With the Senators facing the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, I figured I would try and answer three questions about the Ben Bishop-Cory Conacher trade from earlier this year. Mike Evans Jersey . 1. Did the Senators trade the wrong goalie? Lets make one thing clear: The Ottawa Senators acquired Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues for one reason and one reason alone. They wanted to push Robin Lehner and create an internal competition for him back in the spring of 2011. At no point did the Senators truly believe that Bishop was in their long-term plans. The ideal scenario in Ottawa was always to have Craig Anderson hold onto the No. 1 job for a while and then gradually hand over the job to Lehner. Bishop was always viewed as an intermediary; a transitional netminder who could help bridge the gap when Lehner wasnt ready. But now there is a revisionist theory floating around Ottawa suggesting that the Sens should have traded Craig Anderson while his value was sky-high last season and they could have hung onto a tandem of Bishop and Lehner. To be clear, under that scenario, the Sens would be going into this season with a pair of goalies who had a combined 70 games of NHL experience. That would be a massive, massive gamble for any organization to take – especially one that viewed itself as a darkhorse contender in the conference. Yes, Craig Anderson has been off to a slow start this season, but lets not forget that he has been arguably the best goalie in the history of this franchise over a span of 100 games. Six months ago, if you were to rate the ceiling on the three goalies Ottawa had last season, Bishop would come in third every time. The Senators made the choice of trading Bishop out of that three-headed monster last season because Anderson was providing superior goaltending at a discounted price. Remember that Bishops job was merely to push Lehner a little bit internally and from that standpoint it was mission accomplished. Imagine if they traded Anderson away and he was having a Vezina-calibre season for another team while the Sens were this mess defensively. What would people say then? Probably that they needed a veteran presence in goal and that they shouldnt have traded Anderson. 2. Why did the Senators trade Bishop within the division? On this point, I can see a valid argument for sure. If Ottawa had options, obviously it would have been in their best interests to move Bishop away from the Eastern Conference – and specifically the newly formed Atlantic Division. Remember when the Los Angeles Kings moved Jonathan Bernier this summer, they made sure to trade him to the Eastern Conference. Same goes for the Canucks who ensured Cory Schneider wouldnt impact their own playoff positioning by sending him to New Jersey. But heres a question: Why did the Columbus Blue Jackets trade Steve Mason to the Flyers at the deadline last year, knowing they would be in the same division as Philadelphia this season? Well, they did it for the exact same reason why the Sens moved Bishop to Tampa Bay. The reality is that sometimes, you have to take the best deal on the table and hope that it works out for the best. If you recall, the Boston Bruins traded Andrew Raycroft within their division a few years and that worked out just fine for them. (Of course it helps that they got Tuukka Rask in return). 3. Why didnt Bryan Murray hold out for more? I can tell you with a great deal of authority that the Senators were pursuing a trade with the Flyers near the deadline that would have seen Ben Bishop traded to Philadelphia for Sean Couturier. That was the Senators first option and it looked like it may happen right up until 12 noon on deadline day. The Flyers had even claimed centre Adam Hall off waivers right around the deadline, making the Sens believe they were ready to part with Couturier under the right circumstances. But once the Flyers got cold feet, Murray had to look at his other options and he circled back to the Lightning. Yes, there was a deal on the table from the Oilers that would have included Ryan Jones, but the Senators needed some scoring up front. Murray wanted to land a player who could add some offensive punch to one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league, so he acquired Cory Conacher for Bishop. The other significant goalie who moved at the deadline was the aforementioned Steve Mason – who only cost the Flyers a third-round pick to acquire. And considering Mason had more than 200 games of NHL experience under his belt and had proven he could be a No. 1 goalie, the Flyers didnt give up too much in that trade. So the asking price for a goalie like Bishop wasnt going to be anything greater than a middle-round draft choice or a player like Conacher around the trade deadline. At the time of the deal, Bishop had only played 36 career games and had posted a 15-13-3 record with a 2.58 GAA. Even if the Sens hung onto Bishop for a few more weeks and tried to move him at the NHL Draft, he probably wouldnt have netted them much more – especially considering goalies like Jonathan Bernier and Cory Schneider were being aggressively shopped. Those goalies werent in play at the deadline, but were at the draft. The Devils paid a price of a first-round pick for Schneider, so let me ask this question: What would the Sens have gotten for Bishop at the draft? I dont know for sure, but I can tell you they wouldnt be getting a first-rounder. Bishop wasnt seen in the same class as Schneider or Bernier. This idea the Sens could have held out and gotten more for Bishop is pure fantasy. Ronde Barber Jersey . Samir Nasris 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea. Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sundays 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons. Ronde Barber Womens Jersey . Ibrahimovic put PSG ahead when he got in front of his marker to neatly flick in Lucass cross in the 59th minute. New signing Yohan Cabaye came on as a second-half substitute and headed Ezequiel Lavezzis cross against the post in the 87th. Moments later, Lucas set up another goal from the right when fellow countryman Alex turned in his corner with a strikers finish. