Chat » ization, the ultra-competitive landscape of the

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. Despite being swept in the first round of the NHL playoffs, the young team led by Steven Stamkos has plenty of reasons to feel encouraged about the future. One year after struggling to the 28th-best record in the league, the Lightning finished second in the Atlantic Division and posted the third-best mark in the Eastern Conference. The Montreal Canadiens eliminated them from the post-season in four games, but coach Jon Cooper said none of his players should hang their heads because the Lightning had a successful season. "Its been a transition year for us in an unbelievably positive way," said Cooper, whos completing his first full season behind the bench. "I dont want this series to be looked at as they were a failure," Cooper added. "Those guys got swept in the first round, but they had a heck of a year." Stamkos missed 45 games because of a broken right leg but still amassed 25 goals and 40 points in 37 games to help Tampa Bay return to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. The 24-year-old captain has scored more goals than any NHL player since the start of the 2009-10 season. His absence from early November to just before a late-season trade sent Martin St. Louis to the New York Rangers created unexpected opportunities for several young players who helped the team stay afloat while Stamkos was out. Goaltender Ben Bishop set a franchise record with 37 victories before a left elbow injury sidelined him for the final week of the regular season and the playoffs. Rookie Ondrej Palate led the team with 59 points and another first-year player, Tyler Johnson, set a club record for rookies with 24 goals. In all, Tampa Bays rookies combined for 201 points, more than twice as many for first-year players from any other team. "Its been well documented what this team has gone through this year," Cooper said, adding that few people gave the Lightning much of a shot at making the playoffs when the season began. Stamkos said its important young players learn from their post-season experience. The Lightning dropped the first two games to the Canadiens at home and didnt feel they played their best hockey until the third period of Game 4 in Montreal on Tuesday night. "Everyones probably feeling a little embarrassed. But in the long run, you probably had to go through something like this," Stamkos said. "I think we will learn," the captain added, "that sacrifice, determination and work ethic is what wins at this time of year." Ryan Callahan, the former Rangers captain obtained in the deal that sent an unhappy St. Louis to New York, agreed. "This means nothing if as a group (the Lightning) doesnt realize how hard the playoffs are and how consistent you have to be moving forward," Callahan said. "Its a waste if you dont learn from it." Eight rookies made their playoff debut in Game 1, while another key player -- goalie Anders Lindback, standing in for Bishop -- entered the series with just 13 minutes of post-season experience. Six first-year players notched their first playoff points in the opener, won by the Canadiens 5-4 in overtime. The next step is returning next season and proving this years success wasnt a fluke. "The amount of youth that we have here is very promising," Stamkos said. "We want to be a perennial playoff team. This is a start." Air Max 720 Cheap Uk . Johns IceCaps erased an early two-goal deficit to come from behind and defeat the host Portland Pirates 5-4 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. Cheap Air Max 720 Uk . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. http://www.airmax720outletuk.com/ . Marcus Olsson, 23, joins Blackburn on a free transfer from Swedens Halmstads. He made 139 appearances and scored 17 goals in his four years with the club. He earned his first caps for Sweden this month, featuring against Bahrain and Qatar. Air Max 720 Wholesale Uk .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Air Max 720 Outlet Uk . "I love the game, its the best job you can have," he explained Tuesday as the players left Joe Louis Arena for the summer. "Ill sit down with my wife and well go from there.MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings fired coach Leslie Frazier on Monday morning, one year after they made the playoffs and one day after they finished a 5-10-1 season. After going 10-6 in 2012, the Vikings regressed this year, done in by a leaky defence and an ongoing inability to find stability at quarterback. Frazier finished 21-33-1 in three-plus seasons. The 54-year-old Frazier had one season remaining on his contract. "We have tremendous respect and appreciation for Leslie and what he has done for the Minnesota Vikings," owner Zygi Wilf said in a statement distributed by the team. "He stepped in and established a strong positive culture here, and he has been the consummate professional as our head coach and in this community. Making this change is difficult but what we determined is best for the organization." The Vikings planned an afternoon news conference at Winter Park. Quarterback Christian Ponder sputtered and produced three straight turnover-plagued performances to start the season. The Vikings lost all three, on last-minute touchdowns to Chicago and Cleveland. They lost two other games and tied one in similar fashion, squandering leads inside the 52-second mark in all five of those. Though veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield was cut before the season to save space under the salary cap, the defence that has been Fraziers expertise faltered badly. Drafting Ponder 12th overall in 2011 was the primary responsibility of general manager Rick Spielman, but the shaky quarterback situation was far from the only problem for this team. Hired by Brad Childress to be the defensive co-ordinator in 2007, Frazier interviewed for seven head coach openings over a three-year span: Atlanta and Miami in 2008, Denver, Detroit and St. Louis in 2009, and Buffalo and Seattle in 2010. Finally, his opportunity came with the Vikings when Childress was fired in the middle of a messy 2010 season. Credited with keeping the team on an even keel while attention swirled around Brett Favre and the Metroodome roof collapsed the night before a scheduled game, Frazier went 3-3 as the interim, including an improbable win at playoff-bound Philadelphia after the NFL postponed that contest by two days because of a forecast snowstorm.dddddddddddd Frazier got the job for good in 2011, but after a lockout-shortened off-season, the Vikings went 3-13 behind an ineffective Donovan McNabb and then rookie Ponder at quarterback. In 2012, they staged a remarkable turnaround, riding Adrian Peterson to a spot in the playoffs. Childress had his contract extended in 2009 while the Vikings were on their way to the NFC championship game, but the team came unglued the following fall. Wary of a similarly expensive over-commitment, Wilf and the front office merely picked up a fourth-year option on Fraziers deal last January, putting him in a prove-it situation for 2013. Right away, his future here turned grim. And as widely liked as Frazier has been throughout the organization, the ultra-competitive landscape of the NFL rarely allows coaches with two double-digit-defeat records in three years to keep their jobs. His playing career as a cornerback for Chicago cut short by a knee injury in the Super Bowl, Frazier soon ventured into coaching, building the program at Trinity College from scratch in 1988. Fifteen years later, he became the defensive co-ordinator for Cincinnati. With two years as an assistant in Indianapolis, Frazier came from the Tony Dungy mould of coaches, a soft-spoken man of deep Christian faith who has excelled at creating a culture of harmony and respect around the locker room. After the Vikings beat Detroit on Sunday to wrap up the season, Frazier stumped to stay. He said he was proud of the job he has done here. "I just have a lot of belief in my abilities as a coach and have a lot of belief in the guys on our team, a lot of belief in our staff, and for that reason you dont have to walk in fear," Frazier said at the Metrodome. "You just know that things are going to work out." ' ' '