina Hurricanes by a 2-1 score. The Penguins had lost four straight and three in a row in regulation before beating the Hurricanes with a late goal on Wednesday. Brandon Sutter snapped a 1-1 tie with 1:42 left in regulation. He took a bouncing feed from Beau Bennett and wristed the puck past Cam Ward from the slot. The shot tipped off a Carolina player before finding the back of the net. We stuck with it all night and any time you get a late goal like that its always a big boost, said Sutter. Our defense was solid all night and the goaltending was great. All in all a great game. Chris Kunitz had the other goal for the Penguins, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 shots in the win. Pittsburgh, which is tied with the New York Islanders for first place in the Metropolitan Division, improved to 14-5-1 as the home club. The Pens are playing the second test of a four-game homestand tonight and will continue the residency tomorrow against Montreal. With the Pens playing on back-to-back nights, backup Thomas Greiss could get a start over the next two days. Greiss, who battled a case of the mumps recently, hasnt started since seen action since Dec. 13, but he was well enough to suit up as the backup on Wednesday. Greiss has never faced the Lightning, while Fleury is 16-10-3 with a 2.45 GAA for his career in this matchup. Pittsburgh could get a couple of players back from injury or illness tonight. Forward Steve Downie practiced with the team for the second straight day on Thursday after missing six games with the mumps. He is questionable for tonight, as is defenseman Paul Martin, who has sat out the last six tests with an undisclosed injury. Martin returned to practice on Tuesday, but he will need to be activated off injured reserve to play tonight. Cheap Asics Shoes Online . The 17-year-old had four goals and four assists in 38 games for Liberec in the Czech pro league this past season. Zacha had three goals and two assists in seven games at the world mens under-18 championship in April when the Czech Republic took the silver medal. Asics Clearance Uk . The incident occurred at 6:28 of the first period in Anaheims 6-3 home win over Dallas on Sunday. Garbutt left the penalty box and skated at Penner before leaving his skates to deliver a check. http://www.cheapasicsuk.com/. This is an exercise I have undertaken a few times, starting in 2009, and hope that Ive refined my approach a little bit in that time to help paint a better picture. Asics Wholesale Uk . Many of those eyes are in the United States of America, a country that the sport has wanted on its side for some time. On Sunday the football Gods delivered once again, only this time it was time for good old USA to experience as much heartache as joy. Asics Shoes Uk Sale . But last years runner-up Jarkko Nieminen crashed out despite winning the first set against Denis Istomin. Istomin fired 10 aces and won 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2 to even his career record against Nieminen at 3-3.LOS ANGELES -- Even after three games and a cross-country flight in the previous five days, the Los Angeles Kings came out roaring at home with a three-goal first period against Winnipeg. Coach Darryl Sutters team knows all about peaking for the post-season after its Stanley Cup title run two years ago, and the Kings are counting down the games until they can try it again. Anze Kopitar scored two goals in the first period, Jonathan Quick made 24 saves, and the Kings beat the Jets 4-2 Saturday night for their sixth straight victory. Trevor Lewis and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Kings, who havent lost since March 17. Marian Gaborik and Willie Mitchell had two assists apiece as Los Angeles took a big early lead and cruised to its 14th win in 17 games. "I dont think there is any coasting goes on, period," Sutter said. "Youre just trying to refine parts of your game, very simple. You are trying to take care of your own business first. Youre not a playoff team until you clinch the playoff spot." The Kings are just a couple of wins away from clinching their fifth straight playoff trip and a first-round matchup with San Jose or Anaheim. After 4 1/2 weeks of outstanding play out of the Olympic break, theyre all but locked into third place in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles has won 13 of 16 since Sochi, with three one-goal losses between two lengthy winning streaks. Kopitars third multigoal game of the season was set up by another strong offensive game from Kings newcomer Gaborik, who had his second multipoint performance on Los Angeles top line. "We have a chance to finish very strong and prepare for the playoffs," said Gaborik, who has eight points in his past nine games with Los Angeles. "This team works well in a system. Everybody is on the same page. Everybody is trusting each other. Its like one big machine." And that machine steamrolled the Jets in the opening 20 minutes. Matt Halischuk and Blake Wheeler scored in the third period for the Jets, who hadnt visited Los Angeles since Jan. 3, 1996. Ondrej Pavelec gave up three goals in the first period before getting pulled, and Al Montoya stopped 12 shots iin the final 40 minutes.dddddddddddd Winnipeg has lost four of six and 10 of 13, its playoff hopes dwindling to a faint prayer. The Jets trail eighth-place Phoenix in the Western Conference standings by nine points with seven games to go and three teams between them. The erstwhile Atlanta Thrashers finally have appeared in every NHL road arena since their move to Manitoba in 2011, but they couldnt keep up in the first period against their surging hosts. "We got taught a real good lesson in the first period about being ready to play a hard game," Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. "We were just giving up so much ice and backing up. The last two periods, we were ready to play. Theres a learning lesson for some." The Kings went ahead just 2:42 in when a sharp-angled shot somehow got past Pavelec for Lewis career-best sixth goal of the season. Lewis didnt score in his first 38 games of the season, but the grinding forward has four goals in March. Kopitar then scored when a rebound of Gaboriks shot banked off his skate and in for the Slovenian centres 23rd goal. Gaboriks shot sent Winnipeg defenceman Mark Stuarts stick flying into Pavelecs chest. Kopitar scored again late in the period, muscling past the Winnipeg defence for a rebound backhand. "There is no explanation," Wheeler said of the Jets early effort. "They came out with the kind of energy you need to start a hockey game. We didnt. Thats what happens. After the opening period, we figured it out a little bit." After a scoreless second period, Halischuk scored his first goal since Dec. 14 from right in front of Quick, banging home Evander Kanes pass from below the goal line in the corner. Quick made an amazing facedown save with 1 minute to play, sticking his right leg into midair to block a long Winnipeg shot. NOTES: The Kings have outscored their opponents 19-11 during their winning streak. ... Los Angeles has 44 victories, two shy of the regular-season club record with seven games to go. ... Mitchell had his first multipoint game since April 5, 2012. The stay-at-home defenceman missed all of last season with injuries, and he had seven points in his first 69 games this season. ' ' '