News » ugh. Its a stepping stone in the right direction

NEW YORK -- Andrei Vasilevskiy faced 20 shots in the third period Monday night, so there wasnt much time for him to worry about the status of his shutout. Stitched Cubs Jerseys .The Tampa Bay Lightning goalie was more worried about a victory, anyway.Vasilevskiy made 34 saves for his third career shutout, J.T. Brown and Ryan Callahan scored 42 seconds apart in the first period and the Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-0 on Monday night.We get two points, thats most important, Vasilevskiy said, and the shutout is a little bounce.The goalie said he expected the Islanders to press in the third after being outshot 17-4 in the second.Usually when a team plays not that good (in the second period), they make a push in the third, Vasilevskiy said. We did a good job on the (penalty kill) and the game overall, blocked shots and good play. I just want to say thank you to our guys for the shutout.Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov scored as the Lightning won for the fourth time in seven games (4-2-1) following a three-game skid.Steven Stamkos had two assists to help Tampa Bay complete a sweep of the three-game season series with the Islanders -- all within the last 14 days -- by a combined 14-2 margin.We sat back probably a little too much in the third and put Vasy in a tough position to make some big saves, Stamkos said. He earned the shutout for sure.Jaroslav Halak had 27 saves for New York, which was shut out for the first time this season and fell to 1-3-3 in its last seven.Obviously we dont want to be in the spot we are in, Islanders captain John Tavares said. We just have to play positive and get better. You get up tomorrow and try to get better.Travis Hamonic returned to the Islanders just nine days after suffering a hand injury that was expected to keep him out four to six weeks. However, New York was without fellow defenseman Dennis Seidenberg after he was placed on injured reserve with a broken jaw after getting hit in the face by a puck in Saturday nights overtime loss at Florida. Scott Mayfield was an emergency recall from Bridgeport of the AHL, and the Islanders used seven defensemen and 11 forwards.Mayfield fought with Brown about 5 1/2 minutes into the second after Brown hit Tavares. Mayfield received 17 minutes of penalties, getting whistled for instigating and a misconduct in addition to the fighting major.Kucherov extended Tampa Bays lead to 3-0 with 5:36 left in the second by completing a give-and-go with Stamkos, snapping the puck past Halak for his sixth of the season. It was Kucherovs fourth goal against the Islanders, including one in each of the teams three meetings.The Lightning made it 4-0 about 2 1/2 minutes later when Stamkos brought the puck up ice and sent a pass to the right to Namestnikov, who tipped it in for his third.Brown got the Lightning on the scoreboard with 1:02 left in the opening period, taking a pass from Craig Paquette and flicking the puck past Halak.Tampa Bay made it 2-0 with 20 seconds remaining when Andrej Sustr fired a shot from the right point that Callahan appeared to deflect with the shaft of his stick over Halaks glove. It was Callahans first goal of the season and his 349th career point.Kucherov nearly added to the lead in the closing seconds of the first, but the puck ricocheted of the crossbar.Game notes Stamkos had seven points (two goals, five assists) in the three meetings against the Islanders this season, and Kucherov had six points (four goals, two assists). ... Stamkos also has a point in six of the last eight games with three goals and seven assists. ... Tampa Bay improved to 9-0-1 this season when scoring at least three goals. ... The Islanders have lost seven straight against the Lightning, including the last four of Tampa Bays five-game series win in the second round of the playoffs last spring. ... New Yorks Nikolay Kulemin played his 598th game.UP NEXT:Lightning: At Detroit on Tuesday night in the second game of a five-game trip.Islanders: Host defending champion Pittsburgh on Friday night to complete their two-game homestand before heading out on a three-game California trip.---Follow Vin Cherwoo at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP Chicago Cubs Store . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. Chicago Cubs Pro Shop . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. https://www.cheapcubs.com/ . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up.Liverpool legend Phil Thompson believes that silverware is more important to the club than securing Champions League football ahead of Wednesdays Europa League final. The winner of Europes second-tier tournament will qualify for the group stages of the Champions League next season, adding to the importance of the Basel showdown between the Reds, who finished eighth in the Premier League, and La Ligas 7th-placed side, Sevilla.But Thommo, who won three European Cups during his distinguished Anfield career, insists securing silverware is still the most important factor for both the club and the players. Speaking to Sky Sports, Thompson said: If you ask me, winning a trophy is always the most important. People talk about finishing fourth like its winning a trophy but its not. Liverpool have seen off Dortmund and Villarreal to reach the final I think its massive for these players playing in another final. Winning trophies brings you a mentality which you cant put a price on.This is Liverpool Football Club and prestige of competing in finals, especially European ones, is huge, thats why players want to play for this club.Obviously a lot of people in England see it as second rate but in Europe its huge. I remember in 2001 when we won our three trophies and all the foreign players and Gerard Houllier saw the UEFA Cup as the most important one over the FA Cup and League Cup. Winning trophies brings you a mentality which you cant put a price on. Phil Thompson However, Thommo has warned Liverpool fans not to get too carried away if they do return to Europes top competition as Klopp comes to the end of his first season in charge.He added: It puts us back up there competting with the best but it doesnt suddenly make us contenders to win the Champions League. Cheap Cubs Jerseys. . Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool dont need luck to beat Sevilla in the Europa League final Finishing seventh in the Premier League isnt good enough. Its a stepping stone in the right direction but its consistency that this team need in order to compete for the league.What people have still got to remember is this is Brendan Rodgers squad so Klopp still has to do a fair bit of tinkering to get a the right players for his style of play to really be effective. Thommo predicts... Find out what Thommo is predicting for the Europa League final here. 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