Aktuelle News! » watched all the good decisions Ryan Malones made in h

WASHINGTON -- It came right down to the final moment of the final regular-season game for the Tampa Bay Lightning to secure home-ice advantage against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs. "Lets not kid ourselves: We still have to go in and play. It doesnt matter where you play -- the better teams going to win the game -- but it is nice to go home, sleep in your own bed, play in front of your home fans," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "You work so hard for 82 games, and it comes down to the last shot of the game in a shootout to attain that goal." Matthew Carle scored the only goal, Anders Lindback sealed his first shutout of the season by stopping attempts by Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov in the tiebreaker, and the Lightning edged the Washington Capitals 1-0 in the teams regular-season finale on Sunday. "Im glad I could deliver," said Carle, who put the puck past Capitals goalie Braden Holtby. The victory clinched second place in the Atlantic Division for Tampa Bay, which finished with 101 points, one more than Montreal. "They really wanted to get over that century mark in points," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said about his players. "Everybody was genuinely excited for each other. Thats what makes it fun." Tampa Bay will host Montreal in Game 1 on Wednesday night. The Canadiens were idle Sunday, after closing their regular season with a 1-0 overtime victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday night. "You hear stories from when they went on their run," Carle said, "and the building sounds like it gets pretty rowdy." Ovechkin finished with an NHL-leading 51 goals, but he also had a minus-35 rating, and the Capitals failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006-07, his second season in the league. "Its weird," Ovechkin said. "Its kind of a hard moment to realize youre not going to be in the playoffs and youre not going to fight for the Stanley Cup." His between-the-legs attempt in the shootout was blocked by Lindback, and Ovechkin wound up 2 for 16 in tiebreakers this season. The Capitals played in an NHL-record 21 shootouts this season, going 10-11 in those games. "A lot of em," said Capitals coach Adam Oates, who has one year left on his contract. "Theres a lot of points there." Washington finished with 90 points, three fewer than Detroit, which got the last wild-card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Asked about recent speculation about his job status, Oates said: "For me, you know what? All you can really do, all I focused on, is doing my job. Doing the best I can. And dont worry about it." Washington already had been eliminated but won four games in a row before Sunday. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, heads into the post-season on a four-game winning streak. While Cooper explained beforehand that he wanted to win to secure the higher playoff seeding, he also knew he needed to rest injured players such as centre Valtteri Filppula and left wing Ondrej Palat. "We want those guys to be ready for Wednesday. Were taking every step to make sure that happens," Cooper said. "I cant sit here and say theyre going to play on Wednesday. But they will be better Wednesday than they are today." Notes: Cooper said he didnt think LW Ryan Malones DUI and cocaine possession charges would be a distraction to the team. "Ryan is probably a little embarrassed of whats gone on. He made a poor decision, getting behind the wheel when he had alcohol in his system," Cooper said. "But for me, Ive watched all the good decisions Ryan Malones made in his life, and how charitable hes been and what a staple hes been in our community in the years hes been here. I hope this one instance doesnt take away from that, because hes been a class act for us, on and off the ice." Malone didnt travel with the team to Washington. His playoff status isnt known. ... Ovechkin and Backstrom tied for the team lead in points with 79. ... Tampa Bay C Tyler Johnson briefly stayed down on the ice in the second period and hunched over as he skated off, but he returned to action. Phil McConkey Giants Jersey . The Canadian Football Leagues all-time passing leader said he has not made a final decision, but he will discuss his future with Montreal Alouettes owner Bob Wetenhall on the weekend. Phil McConkey Womens Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. http://www.nygiantsfanaticshop.com/Black...ey.html?cat=962. Smith has spent the last three seasons with the Rockies, playing both left and right field, and has a .275 batting average with 51 homers and 181 RBIs in 487 major league games. Evan Engram Giants Jersey . Judging by his performance Saturday night, Cotto has plenty left in the tank. Cotto became the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world championships in four weight divisions, stopping Sergio Martinez in their WBC world middleweight title fight Saturday night. Harry Carson Jersey . Hughes, 30, is a former Major Leaguer with the Baltimore Orioles, having played in 14 games with the Os in 2010. He played with Class AA Binghamton of the Eastern League in the New York Mets system last season.TORONTO -- Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd tried to see the positives of the Nets 100-95 Game 2 loss to Toronto. "Were right where we want to be," he said in his pithy manner. "We had the opportunity to take the lead late in the game and we came up short." "Again its basketball," he added. "Sometimes they go in, sometimes they dont." They went in more for Toronto in the fourth quarter Tuesday night. The Raptors shot 75 per cent -- 12-of-16 -- in the final 12 minutes to even the NBA playoff series. After trailing 45-39 at the half, the Nets stepped it up to lead 66-64 at the end of the third quarter. Brooklyn led several times in the fourth and it was tied at 85-85 before Toronto pulled away. "We kind of took control there for a little bit," said New Jersey guard Deron Williams. "But we didnt do a good job on keeping them off the boards. And then we allow 36 points in that fourth quarter, which is way too high for us, somebody that prides themselves on defence and getting stops, especially down the stretch. We didnt do that tonight." Added veteran Paul Pierce: "We have to be better in the fourth quarter defensively." Down 79-78, the Nets sent in their shock troops of Kevin Garnett, Joe Johnson and Williams midway through the final quarter. Johnson had done his part in the third with 12 points to drag the Nets back into it. But this time they could not pull ahead as Torontos DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry stole the late show. Piercce, who scored nine of his 15 points in the final three minutes of Brooklyns 94-87 win Saturday, went 2-for-6 in the fourth quarter and finished 2-for-11 with seven points.dddddddddddd "It happens," said Kidd, who was in definite glass-half-full mode. "There are a lot of positive things that weve done in these first two games so now we have to go home and protect home." Expect an equally loud and proud crowd at the Barclays Center on Friday. Toronto GM Masai Ujiris Brooklyn slur prior to Game 1 is not likely to be forgotten. Garnett, for one, wondered what kind of reception such potty talk might bring back home. There will be no shortage of resolve on the court. Tuesdays game saw players from both sides throw themselves on the floor to corral a loose ball before an opponent did, as well as one in which pretty much everyone objected to the officiating. The hand-wringing and pained body language would have done Marcel Marceau proud. Given both sides seemed equally irked, the officials probably went home happy. Toronto, which had 19 turnovers in Game 1, coughed up 21 in Game 2. Coach Dwane Casey attributed it to a young team trying to do too much too quickly. On the plus side, Toronto outrebounded Brooklyn 52-30. So the series switches to Brooklyn, with the veteran Nets looking to regain the lead over a young Raptors squad that continues to overachieve. The two have now played each other six times this season, with three wins apiece. "These two teams are very similar," said Kidd. ' ' '