Unser Chat » the Lightning 3-1 and needs to win three straight to take th

Dion Phaneuf is on the move again as the Los Angeles Kings hope he bolsters their blue line for a playoff run.Los Angeles acquired the veteran defenseman and forward Nate Thompson from the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night for forwards Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore. The Senators are retaining 25 percent of Phaneuf’s $7 million salary-cap hit Womens Connor Hellebuyck Jersey , so the Kings get a top-four defenseman for $5.25 million over the next three-plus years.”Dion brings to our club a great deal of experience and leadership,” Kings general manager Rob Blake said. ”He also plays with a physical edge, which complements our lineup well.”The 32-year-old Phaneuf was pulled from Ottawa’s bench during a 6-3 loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins with the trade being finalized afterward. The Kings visit the Penguins on Thursday, so he doesn’t even have to leave Pittsburgh to meet up with his new team.”I’m excited to be going to the Los Angeles Kings,” Phaneuf said. ”It’s going to be a real good experience for me to be able to join that team. … I’m excited about the team that they have, where they’re at in the standings and I’m going to go there and do my best to do whatever I can to help their team.”Phaneuf has 16 points in 52 games this season and 478 in 954 games during his 13-year NHL career with the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs and Senators. He was traded again almost exactly two years after the Senators got him from the Maple Leafs.The timing of the trade was a bit unusual, though the fact he was dealt came as no surprise. After reaching double overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final last spring, the Senators are 19-27-9 and just three points out of last place in the Atlantic Division.”Everybody knows that things are going to happen,” Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson said. ”You just never know when it’s going to happen or if it’s going to happen. So, we wish him all the best … going to L.A. I know personally he’s going to do real well there.”Phaneuf joins a Kings team that’s just outside playoff position in the Western Conference and goes from playing with Norris Trophy-winning defenseman in Karlsson to another in Drew Doughty. He should be an offensive upgrade on the power play Dmitry Kulikov Jersey , where Los Angeles is ranked 19th in the league.The always budget-conscious Senators save money even as they take on the 35-year-old Gaborik’s contract, which has about $11 million left on it over the next three years. Gaborik is a buyout candidate after this season, a move that would be an additional help to Ottawa’s bottom line.”Marian has enjoyed a tremendous career to date and has played an integral role with our team over the years, including a Stanley Cup championship,” Blake said.Phaneuf signed this $49 million, seven-year contract when he was with Toronto on New Year’s Eve 2013. He elected not to waive his no-movement clause last summer to be left unprotected in the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft, a decision that cost the Senators defenseman Marc Methot.Now Phaneuf is gone, too.”The business is the business,” he said. ”For me, it’s a business decision that the Ottawa Senators wanted to move me, and I respect that.”—AP freelance writer Dan Scifo in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.— TAMPA Youth Dustin Byfuglien Jersey , Fla. (AP) The Tampa Bay Lightning understand what it takes to be successful in the Stanley Cup playoffs.And as the Vegas Golden Knights are also showing, the winning formula can vary from game to game and series to series.Dominant defense is part of the equation. So is timely and opportunistic offense. Mental toughness is a prerequisite. It pays to be resilient, too.”I just think any time you’re winning games, you’re battling through something,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.”Maybe a better way to put it is you’re making a big play at the right time,” Cooper added. ”It seems teams that move on often are doing that, and teams that don’t miss out on opportunities.”The Lightning’s latest victory has them one away from the team’s third trip to the Eastern Conference final in four years, a step they can take by beating the Boston on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC) at home in Game 5 of their best-of-seven semifinal.The Golden Knights, meanwhile, lead their second-round series against the San Jose Sharks 3-2 and can secure a spot in the Western Conference final by winning Game 6 on the road Sunday night (7:30 p.m. http://www.jetsshoppro.com/authentic-jacob-trouba-jersey , NBCSN).”I’d be the first one to tell you we’ve accomplished nothing,” Cooper said. ”We’ve won a couple of games in this series. You’ve got to win four, not three.”Tampa Bay’s Alex Killorn, who had the primary assist on Dan Girardi’s overtime goal that pushed the Bruins to the brink of elimination in Game 4, said there’s a sense of urgency to end the series and avoid a return trip to Boston.”I think it has to looked at that way,” Killorn said. ”That’s a great team. You go back to Boston, you give them a chance to get back in the series, you never know what will happen.”CONTROL YOUR TONGUEBruins winger Brad Marchand has been given an edict by the NHL: Stop licking opponents or you’ll be punished.The league announced Saturday that Marchand had been put ”on notice” after licking Lightning forward Ryan Callahan in the face during Game 4 on Friday night. Marchand appeared to lick Toronto’s Leo Komarov in the first round, too.Senior vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell spoke to Marchand and Boston general manager Don Sweeney on Saturday about the latest incident. The league said it was made clear to Marchand that his actions were unacceptable and he will face supplemental discipline if it happens again.Marchand, whose 17 points are second on the Bruins and fourth among all players in the playoffs, could face a fine or suspension if he licks another opponent.”It’s unfortunate that he goes that low to do that Josh Morrissey Jersey , but (it) doesn’t take us off our game. We keep going, and we’ll let the refs handle that,” Callahan said. ”Like I said, I’m just surprised that something isn’t done because I don’t know what’s the difference between spitting in someone’s face and licking it.”ONE STEP AWAYAs tempting as it may to be think about how close the Golden Knights are to reaching the Westeren Conference final, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said the team’s mind-set is much the same as it’s been all season.”I think we had this mentality all year long: it’s all about the next game,” the three-time Stanley Cup champion said. ”That’s where the focus has to be. Just rest, relax and eat well. Get ready for the next one.”NOT THE FIRST TIMEVegas can become the third team in NHL history to win multiple series in its inaugural season. The league’s first-ever postseason saw the Toronto Arenas win the 1918 NHL Final against the Montreal Canadiens before defeating the Pacific Coast Hockey Association’s Vancouver Millionaires to win the Stanley Cup. In 1968, the St. Louis Blues defeated the Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars to emerge from the all-expansion West Division to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.DESPERATION TIMEBoston trails the Lightning 3-1 and needs to win three straight to take the series – not impossible considering the Bruins won three of four meetings between the teams during the regular season.”I’s far from over,” Marchand said. ”We’ve been on both sides of it, so you know, we’re just going to regroup and get ready for the next one.”Forward Patrice Bergeron said the Bruins will have to play ”desperate hockey” to force the series back to Boston for Game 6.”We’ve shown character all year. … I’ve spoke about that http://www.jetsshoppro.com/authentic-kyle-connor-jersey , about the resilience in this room,” Bergeron said, ”so it’s time to show it.”—AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen in Boston, Stephen Whyno in Washington, and freelance writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed to this report.—