midway through the second.

WINNIPEG Andrew Hammond Jersey Womens , Manitoba — It’s only December, but Sunday’s game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place could be a preview of next spring’s Stanley Cup final.Both teams have been making a good case.The Jets have won eight of nine games to push their record to 21-9-2 for 44 points, good for first place in the Central Division going into Saturday night’s action. Article continues below ...The Lightning, meanwhile, have the best record in the NHL at 25-7-1 for 51 points and have won eight consecutive games, the second-longest winning streak in the league this season, trailing only the Buffalo Sabres’ 10.The Jets will be playing their third game in four nights on Sunday and are coming off overtime wins over the Edmonton Oilers (5-4) and Chicago Blackhawks (4-3) on Thursday and Friday, respectively.The Lightning, meanwhile, dismissed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Thursday, their nearest rival in the Atlantic Division J.T. Brown Jersey Womens , and now embark on a four-game road trip.Lightning coach Jon Cooper thought his team controlled one minute of that game and the Leafs controlled the other 59. But the Lightning scored two goals in the last minute of the second period.“That was the game,” Cooper told the Tampa Bay Times.The Jets and Lightning split two games last season, with each team winning on home ice.All eyes will be the Jets’ Mark Scheifele, who scored the winner on Friday and has rocketed into the league’s top five scorers in the last six weeks with 43 points, and Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, who has 15 goals and 33 points in 33 games.In addition to having 20 goals, sitting just three behind right winger Patrik Laine for the team lead, Scheifele also centers the No. 1 power play unit.The Jets have scored eight times with the man-advantage in the past four games to move back into top spot in the league with a 30.2 percent efficiency. The Lightning are second at 29.3 percent.Tampa Bay is the most prolific scoring team in the league with 134 goals and the Jets are third with 116.Jets coach Paul Maurice has the utmost confidence in his assistant captain and believes Scheifele is playing the same type of hockey he was late last year when the Jets made it to the Western Conference finals.“He’s almost at that playoff level where he was last year,” he told The Winnipeg Sun after Friday’s game. “And (he’s scoring) big goals for us, game-winners and from different places. He’s just been great.”The battle of goaltenders will also be front and center. The Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck has won five of his last six starts and Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy returned from an injury on Thursday to make 48 saves in his first action in more than a month.Hellebuyck was second in voting for the Vezina Trophy last season for the NHL’s top goaltender and Vasilevskiy was third. BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Eichel helped the Buffalo Sabres end a long drought without a winning record.Eichel Tomas Plekanec Jersey Womens , the Sabres’ 21-year-old captain, scored two goals in a 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.With its second straight victory, Buffalo (2-1-0) has more wins than losses for the first time since the third game of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.“I think we are coming together as a group,” said Eichel, who also had a goal and an assist in Buffalo’s 3-1 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday.“We are not a finished product by any means, but I think you can see the desperation in which we play with and the togetherness that we play with in the last few games.”Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville had the other goals and Carter Hutton made 35 saves for the Sabres. Hutton was coming off a 43-save performance against the Rangers.“It’s nice to get off to a good start,” said Pominville, who was part of the 2013 Sabres before being traded to the Minnesota Wild late in the season, and returned to Buffalo in a trade prior to last season. “It’s a different vibe, different atmosphere.”Erik Haula and Jonathan Marchessault scored for the Golden Knights (1-2-0), playing the second of a five-game road trip. Haula had the winning shootout goal in Vegas’ victory at Minnesota on Saturday. Marc-Andre Fleury made 13 saves.“We weren’t mentally sharp Tomas Tatar Jersey Womens ,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “There were mental lapses in the D-zone and a guy left wide open. You couldn’t blame Fleury on any of the goals.”The Golden Knights put more shots on goal than the Sabres in all three periods, though Gallant said they did not generate many good scoring chances.The Sabres were also outshot in each period of their win over the Rangers.“When you are winning games and not playing your best, it’s a really good sign,” Eichel said.Buffalo had only five shots on goal in the second period, but was able to score three times in about five minutes.“We limited them to a low number of shots, however, the shots they did get were Grade-A opportunities,” Vegas forward Max Pacioretty said. “We can’t hang our goaltender out to dry like that.”Eichel tucked a backhand around Fleury’s poke-check for his third of the season to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead five minutes into the period. Sam Reinhart slipped a pass between the skates of Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland to set up Eichel in front of the net.The Golden Knights got on the board less than three minutes later when Haula sent a wrist shot from outside the right circle past Hutton.The Sabres responded with two goals in a 1:28 span. Scandella floated a long shot from the blue line over Fleury’s glove just 27 seconds after Vegas scored. Evan Rodrigues fed Pominville for a one-timer to make it 4-1 midway through the second.Buffalo never relinquished the lead after Rasmus Ristolainen slid the puck to Eichel for a one-timer from the left circle on a power play with 5:29 left in the first period.Marchessault scored his second of the season for Vegas on an unassisted wrist shot from the high slot with 9:13 left in the third period.NOTES: The Golden Knights are 0 for 8 on the power play through the first three games. … Vegas didn’t have its second loss until the 10th game of last season. … The Golden Knights beat the Sabres in both meetings last season, winning in overtime at home and in a shootout in Buffalo. … Sabres C Johan Larsson practiced Sunday for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury on Sept. 26 and is nearing a return.UP NEXTVegas: Continues East Coast trip at Washington on Wednesday in a rematch of the Stanley Cup Final.Buffalo: Wraps up four-game homestand Thursday against Colorado.