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/Warren-sapp-buccaneers-jersey/ . The team let Keaton Ellerby, James Wright and Matt Halischuk become unrestricted free agents after declining to make them qualifying offers. Ellerby, 25, appeared in 51 games for the Jets last season and had two goals and four assists.TORONTO -- Just like after previous home victories, "We Cant Stop" by Miley Cyrus blared from the Toronto Maple Leafs locker-room. The victory song that became synonymous with a season of good fortune was the same, but after beating the Calgary Flames 3-2 on Tuesday night the mood was much more relief than happiness. The result snapped a streak of eight straight regulation losses to keep the Leafs slim playoff hopes alive. "It feels like a lot of weight lifted off of our team," captain Dion Phaneuf said. "We can feel good about ourselves because we won this game." The Leafs allowed themselves to feel good by picking up their first points since beating the Los Angeles Kings on March 13. They improved to 82 with five games remaining and passed the Washington Capitals (81, six games left) but still trail the Detroit Red Wings (84, seven games left) and Columbus Blue Jackets (83, seven games left) in the Eastern Conference wild-card race. Catching either the Red Wings, who play the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, or the Blue Jackets, who blew a two-goal lead and lost in overtime to the Colorado Avalanche, remains a daunting task. But for Toronto (37-32-8), any victory represented a confidence boost. "Its been a long time. Its been too long," coach Randy Carlyle said. "You hope that you can build on it, but I dont want to get too far ahead of ourselves because we didnt paint a Mona Lisa here tonight." In getting goals from Jay McClement, Dave Bolland and then the game-winner from David Clarkson, the Leafs managed to prevent what wouldve been their first stretch of nine straight regulation losses since 1967, the last time this franchise won the Stanley Cup. "We were flat for a big part of that game and gave up three rush chances," said ex-Leafs forward Matt Stajan, who scored his 13th of the season for the Flames on a breakaway. "Thats how that team scores goals. You could say they got a bounce on the one. Im guessing they havent had many bounces the last month so weve just got to be better." A loss of any kind to the Flames (31-38-7) wouldve been devastating to a team that knew it would have to run the table and get some help just to give itself a chance. Step 1 was beating the Flames. "It beats losing, thats for sure," said defenceman Cody Franson, who set up McClement for the games first goal 50 seconds into the second period. Anything beats losing for the Leafs, who not too long ago were in second place in the Atlantic Division before going into this free fall that saw them lose to the Capitals, Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers and then Detroit again. Calgary didnt make it nine despite goals from Stajan and defenceman Kris Russell. Goaltender Karri Ramo stopped 19 of the 22 shots he faced. "I dont think we got outplayed," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "Its just they got one goal more than us. Jameis Winston Jersey. They were opportunistic at the right time and we got our chances late and we couldnt capitalize on them but its not by a lack of effort." In the same vein, Clarkson said Torontos losing streak wasnt for a lack of effort. But in a results-oriented business, they simply werent there. They came Tuesday night because McClement drove hard to the net, Bolland banked the puck off Flames defenceman T.J. Brodie and Mason Raymond sprung Clarkson on a breakaway. Jonathan Bernier also made 22 saves for his first victory since March 10. "It wasnt pretty, but well take it," Bolland said. "I dont think we played the prettiest game or we made the prettiest moves. But in a slump like that, just to get out of that, its great to get out of it." One victory wont get the Leafs out of the hole they dug over the past few weeks, but players hope is that this is at least a start. "Hopefully its big," said Clarkson, whose goal was his first point in 17 games. "At this time of the season, you stay positive, you continue to get better and youve got to stick together. Weve got to stick together in here and back each other up." And get some help. Phaneuf was keenly aware of the Capitals 5-0 loss to the Dallas Stars and the Blue Jackets 3-2 overtime loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday night. "Were definitely aware of where were at, and youre aware of the scores and what else is going on around you," he said. "You dont want to be in the position that youre scoreboard-watching, but thats the position that were in. We accept that, and any time you get help around the league, you take it." More than anything else, the Leafs have to take care of business in front of them. The remaining schedule includes home games against the Boston Bruins and Winnipeg Jets and then three on the road at the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators. Its possible theyll need five more in a row to make a suddenly improbable run to the playoffs. But all the talk after beating the Flames had to do with Wednesdays practice and then Thursdays game against the East-leading Bruins. "We know were going to play a Boston team, but we should feel good about ourselves because weve had a lot of things that have been negative for us, so lets enjoy the win and lets get ourselves ready tomorrow to play a real tough opponent in the Boston Bruins," Carlyle said. NOTES -- Phil Kessel played for the Leafs despite a bruised right foot. More than once he took a puck to that foot. "Its like, Here it is, hit me. He had the sign on his foot," Carlyle said jokingly. ... Paul Ranger dressed as the Leafs seventh defenceman in his first game since suffering a neck injury against Tampa Bay on March 19. Forwards Colton Orr and Jerry DAmigo were scratched. ... Bryce Van Brabant made his NHL debut for the Flames, becoming the 10th Calgary player to do that this season. ' ' '