TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning finally came out on the winning side of a one-goal game at home. Nikita Kucherov scored the lone shootout goal and the Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Thursday night. Kucherov beat Craig Anderson on the first shot during the shootout, while Lightning goalie Ben Bishop stopped all three shots he faced. Tyler Johnson, B.J. Crombeen and Ondrej Palat scored in regulation for the Lightning, who had lost each of their previous five home games (0-3-2) by one goal. Victor Hedman, who sat out a game with a leg injury, had three assists in his return. "We want to be up there in the top of the league," Hedman said. "We have to find ways to win." Tampa Bay moved into a first-place tie with Boston -- which has two games at hand -- in the Atlantic Division. Erik Karlsson, Clarke MacArthur and Chris Neil had the Ottawa goals. The Senators are 2-6 in shootouts this season. "Its a skills competition," Anderson said. "It should be reserved for All-Star games." Neil tied it at 3 from the right circle with 2:18 remaining in the third. It was his 100th NHL goal. "It was a while coming," said Neil, who has played in 824 NHL games. "Obviously, the way I play, just plugging around and sticking around, it is a milestone. Ive got the puck. It will go up in my basement." Tampa Bay went ahead 3-2 at 5:31 of the third when Martin St. Louis extended his point streak to nine games by sending a pass through the slot to Palat, who scored from just below the left circle. "You dont like to give up the extra point to somebody in our division, but I just want to make sure we get two," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. St. Louis (963) moved within two points of tying Maurice Richard (965) for 85th on the NHL list. Crombeens redirection put the Lightning up 2-1 at 3:30 of the second. MacArthur got the Senators even at 2 by putting an in-close power-play shot past Bishop with 3:03 left in the second. Ottawas power play, the NHLs top-ranked road unit, had mixed results in its second opportunity in the first period. After Johnson beat Anderson for a short-handed goal at 14:32, Karlsson tied it at 1 on his third goal and 23rd man-advantage point of the season 40 seconds later. The Senators are 29th in the home power-play rankings. "You tell me. Ive been trying to answer that question for 50 games," Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said. "Im not sure if its a comfort level or what it is, but weve got to keep working on it. We believe that if we continue to work at it, its going to get good everywhere." Anderson was coming off a 2-0 victory Tuesday at Washington, which was the Senators second straight road shutout. NOTES: Tampa Bay star Steven Stamkos, sidelined since breaking his right shin on Nov. 11, was OK after taking a spill during a drill at the teams morning skate. "I was kind of laughing," Stamkos said. "Its the first time Ive fallen in 10 weeks. Just knowing that everything was fine, you get right back up, I didnt feel anything whatsoever. So, thats nice." Stamkos, who hasnt ruled out playing in the Sochi Olympics next month, was scheduled to have X-rays Thursday night to see how the leg is progressing. ... MacLean used the same lineup as the Washington game, including D Marc Methot being scratched. ... Chicago Blackhawks senior adviser and 13-time Stanley Cup winner Scotty Bowman, a regular at Lightning home games, is scheduled to have right knee replacement surgery Friday in Tampa. Mike Foltynewicz Jersey . -- The Orlando Magic have made no secret that the future of their franchise will depend on how well they can develop their young players. John Smoltz Jersey . Villarreals victory in Valencia kept it in fourth place and in control of Spains last Champions League spot. Uche broke free in the area in the 10th minute and was brought down by goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who was shown a direct red card. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/bob...-braves-jersey/. The Wizards announced Friday that Webster had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back. The operation was performed Thursday in Los Angeles. Dale Murphy Braves Jersey . - A pitch clock will be used this season during minor league games at Triple-A and Double-A, but it has been ruled out for the major leagues this year. Tom Glavine Braves Jersey . 1 player in the world. So Duval gutted it out Thursday at the Byron Nelson Championship despite the pain from a muscle issue in his right elbow, a day after his stepson had to drive him because he couldnt even use that arm.DUNEDIN, Florida - Blue Jays players assembled Monday afternoon for their annual spring meeting with the Players Association, the first gathering chaired by new executive director Tony Clark. Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate. See a full explanation of the rule here: http://tinyurl.com/l4zaqo5 Here is a link to a play at the plate last season, involving Phillies base runner Chase Utley and former Cubs catcher Dioner Navarro, now with the Blue Jays. Watch the clip, keeping in mind the new rule didnt exist, and guess based on the new rule whether Utley would be safe or out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0Qe310Bn4g Assembled media, waiting for Clark to emerge from his seminar with the Jays, couldnt agree on the call. Some saw fault with Utley for initiating contact with Navarro. Others believed Utley would be called safe because Navarro blocked the pathway of the runner to the plate prior to receiving the baseball. If you think Utley is safe, based on the new rule, Clark agrees with you. “My guess is, according to the rule, (Navarro) cant be sitting on the plate without the ball,” said Clark. “Its one thing to catch it and then move and block the baseline. Its another thing to block the baseline and not having the ball.” Blue Jays catchers hadnt seen the new rule as of Mondays availability and had plenty of questions, including the wisdom of asking an umpire to make a split-second determination about more than whether a runner is safe or out. “I think its tough to make that out/safe call at home and theyre always trying to get good positioning,” said Erik Kratz. “Now, is their positioning going to have to change? Are they going to have to talk about that? Are they going to have to look at the runner as hes running, ‘I saw the runners eyes, he was looking at the catcher. You did? What about the ball? What about the catchers eyes? Did he have his fist clenched?” “Im going to do you one better,” said Clark. “During a play on the field you may also have a rotation component here where youve got the home plate umpire running to third and the first base umpire running to home. Its a tough enough play as it is as hes running to try and call a close play but now youre also talking about trying to determine intent and where guys are positioned. Its difficult.” Many other nuances were discussed, which is why, according to Clark, the rule has been made public and is being explained to players only two days before Grapefruit League play is scheduled to begin. A Major League Baseball representative and an umpire will be visiting all 30 teams during spring training to further explain the rule. Manager John Gibbons has met with MLB Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Joe Torre and his right-hand man, Tony La Russa. The intent of the rule is to make close plays at the plate safer for both the catcher and the runner. A catcher in his playing days, Gibbons is skeptical. “I dont know about that,” said Gibbons. “I think when you start trying to mess with the game too much, I mean, youre going to run into problems. Its a big part of the game. The game on the line, thats the winning run or something, guys are trying to stop that run. Instinct tells them to do one thing. But if thats the rule then we live with that. Nothing we can do about that.” Clark of Free Agency Ervin Santana and Stephen Drew are two high-profile free agents whove yet to find work, in large part because there is draft pick compensation tied to their next contracts.dddddddddddd “As a union its our responsibility to make sure that player rights are defended, protected and advanced,” said Clark. When asked over the course of the winter about the Blue Jays interest in select free agents, general manager Alex Anthopoulos repeatedly opined that market prices were too high and that the club was willing to wait for player demands to come down. Clark, speaking in general terms, not specifically about Anthopoulos or the Blue Jays, says the union will review the offseasons free agency activity. “If the free agent market as a whole is being manipulated on some level and we have an opportunity to reflect on this offseason, comments that were made, where those comments came from and how they may have affected the free agent market then it is a conversation were going to have going forward to make sure the integrity of the Collective Bargaining Agreement is upheld and that we dont find ourselves in a place where certain information is lending itself to certain understandings and appreciations publicly with respect to free agents,” said Clark. Clark on A-Rod Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez wont play in 2014, suspended for his role in the Biogenesis performance enhancing drug scandal. Rodriguez has since dropped a lawsuit which named, among others, the Major League Baseball Players Association. Clark says if A-Rod is playing in 2015, hell be welcomed back into the union he briefly considered taking to court. “Over the course of 140 years there have been, I believe, a little less than 20-thousand players who have ever worn a major league uniform for one day,” said Clark. “If you have worn a major league uniform for one day then you are part of that fraternity. There are guys that make decisions that guys dont appreciate, that guys dont like, but after Alex serves his suspension he will come back as a member of that fraternity and we expect to see him in 2015.” Clark on an openly gay player Jason Collins is back in the NBA, making history on Sunday night as the first openly gay athlete in the leagues history. Michael Sam appears poised to become the first openly gay player in the NFL. Is baseball ready for such a scenario? “I dont see it being an issue,” said Clark. “Our locker rooms are more diverse than most and as youve heard with a lot of the leagues, whether its the NFL or any other place, inevitably its going to come down to can you help us win ballgames?” Pitching Schedule Manager John Gibbons has drawn up his pitching schedule for the first five Grapefruit League games. Here it is: Wednesday at Phillies: J.A. Happ (2 innings,) Todd Redmond (2,) Kyle Drabek (1-2,) Chad Jenkins (1,) Neil Wagner (1,) Mickey Storey (1.) Thursday vs. Phillies: R.A. Dickey (2,) Esmil Rogers (1,) Dustin McGowan (1,) Brett Cecil (1,) Aaron Loup (1,) Jeremy Jeffress (1,) Rob Rasmussen (1,) Marcus Walden (1.) Friday vs. Pirates: Mark Buehrle (1-2,) Brandon Morrow (1-2,) Steve Delabar (1,) Sergio Santos (1,) Liam Hendriks (1,) Sean Nolin (1,) Aaron Sanchez (1,) Juan Perez (1.) Saturday at Orioles: Drew Hutchiso