Three weeks have passed since Hockey Canada announced its 25-player mens roster for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. And in that time span, the Tampa Bay Lightning have remained near the top of the Eastern Conference without star forward Steven Stamkos. Playing a key role in the Lightnings recent success has been the play of veteran forward Martin St. Louis, who was passed over by his own general manager Steve Yzerman for a spot on the Canadian Olympic team. The veteran winger and team captain has been on a tear since the Olympic team announcement, racking up 14 points in 10 games since Jan. 7. "I dont think its motivation to be honest," said St. Louis, whose Lightning were set to face the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. "I feel like I played some good hockey this year - Ive had some good bounces - but I dont think (being left off the Olympic team) is motivation. "I mean, Im motivated for Game 1 or Game 10. To play in this league and be successful you need to be motivated. Its been like that my whole career. I dont think these last 10 games Ive been more motivated." St. Louis, who captured his second career Art Ross Trophy last season as the league leader in scoring, also grabbed the spotlight with the first four-goal game of his career against San Jose on Jan. 18. And while hes taken much of the offensive workload in Stamkoss absence, he believes its been a team effort. "At first it was a little shock, obviously, to loose Stammer," he said. "But once the dust settled, we realized were where were at without him. "You have to juggle some lines and find a little bit of an identity. I think we settled down and played some pretty good hockey. We have a lot of young guys that have accelerated in terms of their progress with the amount of ice time theyre getting (and) theyve done well." A lot of credit also goes to great chemistry with his teammates. Summer signing Valtteri Filppula is second in team scoring, while forwards Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat are making big contributions at both ends of the ice. "If you told us before the season started where wed be after Game 53 knowing all the adversity - not that I didnt believe wed be there - I would think a lot of things would have to go right for us to be here," said St. Louis. "Things have gone well considering all the adversity weve gone through." And at age 38, St. Louis himself is still going strong at a point-a-game pace. "Id like to think that Ive been pretty consistent the past few years," he said. "I expect myself to play like I have, so I dont think this year is better than others. "Obviously I had to adjust a little bit not playing with Stammer and I kind of had to re-invent myself a little with shooting the puck a little bit more. Its hard to shoot as much as I have when you play with a 60-goal guy." Air Max 720 Offerta .Cullen scored the go-ahead goal at 13:47 of the third period and Nashville beat the slumping Dallas Stars 3-2 on Thursday in a game that wasnt decided until the last shot of the night. Scarpe Air Max 720 Scontate .In the Football Money League compiled by accountancy firm Deloitte, German champion Bayern Munich remained third but Barcelona dropped from second to fourth during its trophyless 2014.In the 2013-2014 financial year, Real generated 549. http://www.airmax720scontate.it/. Spezza scored a power-play goal with 5 minutes left and Stephane Da Costa had the other two goals to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. Air Max 720 Uomo Saldi . The San Antonio Spurs handled the conditions, and the team, and it sure helped when a suffering LeBron James couldnt make it to the finish. Air Max 720 Scontate .Y. - Major League Soccers independent review panel has taken back the fine and one-game suspension it placed on Toronto FC forward Luke Moore earlier this week. OAKLAND, Calif. -- Michael Brantley gets to head home celebrating a game-winning hit instead of dwelling on a rare error. Brantley atoned for a dropped fly ball by hitting a two-run single in the ninth inning off new Oakland closer Jim Johnson that helped the Cleveland Indians salvage a split of a day-night doubleheader with a 6-4 win over the Athletics in the nightcap Wednesday. "Its just a never-die attitude, never quit, always picking each other up and always fighting to the end," Brantley said. "What we did tonight was fun. It was special, and hopefully well use that momentum to keep going." Scott Kazmir (1-0) pitched 7 1-3 scoreless innings against his former team in his Oakland debut to help the As win the opener 6-1. They appeared to be on their way to a sweep when they took a 4-3 lead into the ninth with help from Brantleys dropped fly ball. But Johnson allowed back-to-back singles to Ryan Raburn and Nick Swisher to open the inning. After a one-out walk to Carlos Santana loaded the bases, Brantley grounded a single to right field to give the Indians the lead. "Any time you can win a game its always great, but especially in a doubleheader," said Mike Aviles, who homered earlier in the game. "Last thing you want to do is get on that plane after losing two." David Murphy added a sacrifice fly to end Johnsons night to a chorus of boos. Johnson also allowed two runs in the ninth inning to take the loss on opening night and is 0-7 with a 7.94 ERA in 17 games against the Indians. More importantly for As fans he has lost twice since taking over from Grant Balfour as closer. "We should be 3-0 and I take responsibility," Johnson said. "But if I sulk or pout its not going to do anyone any good. I have to be better." Cody Allen (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win and John Axford got three outs for his second save. The As had taken the lead when Brantley dropped a fly ball in left-centre that allowed Josh Donaldson to reach second and ended a club-record streak of 247 games in the outfield without an error. "They both called it at the same time," manager Terry Francona said. "Probably the most conscientious guy on the field is kicking himself. For him to get a hit like thaat was really great.dddddddddddd" Donaldson later scored on Brandon Moss single that made it 4-3. The teams played the earliest doubleheader in baseball history following the first rainout in Oakland since May 5, 1998, on Tuesday night. The previous earliest doubleheader came on April 7 in 1971, 74 and 96, according to STATS. Kazmir started the day off on the right note for Oakland, allowing three hits and no walks in 7 1-3 scoreless innings. He signed a $22 million, two-year contract in the off-season to replace All-Star Bartolo Colon in the rotation. Kazmirs importance in the rotation only grew when projected opening day starter Jarrod Parker was lost to a season-ending elbow injury and starter A.J. Griffin opened the season on the disabled list. "You always want to make that good first impression and thats what he did," catcher Derek Norris said. "If he had any type of pressure on his shoulders to do something good I think thats pretty much eliminated." Alberto Callaspo hit a two-run homer for the Athletics. Corey Kluber (0-1) failed to make it out of the fourth inning and lost for the first time in 13 starts since June 27. He gave up five runs and eight hits in 3 1-3 innings. He was hurt by a nearly five-minute replay delay in the second inning. The disputed play came with runners on first and third and one out when Josh Donaldson hit a grounder to third. Carlos Santana threw home and umpire Mark Wegner ruled that Gomes tagged Norris before he touched home. As manager Bob Melvin challenged the call but the ruling stood after a review of about 4 minutes, 45 seconds, because there was no conclusive evidence to overturn it. Kluber allowed an RBI single to Lowrie after the delay to fall behind 3-0. "By that point it was apparent I was searching and I dont think that had anything to do with it," Kluber said. "That being said, I thought it took way too long. It took away from the flow of the game and thats what they are trying to avoid." NOTES: Brantleys previous error came on June 3, 2012, against Minnesota. ... The Indians won a replay challenge in the second game when replay showed Nick Punto missed the tag on Aviles on a steal attempt of second base. Cleveland failed to score after the challenge. ' ' '