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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. Hugo Lloris Jersey UK . "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. Kevin Wimmer Jersey UK . Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday. Clinton NJie Jersey UK .com) - Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points with nine rebounds in the Miami Heats 83-75 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.The new IPL season gets underway this Saturday, live on Sky Sports, but who should get your backing? With England internationals, stars of the World T20 and a whole host of other big-name players on show, there are any number of reasons you might choose to support a specific side.So whether youre backing the boys from back home, embrace an underdog story or even if youre just a fan of The Hoff, weve got you covered... MUMBAI INDIANSYou should support them because… Jos Buttler is playingThe England wicketkeeper has been in fine form for England over the winter and after a starring role in Eoin Morgans sides run to the World T20 final, he will now head to Mumbai. The reigning IPL champions paid out £385,000 to secure Buttlers services and he will now join up with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Lasith Malinga and Kieron Pollard. Ricky Ponting is at the helm as the Indians look to defend their crown. Virat Kohli will captain an RCB side also containing Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers Captain: Rohit SharmaCoach: Ricky PontingBest performance: Winners (2013, 2015)2015 result: WinnersTop run scorer in 2015: Lendl Simmons (540)Top wicket taker in 2015: Lasith Malinga (24)ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALOREYou should support them because… their top four is awesomeWith Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Shane Watson and AB de Villiers around, RCB must fancy their chances of winning a first IPL title after near misses in 2009 and 2011. Gayle, in particular, has enjoyed himself during his time with the Bangalore franchise, hitting a record-breaking 175 not out against Pune Warriors in 2013. Even if he doesnt fire, the chances are one of Kohli, Watson and De Villiers will. Carlos Brathwaite (R) should be full of confidence for the start of the IPL Captain: Virat KohliCoach: Daniel VettoriBest performance: Runners-up (2009, 2011)2015 result: 3rdTop run scorer in 2015: AB de Villiers (513)Top wicket taker in 2015: Yuzvender Chahal (23)DELHI DAREDEVILSYou should support them because… they are due some successOn paper, the Daredevils have a squad to match most in the competition but that has long been the case and yet, time and again, they have fallen. Having retained South African trio JP Duminy, Imran Tahir and Quinton de Kock, they have added another Protea Chris Morris, Englands Sam Billings and a certain Carlos Brathwaite to their ranks. Could they finally live up to their promise in 2016? Mitchell Johnson will play for Kings XI Punjab Captain: Zaheer KhanCoach: Paddy UptonBest performance: 3rd (2012)2015 result: 7thTop run scorer in 2015: Shreyas Iyer (439)Top wicket taker in 2015: Nathan Coulter-Nile/Imran Tahir (15)KINGS XI PUNJABYou should support them because… Mitchell Johnsons in their ranksThe left-arm quick may have retired from international cricket but you can still see him in action, steaming in to bowl for Kings XI. Punjab are led by a South African, in David Miller, but there is a strong Aussie influence with Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis joining Johnson. They have also spent big to bring in seamer Mohit Sharma after a disappointing 2015. West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell is dangerous with bat and ball Captain: David MillerCoach: Sanjay BangarBest performance: Runners-up (2014)2015 result: 8thTop run scorer in 2015: David Miller (357)Top wicket taker in 2015: Anureet Singh (15)KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERSYou should support them because… they make you think of The HoffAnd what better reason is there than that to pick a team? David Hasselhoff starred as Michael Knight in the 1980s televisual gem Knight Rider, with his character fighting crime with his artificially intelligent car KITT. Kolkata Knight Riders kit is a cracker, too - an excellent purple strip - and there are plenty of star names who will wear it, including West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell, Bangladeshs Shakib Al Hasan and New Zealand boundary hitter Colin Munro, as well as home favourites Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa. Tottenham Hotspur Jersey UK. There will be a legend in charge, too, with Jacques Kallis now head coach following Trevor Bayliss switch to England. Can Eoin Morgan regain his form at Sunrisers? Captain: Gautam GambhirCoach: Jacques KallisBest performance: Winners (2012, 2014)2015 result: 5thTop run scorer in 2015: Robin Uthappa (364)Top wicket taker in 2015: Andre Russell (14)SUNRISERS HYDERABADYou should support them because… you can keep tabs on Eoin MorganMorgan will be gutted after his England side were pipped at the post by West Indies in the World T20 final but will get the chance to hit that out of his system over the next few weeks. Morgan scored one fifty in nine innings for Sunrisers in 2015, with captain David Warner and the mustachioed Shikhar Dhawan the main run getters. Those two remain this year and with Yuvraj Singh, Kane Williamson and Moises Henriques in tow, Morgan will have to quickly regain the form that deserted him during the World T20 to force his way into the side and stay there. MS Dhoni will captain new franchise Rising Pune Supergiants Captain: David WarnerCoach: Tom MoodyBest performance: 4th (2013)2015 result: 6thTop run scorer in 2015: David Warner (562)Top wicket taker in 2015: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (18)GUJARAT LIONSYou should support them because… they might do the Champion dance!West Indies boogieing along to their Champion tune was one of the most indelible images of the World T20 - and the architect of it, DJ aka Dwayne Bravo, is playing for new franchise Gujarat this time around. Bravo may do a jive if his famed slower balls come up trumps and with James Faulkner having been signed, too, Lions possess seamers with more tricks up their sleeves than Dynamo. Gujarats batting also looks handy - Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum will provide some wallop up top, with Suresh Raina, who has played more matches and scored more runs than any other player in IPL history, offering class and composure in the middle. Captain: Suresh RainaCoach: Brad HodgeBest performance: N/A2015 result: N/ATop run scorer in 2015: N/ATop wicket taker in 2015: N/ARISING PUNE SUPERGIANTSYou should support them because… of KP and MSThe IPLs second new franchise for 2016 are arguably even more power-packed than the first. Pune are skippered by MS Dhoni, who captained Chennai Super Kings to IPL glory in 2010 and 2011 as well as to the final on four other occasions, while exiled England batman Kevin Pietersen will be looking to build on fruitful recent T20 stints in the Big Bash and Ram Slam having joined his fifth IPL outfit. Sticking with initials, SS, MM and RA could also be key for Pune - Australia captain and batsman extraordinaire Steve Smith; his countryman, seam-bowling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh; and a master of the art of spin bowling, Ravichandran Ashwin. Dwayne Bravo (far left) is the orchestrator of the Champion dance Captain: MS DhoniCoach: Stephen FlemingBest performance: N/A2015 result: N/ATop run scorer in 2015: N/ATop wicket taker in 2015: N/A Get Sky Sports Join us and watch the Indian Premier League live on Sky Sports. Fast and easy online upgrade Also See: IPL by the numbers WATCH: Butch at the IPL IPLs stars of World T20 Live cricket on Sky Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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