An extra day off may have been much needed for the slumpingTampa Bay Lightning, who suddenly are struggling to find the backof the net.

Their current skid began with a loss eight days ago to the NewYork Rangers, who hope to have defenseman Dan Girardi back forSunday’s rematch at Madison Square Garden.

Tampa Bay (6-4-0) averaged 5.3 goals while winning six of itsfirst seven games, but has totaled five during a three-game losingstreak.

The Lightning put a season-low 19 shots on net in a 4-2 defeatat New Jersey on Thursday, as Steven Stamkos went without a goalfor the second straight game after scoring at least one in fivestraight.

„We don’t seem to capitalize on our chances and it has beenhurting us the last three games,“ coach Guy Boucher said.

Tampa Bay was scheduled to play in Boston on Saturday in whatwas supposed to be its third stop on a four-game road trip, but awinter storm caused treacherous travel and the game was postponed -giving Boucher’s club an extra day to figure out how to bust out ofits funk.

„We just needed to battle more,“ said Martin St. Louis, who hasan NHL-best 13 assists. „The last couple of games we spent too muchtime in our end zone and when we got on offense, we didn’t do avery good job of sustaining it.“

Tampa Bay was 6-1-1 in the previous eight meetings before NewYork’s 3-2 road victory Feb. 2, as Rick Nash and Carl Hagelinscored third-period goals for the Rangers after it was tied aftertwo.

Stamkos scored his second goal of the game with 41 secondsremaining.

The Rangers are coming off a 4-1 win over the Islanders onThursday, but coach John Tortorella said his team needs to pick upthe pace.

„I still think we need to play with more energy,“ Tortorellasaid. „We need more tempo in our game. We’ve got to continue toimprove.“

New York (5-5-0) has been outscored 26-24 and is in the bottomthird of the league in goals scored. It has converted only 4 of its37 power-play opportunities (10.8 percent), ranking among the worstin the NHL.

„We have to find a way to get points,“ Tortorella said. „Istill think there’s a lot of sloppiness with our game. There are alot of things that need to continue to improve.“

Rookie J.T. Miller provided all the offense necessary Thursday,netting two goals in his second NHL game. Marian Gaborik and RyanMcDonagh also scored cheap sports jerseys.

„We need everybody to do good stuff for us,“ said HenrikLundqvist, who made 27 saves. „(Miller) plays so mature out there,making good decisions with the puck. It definitely brings someenergy to the group NHL jerseys for sale. Guys come in and do well right away.“

Captain Ryan Callahan returned Thursday after missing theprevious three games with a dislocated shoulder, and the Rangerscould have Girardi back from a two-game absence due to a lower-bodyinjury.

„I just want to get back,“ Girardi said. „It would be nice toplay Sunday.“

Martin Biron made 30 saves versus the Lightning in the firstmeeting, though Lundqvist could get the start Sunday despite going1-2-4 with a 2.79 goals-against average in his last seven starts inthis series.

It’s unclear if Tampa will go with Mathieu Garon, who made 27saves in the first meeting, or Anders Lindback.

The San Antonio Spurs announced Wednesday that they had re-signed Duncan, bringing back the 36-year-old forward for at least a 16th season. Terms were not disclosed, though Yahoo Sports cited anonymous sources in reporting it was a three-year, $36 million deal.

The first overall pick in the 1997 draft, Duncan has led the Spurs to nine division titles and the playoffs every year, including four NBA championships, in 15 seasons. The Spurs are 830-352 in the regular season during his tenure, the highest winning percentage over any 15-year span in NBA history, and Duncan has two league MVP awards and three NBA Finals MVP honors.

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„Tim Duncan has established himself as one of the best players in NBA history,“ coach Gregg Popovich said. „He is an unselfish superstar who loves to compete and has only one goal when he steps on the court-to do whatever it takes to help his team win. We are all thrilled that he’ll spend his entire career as a San Antonio Spur.“

Duncan, a 13-time All-Star, has averaged 20.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.22 blocks a game over his career.

He experienced a bit of a renaissance last season after injuries and age led some observers to speculate his career was nearing an end. Duncan averaged 15.4 points and 9.0 rebounds in leading the Spurs to the Southwest Division title and a league-best 50-16 record cheap authentic MLB jerseys.

„I think (his health) probably had as much to do with solidifying in his mind how long he wanted to go into the future,“ general manager R.C. Buford said NFL jerseys for sale. „He played well throughout this whole season and he even felt better than he ever had. I think in his mind that was what was important. We’re going to play him as long as he says he can play and then probably a couple of days longer. We’re hoping he’s going to extend us.“

The signing was expected, especially after Duncan told Yahoo Sports, „I’m here and I’m a Spur for life,“ during the team’s Western Conference playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

„You’re never confident that is going to happen until it’s done, but he made it clear he wanted to be here,“

Buford said. „We laid out what our realities were and here’s how we thought we could accomplish the best team we could put around him and he said, ‚I want to be a part of it.‘ „

To that end, the Spurs also announced restricted free agent Danny Green had re-signed with the team.

Buford said there was nothing to report about whether forward Boris Diaw re-signed or if 2009 second-round pick Nando De Colo would join the Spurs, because there are „logistics involved“ with signing international players. De Colo and Diaw are playing for France’s Olympic team along with Spurs point guard Tony Parker.

De Colo played the past three seasons with Valencia of the Spanish League.

With the possible exception of De Colo’s addition, the Spurs are expected to return virtually their entire roster from this season.

„I was going to announce that we traded for Steve Nash, but the Lakers beat us to it,“ Buford said. „I think we won’t go into the season with the exact same team as we had a year ago. (But) we think there is a lot of opportunity for internal growth, especially this summer when we have our gym and our players and the opportunity to get our coaches with them.“

But the Spurs have other questions this offseason. The Spurs lost in the playoffs to Oklahoma City, blowing a 2-0 lead. They don’t have many glaring needs, with the bulk of the roster on track to return.

Parker has apparently healed from a bizarre eye injury in time to play for France in the Summer Olympics. He got a shard of glass in his eye, damaging his cornea, during a New York City nightclub fight involving Chris Brown and members of hip-hop star Drake’s entourage.

Parker, 30, has two years remaining on a $50 million contract. He is coming off averaging 18.3 points and a career-high 7.7 assists.

Manu Ginobili also will be in London to play for his native Argentina, a moonlighting stint that always makes the Spurs anxious because of the 34-year-old playmaker’s propensity for injury.