TAMPA, Fla. Brian Cushing Jersey . -- Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing went through his mind: "Youve got to tie up your skates. I might get a chance." The 15-year NHL defenceman made the most of a rare shootout opportunity, scoring in the 13th round to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night. "It just happened to go in," said Salo of his first successful shootout goal, coming in his third ever attempt. "It was obviously good for us. Its a good feeling." The shootout was tied at 4 through 12 rounds before Salo put a backhander past Evgeni Nabokov. Ben Bishop preserved the win by making a glove save on Johan Sundstrom. Ryan Callahan had two goals for the Lightning, who trail Montreal by two points for second place in the Atlantic Division. Tampa Bay, 6-0-4 in its last 10 games, has two games in hand on the Canadiens. "First and foremost, we got two points," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "So, thats what we need out of the game. Were going to have to do better than that. Give the Islanders some credit, they played really hard. Definitely, there were positives in the game, but as a whole, were a better 5-on-5 team than we showed tonight." The Islanders, out of the playoff race, got goals from Ryan Strome and Matt Donovan. Right wing Kyle Okposo, who has a team-best 27 goals and 69 points, was a late scratch due to a lower body injury. "We are trying to play hard at this point of the season, and were trying to get better each and every day," Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic said. "I thought we played a pretty good game." All three games between the teams this season were decided in a shootout, with the road team winning the first two. "I dont mind them when were winning," Callahan said. "When you lose them, you hate them." Callahan pulled the Lightning even at 2 on his second goal of the game, coming on a rebound 5:50 into the third. "We didnt have our best game, but really willed a way to win," Bishop said. Donovan put the Islanders up 2-1 while lunging forward in the slot at 9:17 of the second. It ended the defencemans 39-game goal drought. After Callahan redirected Radko Gudas shot past Nabokov just 29 seconds into the second, Strome put a shot past Bishop to tie it at 1 at 1:33. New York had a short-handed goal by Hamonic from centre ice waved off due to an offside call in the second. Hamonic stole Bishops errant long-range pass from the corner and put the puck into the vacated net. The Islanders failed to score during a 5-on-3 power play early in the third. Tampa Bay came up empty on a power play that covered the final 69 seconds of overtime. NOTES: Tampa Bay C Valtteri Filppula had an assist to extend his point streak (10 assists, 14 points) to 10 games. ... The Islanders recalled forward John Persson on an emergency basis from Bridgeport of the AHL. Persson, selected in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, made his NHL debut. Whitney Mercilus Texans Jersey . Toews played his first preseason game after being sidelined by a lower body injury. Alex Ovechkins first goal of the preseason, a power-play tally at 8:17 of the third period, lifted the Capitals into a 4-4 tie. Whitney Mercilus Jersey . The United States-born Fiva, who was eliminated in the first round at the Sochi Olympics, won the final ahead of Tomas Kraus of the Czech Republic, Didrik Bastian Juell of Norway and Christopher Del Bosco of Montreal. Duncan, from London, Ont., won the small final and is clinging to a tight lead in the standings as he aims to become the first Canadian to win a mens skicross Crystal Globe.LONDON - Trying to stem the uproar caused by his comments on racism, Sepp Blatter expressed regret Friday for causing offence to anyone but stopped short of a full apology and brushed off calls for his resignation as FIFA president. Blatter, who has been embroiled in controversy for two days, said he was sorry for the furor caused by his claim that racist abuse does not exist on the field and that any racial incidents could be settled by a handshake at the end of the match. The conciliatory move comes after Blatter was ridiculed in Britain, where even Prime Minister David Cameron joined the wave of condemnation and David Beckham said the FIFA presidents comments "were appalling." Speaking Friday in a BBC interview in Zurich, Blatter said he "deeply regretted" using "unfortunate words" in a pair of television interviews on Wednesday. Still, he didnt retract his view that racial insults could be forgotten after shaking hands. "I am sorry and I regret that my statements earlier this week have resulted in an unfortunate situation and has taken this dimension. I am committed to the fight against racism and I have no doubt about that," Blatter said. "I want to make it very clear I will not stop until we have stamped out of football racism. "When you have done something which was not totally correct, I can only say I am sorry for all those people affected by my declarations," Blatter added. "It hurts