TAMPA Youth John Tavares Jersey , Fla. ¡ª While the Tampa Bay Lightning wait for All-Stars Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov to find an early-season groove, they have others who can carry the load.The Detroit Red Wings, meanwhile, are just trying to find any kind of a spark to get their season moving in the right direction as they enter Thursday¡¯s game in Tampa.Last season, the Lightning bolted to the top of the standings behind the play of Stamkos and Kucherov ¡ª Stamkos had 24 points in October while Kucherov had 13 goals. In the opening four games this season, the duo has combined for just one goal and four assists.Article continues below ...But Tampa Bay¡¯s scoring depth runs deep. Tyler Johnson, coming off a hat trick performance in Tuesday¡¯s victory against Carolina, and Brayden Point ¡ª both former All-Stars ¡ª have provided an offensive boost to give Tampa Bay three victories in four games to start the season.A reunion of Johnson with linemates Ondrej Palat and Kucherov ¡ª who set the league on fire in 2014-15 ¡ª has helped boost the Lightning offense.¡°They¡¯re unbelievable players. I love playing with them,¡± Johnson said of being back with his linemates. ¡°It kind of just makes the game easier, it kind of slows it down, we get some opportunities. I think as everything progresses, we¡¯re going to get a little bit closer and closer and be able to work and kind of progress on a few things and I think we can be better. ¡°Hopefully we can just continue to work on things and work on video and just be on the same page here.¡±The Lightning are also close to getting back veteran forward and alternate captain Ryan Callahan, who underwent shoulder surgery in May and was expected to be out until mid-November. But Callahan was cleared for contact two weeks ago and is ahead of schedule.Tampa Bay cleared a potential roster spot for Callahan by placing Cory Conacher on waivers ¡ª and later signing him to a one-year Authentic Mitchell Marner Jersey , one-way contract extension that carries a salary cap hit of $700,000.Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said on Wednesday that Callahan could return to the lineup by Nov. 1, though he hinted Callahan may be ready before the team returns from its upcoming five-game road trip that starts Saturday in Minnesota.The Red Wings, meanwhile, are off to their worst start since 1985-86 with an 0-4-2 record. Detroit is coming off a 7-3 loss to Montreal on Monday, and on Wednesday claimed forward Jacob De la Rose off waivers from the Canadiens. He will join the team once his visa situation is cleared up.Detroit is looking for any sign to help inject some life in a proud franchise that is down to start the season.¡°You can¡¯t let your body language be the first thing that other players notice because they are going to jump all over it,¡± Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin told the Detroit Free Press. ¡°We have to pick ourselves up. Truly the next shift is the most important after a goal and we need to get the puck back and back in their zone and have a productive shift where we are changing the momentum back in our favor. Don¡¯t get frustrated.¡± Victor Hedman refused to go to sleep without a contract.A full year before he could become a free agent, the hulking No. 1 defenseman told his agent he wanted to sign a long-term extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning the first day he could. Hedman put pen to paper on an eight-year contract well before the sun went down.¡±It was never a doubt,¡± Hedman said that day. ¡±Staying in Tampa was the No. 1 priority.¡±Patrice Bergeron felt the same way when he signed his second, third and fourth contract with the Boston Bruins. Like Hedman, Bergeron wanted to stay with the organization that drafted and developed him for as long as possible while taking less money to surround himself with enough talent to win.Now each player is on the road to joining an exclusive and growing club of players who reach 1,000 games with one team. Over the past week, Chicago¡¯s Brent Seabrook and Washington¡¯s Alex Ovechkin became the 49th and 50th players in NHL history to play their first 1 Morgan Rielly Jersey ,000 regular-season games with the same organization, and that group will welcome many members in the next several years as franchise building blocks lock in to long-term deals.¡±You¡¯re going to see it more often now,¡± Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik said. ¡±Just the way the CBA is and the way the bigger names probably don¡¯t move around as much as they did in earlier years.¡±Next season alone, longtime Seabrook defensive partner Duncan Keith and Bergeron are expected to join the one for 1,000 group, with Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu and Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar in reach of the milestone before the end of 2018-19 if they stay healthy. San Jose¡¯s Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Pavelski, Pittsburgh¡¯s Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and Chicago¡¯s Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews aren¡¯t far behind as this era of long-term stability produces a parade of silver-stick ceremonies for one-team foundation pieces.¡±If you¡¯re playing 1,000 games in one organization, you have to be a certain level of player,¡± said agent Kent Hughes, who represents Bergeron. ¡±It¡¯s really significant because you¡¯re talking about a series of contracts and we¡¯re in a cap world and in order for that to happen in a lot of cases, I think there needs to be a little bit of give and take on both sides.¡±In Ovechkin¡¯s case, it was a $124 million Womens Nazem Kadri Jersey , 13-year contract signed in early 2008 that then-NBA commissioner David Stern told Capitals owner Ted Leonsis he¡¯d live to regret. The only regret now for Leonsis is not signing his face of the franchise for 15 years, and Ovechkin said if he could turn back time, he¡¯d sign for 16 years.Ovechkin is an anomaly in today¡¯s NHL, where contract lengths were capped at eight years in the last round of collective bargaining talks. Since that CBA went into effect in January 2013, 33 different players have signed eight-year contracts ¨C 28 of whom re-upped with his original team.¡±It means a lot to any player to get off their career and say, `Well, look at this, I played 1,050 games with one team ¨C my whole career, I¡¯m one of the few,¡±¡¯ said agent Peter Wallen, who counts one-team players Hedman, St. Louis forward Patrik Berglund and Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog among his clients. ¡±The only reason you will stay there for 1 Nikita Zaitsev Jersey Kids ,000 games is that¡¯s because you¡¯re in the playoffs every year, you know your GM is giving you the opportunity to go deep in the playoffs and they want to win the Stanley Cup.¡±The other most-recent players to reach 1,000 games with one team ¨C Los Angeles¡¯ Dustin Brown, Detroit¡¯s Henrik Zetterberg and New Jersey¡¯s Patrik Elias ¨C all lifted the Stanley Cup, while Daniel and Henrik Sedin went to the 2011 final and were part of a perennial contender in Vancouver. It¡¯s a delicate balance for teams between paying stars their value and maintaining roster flexibility to contend for several years.¡±It¡¯s difficult because you can¡¯t let that key player go while he¡¯s in the prime and you have to keep him content,¡± Hughes said. ¡±If the player doesn¡¯t work with you, then it becomes more and more of a challenge to find a way to remain competitive.¡±Yet the one-team, 1,000-game players should keep piling up with the likes of the Flyers¡¯ Claude Giroux, Devils¡¯ Travis Zajac, Bruins¡¯ David Krejci, Kings¡¯ Drew Doughty and possibly the Islanders¡¯ John Tavares ¨C if he re-signs this summer ¨C on pace to hit the mark. Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov could follow Ovechkin as the only players to get to 1,000 with the Capitals after none did it in the first 40-plus years of the franchise¡¯s history.¡±Organizations want to build a core group maybe http://www.mapleleafsshoponline.com/authentic-patrick-marlea u-jersey , and that¡¯s maybe why it¡¯s so common these days that more guys stick with one team,¡± Backstrom said. ¡±For me, personally, I like that, and obviously not move around. But sometimes you can¡¯t control it, either. I feel like we¡¯ve been fortunate here that we¡¯ve been here a long time, so I¡¯m happy about that.¡±¡ª