The Tampa Bay Lightning stormed back in the Eastern Conference final against the Washington Capitals Cheap Daniel Kilgore Jersey , thanks in part to a thriving power play and suddenly reliable penalty-killing unit.

To regain control of the best-of-seven matchup that continues Saturday night, the Caps need a lift from their special teams, too.

”The series is tied 2-2,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. ”It doesn’t matter how you got there.”

Tampa Bay, which has taken two straight in a series in which the home team has yet to win, believes it hasn’t played its best.

Washington was dominant in winning twice on the road, then sputtered – particularly on the Alex Ovechkin-led power play – while dropping the next two games at home.

”I think we look at it realistically,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. ”I mean, I said to everybody in September, even yesterday, and they’re saying the same thing: Sign me up. Best-of-three, got a chance to maybe go to the Stanley Cup Final, sign me up.

”I don’t think anybody thought the series would go four straight or anything like that. There’s two really high-quality teams that are going to go nose-to-nose Adam Boqvist Blackhawks Jersey ,” Trotz added. ”There’s twists and turns in the road sometimes. … It’s just another layer of adversity. This group has taken on any adversity that has been thrown its way all year.”

Since yielding three power-play goals in the first two games of the series, two of them in the closing seconds of a period, the Lightning have gone 7-for-7 killing penalties over the past two games.

Not bad for a team that had one of the most potent power plays (third, 23.9 percent) in the NHL during the regular season, while also ranking among the league’s worst at killing penalties (28th, 76.1 percent).

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos has a power-play goal in each of the first four games of the conference final.

Six of his seven goals this postseason have come in man-advantage situations, including his franchise-best 11th career playoff power-play goal (snapping a tie with Martin St. Louis) in Game 4 on Thursday night.

”Desperation. Realizing how important it is, especially in this series against the group that they have,” Stamkos said of the improved play on the penalty kill.

”It starts with the goaltending, and then it starts with guys willing to sacrifice. I think it’s been a challenge,” Stamkos added. ”When the power play is going well like we are, the PK wants to step up and be just as good, and vice versa when it’s the other way. … It’s been a lot of fun to watch.”

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 36 of 38 shots in Game 4. He has bounced back nicely since allowing 10 goals over five periods in the first two games.

Center Nicklas Backstrom Authentic Jalyn Holmes Jersey , who returned to Washington’s lineup Thursday night after missing four games with a hand injury, thinks the Capitals need to create more traffic in front of the Lightning goaltender.

”He’s actually too good of a goalie if you’re going to shoot from outside with no traffic, so maybe we can get some more traffic and find these rebounds like we did the first couple of games,” Backstrom said.

”We have pretty good chances. We just don’t execute,” Ovechkin said after the Washington power play was shut out for the second straight game. ”We tried. … We had so (many) shots, and we just didn’t score one more goal.”

But just as Tampa Bay embraced the challenge of battling its way back into the series after losing Games 1 and 2, the Capitals are excited about the opportunity ahead, beginning Saturday night.

Not only is Washington is 7-1 on the road this postseason, but the Caps went on eliminate Columbus in the first round and Pittsburgh in the conference semifinal in six games after those series were each tied at 2.

”I think we’ve played three out of the four games pretty well,” Trotz said. ”I’m not disappointed at all.”

The Lightning are confident, too.

”Clearly home-ice advantage has been a disadvantage in this series,” Cooper said. ”Now, in saying that Eduardo Escobar Minnesota Twins Jersey , I’d rather have Game 5 at home. I believe we’ll be a different team here than we showed up in Game 1 and 2.”

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When Drew Brees heard a 1930s-era Purdue jersey worn by John Wooden was being sold at auction, he saw an opportunity to help his alma mater showcase its ties to a man most known for winning 10 NCAA men's basketball titles as UCLA's coach.

Brees says he paid $264,000 to win a late-hour bidding war for the jersey in mid-May and will allow Purdue to display it at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.

"I had never seen any Purdue related in regards to memorabilia ever from John Wooden," the New Orleans Saints quarterback said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "I mean, think about it, it's over 80 years ago. So the minute that I saw this, I thought 'This belongs at Purdue. Purdue has to have this and I'll do whatever I can to make sure they do.'"

The jersey is white 鈥?albeit somewhat yellowed by time 鈥?with "Purdue" written across the front in gold letters with black trim. A gold No. 13 with black trim is on the back.

"It certainly should be appreciated by anyone who steps foot in the Mackey Arena, no matter if you're a Purdue fan or not," Brees said. "If you're a basketball fan, if you're a fan of the game and legacy that John Wooden left for all of us, it's an incredible piece of history."

Wooden was an All-Big Ten player at Purdue between 1930 and 1932 and briefly played in fledgling pro basketball leagues before going into coaching. He coached at UCLA from 1948 to 1975 and became known as the "Wizard of Westwood" when he coached the Bruins to 10 NCAA titles in a 12-season span from 1964 to 1975.

Brees said he has long been an admirer of Wooden and has consumed a number of Wooden's written works, incorporating his teachings and philosophy into football and his various business pursuits.

"This is truly one of a kind. There's only one of these that exist and it belonged to the man who arguably has had the biggest impact on the game of basketball 鈥?not just that but his teachings transcend the game of basketball Markus Wheaton Color Rush Jersey ," Brees said. "His books, his literature, his influence and the world of business and the world of sport is unparalleled."

Brees and his wife, Brittany, who also attended Purdue, have been heavily involved in fundraising for school, having donated more than $3 million.

Brees took possession of the Wooden jersey in the early morning hours of May 18 but kept his winning bid quiet because he wanted to surprise top Purdue athletic officials with the item at an event on Tuesday night.

For years, the jersey was in the possession of one of Wooden's college friends, according to an article about its discovery in the Journal and Courier of West Lafayette. That friend later gave the jersey to his own grandson, John Neff, but never told him Wooden had worn it. For years, Neff didn't realize the jersey belonged to Wooden until curiosity about its origins led him to have it authenticated by sports memorabilia experts. He sold it through Heritage Auctions.


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