and I am still hurting because I couldnt envisage such a reaction." Blatter, who was re-elected to a four-year term in June but is still trying to restore FIFAs image after a corruption scandal in May, has faced calls in Britain for his resignation but he ruled out leaving his post Friday. "I cannot resign," he told the BBC. "Why should I resign? When you are faced with a problem you have to solve the problem. And to go out and to leave the organization, this would be unfair, this would be totally unfair and is not compatible with my fighting spirit, my character, my energy, my commitment, my personal commitment to football. "We have to go on. I have to go on," Blatter said. "This situation now can only make us stronger by uniting all efforts." Blatter insisted his "fight against racism and discrimination will go on," and said any players found guilty of racism on the field should be thrown out of the game. "Zero tolerance," he said. "This was a good lesson for me as well." After Blatters initial remarks caused a storm Wednesday evening, FIFA attempted to curb the outrage by trying to clarify the presidents comments with a statement on the organizations website. That was accompanied by a photo of Blatter hugging Tokyo Sexwale, a black South African government minister who was an anti-apartheid campaigner and former political prisoner on Robben Island. Sexwale, speaking in Johannesburg on Friday, said Blatter was wrong to say what he did and that his comments were "problematic" and "damaging," but added he was not willing "to kick a man when he is down." "You cant wash it (racism) away with a handshake," Sexwale said. "Once you use a racial slur, it doesnt go away. YYou cant exchange it with a jersey. Johnathan Joseph Texans Jersey. You cant mitigate it with a handshake." As for the photo, Sexwale said he wanted to believe that was not just a publicity stunt. "I dont want to suspect any motive behind the utilization of that picture, but I indicated that perceptions, impressions could be created worldwide in certain circles worldwide that this was an attempt to damage control or to clean ones image," said Sexwale, who spoke to Blatter Friday morning. When the picture was first put up, it drew renewed criticism from many in Britain, including Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who is black. And that in turn touched off a very public Twitter dispute between the player and the leader of world football, with Ferdinand saying Blatters views were "so condescending its almost laughable." Blatters latest gaffe follows previous verbal missteps such as suggesting that women players should wear tighter shorts, and gay fans should refrain from having sex at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar where homosexual acts are illegal. But in the rest of Europe and around the world, Blatters comments have not been met with the same outrage. The controversy in Britain, however, in part stems from current investigations into allegations that Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and Chelsea defender John Terry racially abused black players during Premier League games. In addition, anti-Blatter sentiment has been high in Britain since Englands failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup. The FIFA votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups last year were surrounded by claims of ethical misconduct. Before Fridays apology, many in Britain took their criticisms of Blatter public. While Cameron stopped short of calling for Blatters resignation, British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said the FIFA leader should go "for the sake of the game." Beckham, perhaps the most recognizable name and face in the world of football, joined in the condemnation of Blatter. "The comments were appalling. A lot people have said that," Beckham said in Los Angeles, where he and his Galaxy teammates are preparing for the MLS championship game. "I dont think that the comments were very good for this game." Beckham also dismissed Blatters idea that a handshake was enough following racist abuse. "It cant be swept under the carpet. It cant be sorted out with a handshake," Beckham said "Thats not the way of the world and thats not how racism should be treated. ... Racism is something we want to keep out of sport but also life in general." Neil Warnock, the manager of Premier League club Queens Park Rangers, suggested that black players around the world should boycott their next international matches in a show of protest against Blatter. "I dont see that anybody is going to sack him," Warnock said Friday. "I think the only way we could get him out of the situation that he is in if every black player in the country, in every country, refused to play in the next international game. "Thats the only way. Nothing else is going to get him out until he wants to go." ------ AP Sports Writers Gerald Imray in Johannesburg and Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report. wholesale nfl jerseyswholesale jerseys ' ' '
