e how much Carr has developed since he faced them two years ago in his second game as a starter.Carr was intercepted twice that game as Oakland lost 30-14 as part of a 0-10 start

TAMPA, Fla. Houston Rockets Store . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning used the power play to extend their recent dominance over the New York Islanders.Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves and the Lightning beat the Islanders 4-1 on Thursday night.The Lightning went 2 for 6 on the power play, and New York failed to score on its one chance.The power play helped us out, kick-started it, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson and Brian Boyle also scored for the Lightning, who have outscored the Islanders 10-2 in winning the first two games of the season series.Tampa Bay also beat the Islanders in five games during the second round of last seasons playoffs.Theyre a good hockey team, New York center John Tavares said. We just havent played to a level that we need to have success against them.The Islanders got a goal from Andrew Ladd.Stamkos opened the scoring by beating Jaroslav Halak from the left circle on a power play 8:03 into the game. The star center has 111 career power-play goals with Tampa Bay, one shy of Vincent Lecavaliers team record.It was just the fifth time in 14 games that the Lightning scored first.Thats something weve discussed, Stamkos said. For sure, weve got to start games better.New York was called for all three penalties in the first period, on undisciplined infractions for elbowing, cross-checking and high-sticking.You have to work as a unit of five, and at the end of the day you just have to find a way to do it, Islanders coach Jack Capuano said of New Yorks 25th-ranked short-handed success rate.Kucherov also scored from the left circle 3 minutes after Stamkos goal to make it 2-0. Victor Hedman got his 188th career assist to become the franchise leader for defensemen.Halak was pulled and replaced by Thomas Greiss 2:50 into the second after Johnson scored from the left circle on Tampa Bays fourth power play. Halak allowed three goals on 16 shots.Theres no secret, Tavares said. The amount of penalties we take, its really putting us in a tough spot.Shortly after Vasilevskiy made a strong save on Casey Cizikas during a 4-on-1, Ladd pulled New York to 3-1 midway through the second.Boyle scored early in the third.Game notes The Islanders host Tampa Bay on Monday night to complete the three-game season series in a 14-game span. ... Stamkos has 13 goals and 29 points in 27 games against the Islanders. ... Tampa Bay LW Jonathan Drouin missed his fourth straight game after taking a hit to the head Nov. 1 from Islanders D Calvin de Haan. ... The Islanders returned forward Mathew Barzal to Seattle of the WHL.UP NEXTIslanders: Wrap up a two-game southern swing Saturday night at Florida.Lightning: Complete a two-game homestand Saturday night against San Jose. Matt Maloney Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. Lewis Lloyd Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. https://www.cheaprocketsonline.com/167z-...ey-rockets.html . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. ALAMEDA, Calif. -- When Derek Carr was preparing for the 2014 NFL draft, there was one quarterback-needy team that never came calling.After drafting Carrs older brother David with the first overall pick as an expansion team in 2002, the Houston Texans showed no interest in Davids little brother, taking pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney with the No. 1 pick and then guard Xavier Sua-Filo at the top of the second round -- three picks before Derek Carr went to Oakland.Well, they never talked to me, Carr said Thursday. I never talked one word to a Houston scout, G.M., coach anything. Im just happy to be here, I can tell you that.The Raiders are even happier as Carr has developed into one of the leagues top young quarterbacks in his third season and is a major reason why Oakland (7-2) is in position to end a 13-year playoff drought.Carr has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 2,505 yards with 17 touchdowns and a passer rating of 99.1 heading into Monday nights meeting with the Texans (6-3) in Mexico City.Hes having a heck of a year, Texans coach Bill OBrien said. Hes only thrown three interceptions, I think hes completing almost 70 percent of his balls, doing a good job throwing the ball down the field, and he can run. So, yeah, hes doing a lot. Hes got a good grasp of their offense. We evaluated all the quarterbacks coming out in that draft and we felt like he was definitely one of the better quarterbacks.They just decided against taking him. There was speculation at the time that Houston passed on Derek Carr because David struggled during his time with the Texans.David Carr was sacked 76 times as a rookie in 2002 and 249 times in five seasons. He never had a passer rating higher than 83.5 and didnt produce a winning record in any season with Houston before ending his career as mostly a backup with Carolina, San Francisco and the New York Giants.With help from a stronger offensive line and good pocket presence, Derek Carr has been sacked only 62 times in 41 career games.He can go up there and fix a problem, ESPN analyst Jon Gruden said. If theres a blitz coming on the left, he doesnt miss it; he changes the protection. He hand signals the route. He keeps tthe Raiders in optimum play selection, and things dont have to perfect. Patrick Beverley Jersey. . I mean, if the pocket isnt clean, he can just slide two feet to his right and throw an awkward-delivery release 18 yards down the field on the dime. Hes got very good pocket skills.Gruden worked Carr out at his quarterback camp before the draft and came away extremely impressed. He recalled Carr hitting a target 20 yards downfield so accurately that it broke the cameras filming the session.Carr has shown more of those skills while starting every game for Oakland since entering the league.Houston, on the other hand, has started seven quarterbacks in that span. The Texans gave Brock Osweiler a $72 million, four-year contract this offseason to fill that role but he has struggled in his first full season as a starter.Osweiler has completed just 58.6 percent of his passes and is last in the league with 5.6 yards per attempt. He has thrown only 11 touchdown passes with nine interceptions and has a passer rating of 74.1.Now they get a chance to see how much Carr has developed since he faced them two years ago in his second game as a starter.Carr was intercepted twice that game as Oakland lost 30-14 as part of a 0-10 start to his career.Now, he shows signs of reading defenses, changing plays at the line of scrimmage, he can make all the throws, he can control the pocket and his movement in the pocket so that he can make a throw, Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said. Hes a different cat and better. Hes a better guy then we faced a couple years ago.Game notes The NFL said there was no update on the status of LB Aldon Smith, who is waiting to be reinstated after his one-year suspension for substance abuse ended Thursday. Commissioner Roger Goodell must decide whether to reinstate Smith before he can make a comeback. ... DL Mario Edwards Jr. remains sidelined from a preseason hip injury.---AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '