status boosted further by a direct invite to Boston. But whil

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Tampa Bay Lightnings offense looks fine so far minus captain Steven Stamkos.A few acrobatic saves by goalie Ben Bishop didnt hurt either.Nikita Kucherov scored to increase his team-leading point total to 22, and Alex Killorn snapped a 10-game goal drought in leading a the Lightning to a 4-1 victory over the injury-depleted and scoring challenged Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.Tampa Bay won its third straight, and improved to 6-2-1 in its past nine in its first game since Stamkos was sidelined by a torn ligament in his right knee.Obviously, were going to miss him. Hes a great leader. Its just one of those things where youve got to step up, said Bishop, who stopped 32 shots. Youve got to go more as a team effort because you cant rely on your big dog to come through. ... But weve got a lot of big dogs here.The Lightning were certainly barking with a spread-out attack that also included goals from Nikita Nesterov and Brayden Point, while Valtteri Filppula set up two goals with no-look passes.Its a necessary approach for a team that will be missing its two-time NHL scoring champion, who is expected to be sidelined for four months after having surgery earlier in the day.We know the drill and its going to be up to certain guys to kind of fill it up, said Killorn, who also had an assist. Thats 40 goals a year, and weve got to kind of make up for it.Its a different story for Buffalo, which continues to struggle to overcome its growing number of injuries.The Sabres are winless in their past six (0-4-2), a stretch in which theyve managed just six goals.It must be a joke right now: If you score two goals against the Buffalo Sabres youre going to win the game, forward Evander Kane said. Weve got to end that.Buffalo is playing without two top-line forwards, Ryan OReilly (mid-section) and Jack Eichel (left ankle), and two regular defensemen, Zach Bogosian (knee) and Dmitry Kulikov (lower back).Except for defenseman Cody Franson scoring on the power play, the Sabres couldnt buy a goal against Bishop.The most telling moment came a little over three minutes into the second period, when Bishop played the puck behind his own net and inexplicably sent a pass through the middle. The puck landed directly on the stick of Sabres forward Kyle Okposo, who snapped a shot at the wide-open net.Bishop, however, scrambled back and dived across the crease to glove the shot.Its a 1-0 game at that point and I just though he was completely out of it and wanted to make sure I settled it for a half second and shot it, Okposo said, before letting out a sigh. He made a heck of a save.Phew, said Bishop.I dove and I felt it hit my glove and I was kind of like, `Are you kidding me? Bishop said. Sometimes its good to be a little lucky, I guess.He was fortunate again in the second period when defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen slipped a shot through his legs only to have the puck dribble wide of the left post. Bishop did make several big stops on forward Sam Reinhart parked in front.Kucherovs goal with 18 seconds remaining in the second period proved to be a backbreaker for Buffalo. It allowed the Lightning to reclaim a two-goal lead after Franson had cut the margin seven minutes earlier.Killorn pounced on a turnover in Buffalos zone and fed Kucherov, who drove to left circle. Kucherov then snapped a shot that beat goalie Robin Lehner, who was screened by Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson.Game notes Lightning LW Jonathan Drouin returned after missing seven games with an upper body injury. ... The Sabres Dan Bylsma became the NHLs 66th coach to reach 500 games. ... Franson became Buffalos first defenseman to score a goal this season. ... D Anton Stralman (upper body) missed his third straight game and is not expected to miss the final two games of Lightings five-game road trip.UP NEXTLightning: At Philadelphia on Saturday.Sabres: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Discount Jordan Shoes Wholesale . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Air Jordan Wholesale Uk . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. http://www.ukairjordan.com/ . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Jordan Retro Shoes Uk . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Cheap Discount Jordan Shoes . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Even after a dramatic Dota 2 offseason filled with roster swaps and retirements, the dust still hasnt settled since the conclusion of The International 6. Theres been precious few international LANs to gauge the performance of the new lineups, and there are still a good number of unknowns going into the 2017 season. The Boston Major set at the Wang Theatre will be the venue to quell doubts and establish the tone of the 2017 season. After so many of the traditional favorites fell to new faces in the Boston qualifiers, a new balance of power has arisen in Dota 2. If you havent watched any Dota since August, a lot has changed.Still, theres been just enough interregional play and major LANs to start drawing lines. Whos a favorite for the title in Boston? Who will need to make some miracles happen?1. Wings GamingThe reigning champs of The International, Wings Gaming were one of the few teams to stick together in the offseason, and for good reason. No other squad looks as consistent or solid as Wings. Watching recent matches, you would think a day hasnt passed since August, as key players like Chu shadow Zeyu and Zhang Faith_bian Ruida continue to put up impressive performances. Wings have been humbled a couple times in the months since TI6, falling to EG at The Summit 6 to finish third, but its still hard to bet against them. Even in losses, teams have to work uphill to earn the victory against this team, and you can never really count these five out of any match.2. Evil GeniusesQuestions about Evil Geniuses capability without Peter ppd Dager may have been exaggerated, as Andreas Cr1t- Nielsen has stepped up to the captains role with aplomb. Evil Geniuses have been one of the most consistent teams coming out of the offseason, winning the MarsTV Dota 2 League 2016 Autumn and finishing third at The Summit 6. Even in a single-elim, best-of-three format, EG have a history of excelling. This squad is 9-1 in Game 3 situations, and have only been swept 2-0 three times in the last couple months. A solid bet for a top-three finish in almost any tournament, and certainly for the major.3. Virtus.ProEven a few weeks ago, I would have questioned placing Virtus.Pro so high. After The Summit 6 though, theres little doubt in anyones mind that VP are going to be a team to beat in Boston. Virtus.Pro are aggressive, in the way most CIS-region squads are known for, but their offensive-oriented mindset masks crisp, clean execution. This team clicks together like few others do, with well-timed rotations and pristine team fights. The fact that VP was under-the-radar for so long makes it a challenge for most teams to adjust as well; analysts and coaches will likely be picking apart VPs Summit matches in a hurry to dissect the team before Boston. VP may be a qualifier team, but its one of the most daunting matchups for any team bar-none headed into the main event.4. OGThough the green dream looked shaky, theyve since got their feet underneath themselves and started to sync up, most notably at The Summit 6. Rookie mid-laner Anathan ana Pham was a big question mark, as he was filling some big shoes on the roster while veteran mid Gustav s4 Magnusson was working up confidence in the offlane. Both have since proven their mettle in their respective roles, and as the team begins to shake some of its nerves, OG may prove to be a force to be reckoned with again. For now, theyre still in the upper-tier, but just outside the top three.5. Newbee After a low placement at The International, Newbee have since bounced back and looked competitive in their precious few interregional tournament appearances. Though Newbee have not competed in any significant international LAN in the last few weeks, you cant discount the talent and prowess already shown, even within the Chinese region. Undefeated runs in brackets are not uncommon for this team when playing other Chinese squads, and under captain Hu Kaka Liangzhi, theres no question that Newbee will be a strong contender in Massachusetts.6. Team NPThe trend of pro players forming their own organization has been fairly successful in the past year or so, and Team NP is the newest poster child for it. Made up of many talented North American pros, this team harkens back to the glory days of Cloud9 Dota 2, and not just because of lineup similarities. The balance of baffling brilliance and unpredictability of this team is something to watch, and keeps every NP game exciting from start to finish. Where other teams might need consistency headed into Boston, Team NP may need just the opposite; surprise picks, aggressive play and executing specific lineups has worked well for NP in the past, and could mean the difference between finishing in or out of the top three.7. EHOMEA more recent success story to hail from China, EHOME have had mixed results in recent LAN showings. A few losses to some upper-tier teams have snubbed EHOMEs runs early, but in-game, this team shows promise. The talent of players like Wang old chicken Zhiyong can lead to some explosive matches for the team, but the sticking point will be consistency. EHOME need reliable showings, and to avoid major lane implosions, which have allowed teams to steal away the game early from EHOME in the past.8. Digital Chaos The runner-up at TI6 has had a few stumbles in the months since August. Precious few LAN matches have doubled those concerns, as its sole pre-Boston appearance at The Summit 6 resulted in a less-than-desirable fifth-sixth finish. There may be too little data to determine whether DC has truly deteriorated frrom its top-two finish, but as it stands, Digital Chaos are not a clear favorite for the top spot at Boston, and given results from the Summit, barely cuts into the top eight.dddddddddddd.9. Team Faceless Made up of veterans and fresh faces, Team Faceless have some of the most potential of any qualifier team headed into Boston. Led by Daryl iceiceice Koh Pei Xiang, eyes should be on Dominik Black^ Reitmeier in the hard carry role. Not only one of the best Anti-Mage players outside of BurNIng, Reitmeier has been a playmaker for this team in the carry role. Having already pulled off some significant upsets in the SEA region, the team looked a little less promising at The Summit 6, landing in the bottom two at the tournament. Still, potential exists here for Faceless to make a run in the tournament, as one of the most promising dark horses among the qualifier teams.10. Ad Finem Hailing from Greece, Ad Finem have tried and failed twice to make the cut for a major: Manila, and again for TI6. Third time seems to be the charm for Ad Finem though, finally making it into Boston, and this team looks like a promising candidate for some upsets in the main event bracket. These are five talented players who have stuck it out since the teams inception in 2015, and most recently took games off NP and FDL. Ad Finem might be easy to overlook, but thats more than likely an advantage here, as this EU squad took a qualifier spot over lineups like Team Liquid and Secret while flying under the radar.11. LGD Forever Young Despite securing a first-place finish over top Chinese teams to get into Boston, more recent results have cast some shadows on LGD Forever Youngs chances for the top. A strong showing in the group stages of the Dota 2 ACE Provisional tournament was followed by a quick two-and-out exit from the bracket, courtesy of Vici Gaming J. Never count out captain Zhang xiao8 Ning, who earned his title of Director 8 for a reason. LGD.FYs Boston hopes will rest on the captains shoulders, and though it may not look promising, Zhang has captained TI-winning squads before, so anything is possible for this uneasy lineup in Boston.12. MVP Phoenix A top team at most international LANs, MVP Phoenix have had some trying times as of late. After losing key players to Team Secret in the offseason, MVP didnt look quite like the team that took fifth-sixth at TI6. The recent substitution of Lee Forev Sang-don back onto the team is the X-factor, as the teams Boston hopes will rest squarely on his shoulders in the one-role core position. MVP Phoenix could once again pull off an incredible LAN run, like it often does at major Valve events, and make a real contest for a top spot. Given recent performances in the SEA region, though, its hard to do anything more than speculate what-ifs.13. Warriors Gaming UnityA surprise to anyone not well-versed in the region, WG Unity came out of the SEA qualifiers looking solid, edging out Fnatic and Mineski to take the second spot. In the past, this team had some impressive wins on its resume, including several over Execration. It remains to be seen if this team has the talent needed to edge out other competitors, but going off its SEA performances, WG Unity could be looking at some quality wins coming into Boston.14. Complexity A team that looked promising coming into Boston, especially in a highly competitive North American region, recent incidents have introduced a lot of variables into coLs Boston prospects. The sudden departure of Justin jk Rosselle shook up the Complexity lineup, and now there is some ambiguity as to whether new sub Jaron monkeys-forever Clinton or offlaner David Moo Hull will fill Rosselles spot. The team has exhibited the ability to compete at a high level, and to take teams like EG and NP to full sets, but with so many question marks and unknowns, its hard to know what version of Complexity will show up in Massachusetts.15. Execration What was one of the more surprising direct invites to the Boston Major, Execration certainly looked strong out of the gate coming into the 2017 season. After a third-place finish in the TI6 wild cards, the team seemed promising after beating a few of its uppermost interregional opponents, a status boosted further by a direct invite to Boston. But while Execration can take games off other SEA teams, this lineup struggles against international competitors. A recent second-place finish at ROG Masters masks the fact that Execration didnt face a team that had been to a major or International until the grand finals, where it got swept 3-0 by Team Secret. Even within the region, Execration has often fallen to teams like WG Unity and Fnatic. Despite their status as direct invite, Execration doesnt have much on their resume to assure theyll make a dent in the Boston bracket.16. Invictus Gaming Vitality The second-place qualifier for the Boston Major from the Chinese region, Invictus Gamings Vitality lineup has had precious few triumphs this season besides the qualifier win. Besides emerging victorious to make it to Boston, Vitality has otherwise fallen to many other Chinese competitors, including a last-place finish at the Nanyang Cruise Cup and only one win overall at the MarsTV Dota 2 League 2016 Autumn. This team has often floated around the middle of the pack in regional LANs, but Vitality will need to seriously up its game and focus to make it past the first round of eliminations in Boston. ' ' '