Allgemein » tie less than four minutes into the period.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning finally came out on the winning side of a one-goal game at home. Nikita Kucherov scored the lone shootout goal and the Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Thursday night. Kucherov beat Craig Anderson on the first shot during the shootout, while Lightning goalie Ben Bishop stopped all three shots he faced. Tyler Johnson, B.J. Crombeen and Ondrej Palat scored in regulation for the Lightning, who had lost each of their previous five home games (0-3-2) by one goal. Victor Hedman, who sat out a game with a leg injury, had three assists in his return. "We want to be up there in the top of the league," Hedman said. "We have to find ways to win." Tampa Bay moved into a first-place tie with Boston -- which has two games at hand -- in the Atlantic Division. Erik Karlsson, Clarke MacArthur and Chris Neil had the Ottawa goals. The Senators are 2-6 in shootouts this season. "Its a skills competition," Anderson said. "It should be reserved for All-Star games." Neil tied it at 3 from the right circle with 2:18 remaining in the third. It was his 100th NHL goal. "It was a while coming," said Neil, who has played in 824 NHL games. "Obviously, the way I play, just plugging around and sticking around, it is a milestone. Ive got the puck. It will go up in my basement." Tampa Bay went ahead 3-2 at 5:31 of the third when Martin St. Louis extended his point streak to nine games by sending a pass through the slot to Palat, who scored from just below the left circle. "You dont like to give up the extra point to somebody in our division, but I just want to make sure we get two," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. St. Louis (963) moved within two points of tying Maurice Richard (965) for 85th on the NHL list. Crombeens redirection put the Lightning up 2-1 at 3:30 of the second. MacArthur got the Senators even at 2 by putting an in-close power-play shot past Bishop with 3:03 left in the second. Ottawas power play, the NHLs top-ranked road unit, had mixed results in its second opportunity in the first period. After Johnson beat Anderson for a short-handed goal at 14:32, Karlsson tied it at 1 on his third goal and 23rd man-advantage point of the season 40 seconds later. The Senators are 29th in the home power-play rankings. "You tell me. Ive been trying to answer that question for 50 games," Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said. "Im not sure if its a comfort level or what it is, but weve got to keep working on it. We believe that if we continue to work at it, its going to get good everywhere." Anderson was coming off a 2-0 victory Tuesday at Washington, which was the Senators second straight road shutout. NOTES: Tampa Bay star Steven Stamkos, sidelined since breaking his right shin on Nov. 11, was OK after taking a spill during a drill at the teams morning skate. "I was kind of laughing," Stamkos said. "Its the first time Ive fallen in 10 weeks. Just knowing that everything was fine, you get right back up, I didnt feel anything whatsoever. So, thats nice." Stamkos, who hasnt ruled out playing in the Sochi Olympics next month, was scheduled to have X-rays Thursday night to see how the leg is progressing. ... MacLean used the same lineup as the Washington game, including D Marc Methot being scratched. ... Chicago Blackhawks senior adviser and 13-time Stanley Cup winner Scotty Bowman, a regular at Lightning home games, is scheduled to have right knee replacement surgery Friday in Tampa. Brendan Shanahan Red Wings Jersey . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad. Sergei Fedorov Jersey . -- Packers cornerback Tramon Williams has been fined $26,250 for contact with an official, per NFL guidelines. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/gordie-howe-jersey/ . -- Among the 31 players at the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, none feels closer to cracking the NHL roster than right winger Aaron Palushaj. Curtis Joseph Jersey .Corey Brewer had 19 points eight rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time since Ricky Rubio went out with an injured ankle on Nov. Pavel Datsyuk Red Wings Jersey . First reported by FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal, its unknown if the impetus for the deferral proposal came from players or management, but it never left the preliminary stages.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have secured at least one half of their starting safety tandem after signing Aaron Williams to a four-year, $26 million contract extension Wednesday. A person with knowledge of the contract said Williams is guaranteed $14.625 million. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms were not released by the Bills. The extension locks up Williams through 2018, and comes at a time when the Bills risk losing three-time Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd, who is preparing to test free agency next week. "I told them I accept the role of leading this defence to where it used to be," Williams said. "Im just blessed that they gave me that opportunity, and they trusted me to be here long-term to get this team back to where it started." Williams, Buffalos second-round pick in the 2011 draft, was entering the final year of his contract. He was rewarded with the extension after successfully making the switch from cornerback to safety last season. In 14 games last year, Williams had a career-best 82 tackles and tied Byrd for the team lead with four interceptions. Overall, he has five interceptions and two forced fumbles in 34 career games. "Aaron is the type of young, core player we targeted early in the process to retain for years to come," general manager Doug Whaley said in a released statement. "We expect Aaron to continue to grow into a key contributor for the Bills organization.&quuot; The question is whether Williams will continue to develop alongside Byrd.dddddddddddd This week, the Bills decided against applying the franchise tag for a second consecutive year to retain Byrds rights, opening the door for the fifth-year player to test free agency on March 11. Williams is hoping the Bills can still reach a deal to re-sign Byrd, because the two established a solid on-field rapport last season. "If Jairus does come back, that would be the greatest thing ever, because our chemistry is unbelievable," Williams said. "If he doesnt come back, good luck to him. Were always going to be best friends. ... Well just have to move on and find another piece to try to replace his role." The Bills defence is undergoing another off-season change, with Jim Schwartz taking over as co-ordinator after Mike Pettine left to become the Cleveland Browns head coach. Schwartz has a similar aggressive defensive coaching philosophy, which is expected to ease the transition. "I feel real confident that nothing major is going to change," Williams said. "There might be a few things here and there, but I think team-wise, once we get all the pieces together we will be fine." The Bills also announced free-agent linebacker Jameel McClain had arrived in Buffalo to meet with team. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 245 pounds, McLain spent the past six seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before being released by the team last week. ' ' '