straight victories from Nov. 22-Dec.1. The club was able to head into the NHLs Christmas B

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to record consecutive wins for the first time in nearly a month when they host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Tampa is 4-5-2 in 11 games since last posting a winning streak with four straight victories from Nov. 22-Dec.1. The club was able to head into the NHLs Christmas Break on a winning note, however, as the Lightning halted a two-game slide Tuesday against visiting Pittsburgh. Tyler Johnson recorded his second career hat trick to help the Bolts post a 4-3 win over the Penguins and halt a 10-game skid in the series. The victory was Tampas first against Pittsburgh since another home win on Nov. 17, 2011. Johnson completed his hat trick at the 2:37 mark of the second period when he pushed Tampas lead to 4-0. The Lightning would have to hold on for the win, however, as Pittsburgh scored once in the second and twice more in the third. The Penguins third goal came with 1:31 left in regulation, but Pittsburgh was unable to beat Andrei Vasilevskiy for the equalizer. Vasilevskiy earned his second career win with a 26-save effort. Nikita Kucherov chipped in the other goal and added two assists for the Lightning. Ondrej Palat notched three helpers in the win. Johnson, who leads Tampa with 37 points, has recorded a point in five straight games, notching five goals and three helpers during the scoring surge. Ben Bishop expects to be back in net for the Lightning tonight after sitting out the past four games due to a lower-body injury. Tampas No. 1 goalie is 4-0 with a 1.24 goals against average in four career games against Carolina. The Bolts have won four straight and eight of their past nine meetings with the Hurricanes and Carolina has lost two in a row on the road in this matchup. Carolina also was able to enter the holiday hiatus with a win, beating New Jersey on the road in a shootout on Tuesday. Chris Terry scored the lone goal of the tiebreaker to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 victory at Prudential Center. Hurricanes netminder Anton Khudobin also made two big saves to earn his first win of the season. He stacked the pads on Mike Cammalleri and kicked aside Adam Henriques offering. Terry, Carolinas third shooter, followed his goaltenders impressive stops by moving the puck from his backhand to his forehand and slipping it under the pad of Cory Schneider for the win. Ron Hainsey scored the game-tying goal in the third period and Khudobin finished with 18 saves for the Hurricanes, who snapped a two-game skid and won on the road for the first time since Nov. 28. Khudobin is now 1-8-2 on the season with a 2.71 GAA and .903 save percentage. Anton has been very good for us. Good for him to get off the schneid and get a win, Carolina head coach Bill Peters said. The guys played hard in front of him. Its uncertain if Khudobin will be rewarded with another start tonight or if regular starter Cam Ward will return to the crease. Ward is 19-15-3 with a 3.00 GAA in his career against Tampa, while Khudobin 1-1-0 with a 2.34 GAA in this matchup. Hurricanes forward Alexander Semin missed the game with an upper-body injury. He had returned to the lineup Sunday against the Rangers after a six-game absence before getting hurt again. Semin is questionable for tonight. Carolina is 4-13-2 as the guest this season and halted a four-game road slide with Tuesdays win. Peters club is ending a three-game swing tonight before hosting Montreal on Monday. Cheap Vikings Jerseys . Right-hander Ricky Nolasco and the Twins agreed to terms on a free-agent contract Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. Cheap Vikings Jerseys China . Thats how the Ravens won when Ryan was their defensive co-ordinator from 2005-08, and that is precisely the formula Baltimore used to beat Ryans New York Jets on Sunday. http://www.cheapvikingsjerseyselite.com/ .Brooks, a three-year veteran, was slow to get up after suffering the injury during a 5-yard run by Arian Foster.Brooks limped off the field midway through the quarter and then slowly walked to the locker room a few minutes later. Cheap Vikings Jerseys Authentic .com) - Bayern Munich winger Xherdan Shaqiri is expected to miss the next two weeks because of a thigh injury. Wholesale Vikings Jerseys . Parnell will be out much longer if it turns out he needs surgery. But first, he will try resting for two weeks before beginning a throwing program that could last up to a month, general manager Sandy Alderson said.Belo Horizonte, Brazil (SportsNetwork.com) - Brazil is one win away from reaching the World Cup final at the Maracana on Sunday, but the hosts will have to overcome a stern test from Germany in the semifinals on Tuesday at the Estadio Mineirao. You can catch all of the action live on TSN 1050, TSN 690, TSN 1200, TSN 1260 and TEAM 1410. Much of the focus surrounding this match has centered on how Brazil will cope without two of its most important players against the Germans as both Neymar and Thiago Silva will take no part in Tuesdays showdown. Silva, Brazils captain and one of the best defenders in the world, will miss the game through suspension because of an accumulation of yellow cards after he was booked in the second half of Brazils 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Colombia. Neymar has been one of the faces of this World Cup and head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari must now find a way to replace the four goals and one assist that the 22-year-old tallied in helping his side reach the last four. The Barcelona star was ruled out for the rest of the tournament after suffering a fractured vertebra in a collision with Colombias Juan Zuniga, and he will likely be replaced by Willian in Scolaris starting lineup on Tuesday. Brazil has been very reliant on Neymar at times during this tournament, but Willian believes that despite the absence of his superstar teammate, his side is even stronger because of the adversity the team now faces. "Neymar sets the standard for us. He is capable of deciding any game, so playing without him will be difficult," Willian said. "We know the quality that we have. We are all very sad at losing him but we are now even stronger after what happened and we can continue to pursue our dream." Scolari is likely to replace Silva with Bayern Munich defender Dante, a man who knows his German opposition very well. Dantes knowledge of Germany could prove to be important, but as Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger pointed out, that understanding of the opponent cuts both ways. "I hope he starts, we know him very well and know his strengths and weaknesses, but he also knowss how we play," said Schweinsteiger, who is a teammate of Dante at Bayern.dddddddddddd Brazil is receiving much of the attention ahead of this semifinal, while Germany has quietly gone about its business and will be making a record fourth straight appearance in the last four at a World Cup. Germany coasted through Group G to reach the knockout round, but Joachim Lows team had a much more difficult time with Algeria than expected in the round of 16, needing extra time to dispatch the Desert Foxes, 2-1. The Germans were much more clinical in knocking off France, 1-0, in the quarterfinals, and Lows men will no doubt be full of confidence ahead of the showdown with Brazil. These two heavyweights last met in the 2002 World Cup final, with Brazil emerging as 2-0 victors to claim a record fifth Jules Rimet trophy. But Schweinsteiger feels as though this is a much different Brazil side than the one that most people have become accustomed to, and that his German teammates should expect a physical game. "The Brazilians here arent the magicians of old, the team has changed and so has their playing style," said Schweinsteiger. "Hard challenges are definitely a part of their game, its something we have to be careful of and the referee too." This Brazil side has certainly not resembled the great Brazil teams of old, which played with a creativity and flair that hasnt been exhibited by this edition of the Selecao. However, that certainly doesnt mean that Scolaris men pose less of a threat to the Germans, even without Neymar and Silva. Playing the host nation at this stage of the World Cup is a difficult task, and Germany knows all too well what it feels like to go out at this point in the tournament. German captain Philipp Lahm was a member of the last two World Cup teams for Germany, both of which lost in the semifinals. The thought of losing in the last four for a third successive World Cup and playing in another third-place match is a thought that the defender isnt interested in entertaining. "I really do not need that, thats something I want to rule out," Lahm said. 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