TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning have put themselves in position for home-ice in their opening playoff round against Montreal. Richard Panik, Eric Brewer and Steven Stamkos had third-period goals to help the Lightning beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 on Thursday night. Tyler Johnson had the other goal for Tampa Bay, which moved within a point of Montreal for second place in the Atlantic Division. If the Lightning win their last two games, they will clinch the Atlantics runner-up spot. "To have the ability to win out and get home ice, thats what you want," Stamkos said. "You want to play meaningful games down the stretch. Obviously, we were proud to get into the playoffs, but it would be icing on the cake to get home ice. Its in our hands." Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier scored for the playoff-bound Flyers, who are tied for third in the Metropolitan Division with Columbus. "I thought we were up today," Philadelphia coach Craig Berube said. "I thought we competed real hard. The first five minutes, we turned the puck over a couple of times and they ended up getting a goal. But other than that, I liked the way we played tonight. We didnt finish, in my opinion, good enough." Anders Lindback played in place of injured Tampa Bay starting goalie Ben Bishop, who may not be ready for the start of the playoff series next week against Montreal due to an upper-body injury. Bishop, 37-14-7 this season, left Tuesday nights game against Toronto early in the first period after it appeared he hurt his left elbow. Lindback stopped 34 shots, including a glove save on Tye McGinns in-close rebound with 8 minutes left in the first. He came off the bench Tuesday and made 25 saves in a 3-0 victory over the Maple Leafs. "Its a great opportunity for him, and hes seizing the moment," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. Panik won a race for the puck behind the net, moved out front and gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead on a back-hand rebound of his own shot 4:33 into the third. It stopped the right wings 17-game goal drought. Brewer extended the advantage to 3-1 when he beat Ray Emery from the left circle at 9:43 of the third. After the Flyers pulled within one when Tampa Bays Ondrej Palat deflected Couturiers pass past Lindback at 12:22, Stamkos power-play goal made it 4-2 with 5:46 remaining. "I thought we played well for 40 again, and then we were hit or miss in the third," Simmonds said. "We had some really good shifts, and then we had some bonehead plays which cost us the game. Were not playing smart. Were not keeping it simple." Stamkos setup Johnsons goal from the left circle 2 minutes into the game. Johnson set a team rookie record, breaking the mark set by Stamkos, with his 24th goal this season. Simmonds tied it at 1 on an in-close turnaround goal during a power play with 1:21 to go in the second. The Flyers entered with the NHLs top-ranked road power play. Emery turned aside two good scoring chances by both Stamkos and Ryan Callahan during a second-period Tampa Bay power play. He finished with 26 saves. Notes: With Lindback out of position after making a save in the third, Lightning D Radko Gudas stopped a shot in the crease. "Give me goalie pads," Gudas joked. "Lucky it hit me." ... Tampa Bay D Michael Kostka returned and had two assists after missing three games with a concussion. ... The Flyers have lost six straight road games against Tampa Bay. ... Lightning D Sami Salo sat out with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Chick Hafey Jersey . -- Desperate to stop Tom Bradys latest comeback bid, the Miami Dolphins sought help from a reserve safety making his NFL debut after being signed Tuesday off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. Leo Durocher Jersey . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/715s-gar...-reds.html.Jeff Green, playing in his second preseason game after missing the first four because of a calf strain, had 18 points. The Celtics (3-3) shot 47.2 per cent from the floor and made 15 of 37 3-point attempts. Cesar Cedeno Jersey . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. Ted Kluszewski Jersey . Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas appeared to be on track to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday, and Craig Biggio could join them.St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Wichita State is no longer unbeaten, having fallen prey to a shocking upset. Andrew Harrison converted 3-of-4 foul shots down the stretch and Fred VanVleets contested 3-pointer fell short just prior to the buzzer, allowing Kentucky to reach the Sweet 16 by knocking off the Shockers, 78-76, in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Harrison ended up with 20 points for the Wildcats (26-10), who advance to take on Louisville next Friday in Indianapolis in the Midwest Region semifinals. Aaron Harrison added 19 points, with James Young and Julius Randle contributing 13 apiece for the victors. Cleanthony Early totaled a game-high 31 points for the Shockers (35-1), who set an NCAA record for most wins in one season without suffering a loss, but ultimately failed in their bid to reach the Final Four for the second straight year. Ron Baker converted 4-of-6 shots from long range en route to 20 points, but VanVleet was held to four points on 1-of-6 shooting, including 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. A long two by Early put WSU up 71-70 with 2:16 remaining, but Young countered with a triple from the top of the key and Kentucky took a 73-71 edge on the next possession. A trey from Tekele Cotton then rolled in and out, and Andrew Harrison made two at the line with 42.6 showing for a four-point Wildcats spread. Baker hit a banked three from the left side to bring the Shockers within 75-74, before Randle drained both of his free throws to push his clubs edge back to three. Baker was called upon again from the left wing, but his next long-range attempt fell short. Early, however, was fouled on the offensive board and made two at the line with 9.8 to play for a 77-76 score. Andrew Harrison earned his second chance at the charity stripe, making the first and missing the second.dddddddddddd Early picked up the ball, flew up court and Wichita State called timeout with 3.2 seconds to go. VanVleet let fly from 25 feet away, but the shot was just off the mark, hitting the rim and backboard. Andrew Harrisons triple gave the Wildcats some separation prior to the midway point of the opening 20 minutes at 19-15, but the edge was short lived. Kentucky was forced to call a timeout after a runner from Early made it 30-23. Cotton began the eventual 17-4 surge with the first five, while VanVleet contributed all four of his points -- including two closing free throws -- for a 32-23 spread with 4:37 left in the half. Wichita State went to intermission ahead 37-31 after a triple by Jarrod Polson reduced Kentuckys gap. Earlys three to kick off the second half was countered by 10 in a row from Kentucky, which took a 41-40 lead after Alex Poythress converted a layup. Baker followed with six in a row on a trey and a three-point play and WSU held a 46-43 lead, then the Wildcats struck back for seven straight and Willie Cauley-Steins slam put them up 50-46. Momentum shifted once more, as the Shockers embarked on a 12-5 run ending just after the midway point of the half to take a 58-55 advantage on the second of Earlys back-to-back buckets. Wichita State held Kentucky at arms length until a roller from Young put the Wildcats up 70-69 with 2:49 to play. Game Notes These programs met for the first time on Sunday ... Early shot 12-of-17 from the field and made 4-of-6 shots from distance ... Randle led all players with 10 rebounds and dished out a team-high six assists ... Cotton finished with only five points, five assists and three rebounds in 31 minutes ... Wichita State committed only nine turnovers and forced Kentucky to cough up the ball 11 times. ' ' '