ST. Where to Buy Cheap Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. -- Jared Spurgeon spent a month watching the Minnesota Wild from the press box. When he returned to action Tuesday night, he didnt waste any time making an impact. Spurgeon had two assists in his return from injury, Darcy Kuemper made 34 saves and the Wild defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1. One of Minnesotas top defencemen, Spurgeon was placed on injured reserve Jan. 4 after he hurt his left foot against Buffalo. While the Wild went 8-4-2 in his absence, they were eager to get him back in the lineup -- and he was eager to get back into the flow. "I think theres lots of adrenaline that helps you," Spurgeon said. "At the start I was a little nervous being off for a month, but they threw me right out there for the opening shift and that helped me really calm down and get my feet wet for that first one." Spurgeon got started early, setting up Nino Niederreiter for his fifth goal of the season 9 seconds into a power play in the first period. Early in the third, Spurgeon helped the Wild double their lead when he fed Dany Heatley in the slot for his 11th. Spurgeon ended up playing 21:12, third-most among Minnesota defencemen. "Hes taken really good care of himself while hes been out," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "To be able to come in and play at the level that he did tonight just shows you how smart of a player he is." The Lightning pulled within a goal with just more than 6 minutes to play when Valtteri Filppula tipped in Martin St. Louis pass at the goalmouth for his 20th of the season. Tampa Bay buzzed around the net the rest of the way, but Kuemper stopped Alex Killorn and St. Louis from in close, and Tyler Johnsons shot hit the post in the final 40 seconds. Lightning coach Jon Cooper was hoping to see a little more fire out of his club at the end of a 1-3 road trip. "I dont know how much courage we had going to the net tonight, until the end," Cooper said. "Hence, its shocking where our goal was scored, standing right in front of the net." While the Lightning are still clinging to second place in the Atlantic Division, goalie Ben Bishop said theyll welcome a return home for two games before the Olympic break. "I dont know if you want to say were tired, but its been a long road trip," Bishop said. "We dont want to make excuses, but weve got to be better." Bishop, who finished with 24 saves, was tested often throughout the first two periods, stopping Zach Parise on a breakaway with 5 minutes to play in the first period and stoning Mikael Granlund on a point-blank backhand early in the second. Bishop was shaken up midway through the second when Parise fired a slap shot that hit the goalie in the head, but he remained in the game. Meanwhile, Kuemper made a nifty glove save to stop Johnson on a breakaway late in the second and stood tall all night in his 11th straight start, a franchise record for rookie goalies. The Wild are 6-3-2 in that span, but Yeo was impressed with how Kuemper rebounded from his last two starts, a loss at Colorado in which he was pulled and an overtime defeat at Calgary. "How do you come back to the rink the next day and be mentally tough enough to come in and perform at the level that you need to? Thats what was very impressive about him tonight," Yeo said. "I liked his game an awful lot." While the Wild got Spurgeon back, they had another setback on the blue line 2 minutes into the game when defenceman Marco Scandella got tangled up with Johnson. Scandella skated off the ice with assistance, favouring his right leg, and did not return. Yeo labeled him "doubtful" for Minnesotas pre-Olympics finale Thursday against Nashville. NOTES: Filppula returned after missing Saturdays game at Montreal with a lower-body injury. ... St. Louis assist gave him 966 points, moving him past former Canadiens great Maurice Richard into 85th place on the NHLs career list. What is the best Chinese web site for cheap Jerseys . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Tampa Bay currently holds the last of the Atlantics three automatic bids to the playoffs, but the Maple Leafs are just one point behind. Where Can Buy Cheap Jerseys .com) - The Los Angeles Kings werent playing their best hockey before the league went on break during the Winter Olympics.Milwaukee, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - C.J. Miles buried six 3-pointers for 22 points off the bench and the Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 94-91 on Friday night. Roy Hibbert added 18 points and Luis Scola scored 14 for the Pacers, who have won two in a row and five of their last seven. Brandon Knight had 20 points for the Bucks, who had a two-game winning streak stopped. Zaza Pachulia contributed 12 points and 14 rebounds in the loss and John Henson scored 14 with 10 boards. The Bucks snapped a six-game losing streak in the series with an 87-81 win in Indianapolis on Nov. 4. They led by as many as seven in this one and carried a 68-66 advantage into the fourth quarter, but Indiana took the lead for good on Donald Sloans 3 with 9 1/2 minutes remaining. Milwaukee was 9-of-24 from the floor in the fourth qquarter, including 1-for-7 on 3-pointers. How to Buy Cheap Jerseys. We couldnt get stops when we needed to and we missed shots we normally make, said Bucks coach Jason Kidd. The Pacers pushed their lead to seven three times in the quarter and held on down the stretch by making their free throws. Miles led all players with eight points in the first quarter and Indiana took a 23-21 edge into the second. Henson scored the first six points of a 9-0 Milwaukee run in the second quarter that gave the Bucks a 32-27 lead on a Jared Dudley 3. They pushed it to 53-46 at halftime. Game Notes The Pacers opened a four-game homestand that continues Sunday in Los Angeles against the Lakers ... The Bucks will put a three-game road winning streak on the line Sunday against New York. ' ' '
