Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos?underwent surgery on the lateral meniscus tear in his right knee and is expected to miss approximately four months, the team announced on Thursday.The Lightning said Wednesday that Stamkos was out indefinitely, but coach Jon Cooper said the center would be back in time for the playoffs in April.?If we put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs, hes going to be back, Cooper said Thursday. And thatll be better than any trade deadline acquisition that anybody else is going to get.Youve got to take your head out of the sand, dig your heels in and march on. And unfortunately, this has happened to us before and the guys have found a way.TSN was first to report that Stamkos needed surgery.He left the ice in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, favoring his right leg after getting tangled up with Detroits Gustav Nyquist along the boards.According to the Tampa Bay Times, Stamkos clutched the back of his right knee after the collision and stumbled as he made his way toward the Lightning locker room. He did not return and there was little in the way of updates from Cooper after the Lightnings 4-3 victory.Stamkos was off to a tremendous start to the season. His first-period goal Tuesday gave him nine goals on the season, and his 20 points are tied for third among all NHL players.Stamkos missed all but one of Tampa Bays postseason games last spring with a blood clot issue. But after signing an eight-year contract extension that pays him $8.5 million annually to remain with the Lightning, Stamkos returned in full health and played for Canada at the World Cup of Hockey.Stamkos has collected points in seven of the past nine Lightning games, and Tampa Bay is tied for second in the Atlantic Division with Ottawa with a 10-6-1 record.You live in this reality now, and weve just got to have to face it,?defenseman Victor Hedman?said Thursday. Itll be a good test for us. But at the same?time, we know we can handle it, and we know we can win hockey games even though were going to miss him.Information from ESPNs Scott Burnside was used in this report. Tyus Bowser Jersey . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. Matt Skura Jersey . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. http://www.cheapravensjerseyssale.com/?tag=michael-crabtree-jersey-sale . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. Marshal Yanda Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. Wholesale Ravens Jerseys China . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we pose a question to a rotating panel of ESPN fantasy basketball experts to gauge their thoughts on a hot topic. Todays contributors are ESPN Fantasys Joe Kaiser and Kyle Soppe and DFS expert Renee Miller.Preseason breakout candidate Nikola Jokic has taken flight over his past six games, averaging 17.0 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.0 BPG. That production is similar to what weve seen from Paul Millsap this season: 17.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.0 BPG. Now Millsap has the edge in SPG (1.7, 0.6) and 3-PPG (1.0, 0.3), but Jokic has the edge in season percentages (54.3 FG%, 45.9 FG%; 82.5 FT%, 74.0 FT%). Is it fair to compare Jokic to Millsap in the short and/or long term?Joe Kaiser: I dont think its fair -- not yet -- and the reason is because of age, minutes and consistency. As long as Millsap is healthy, hes a player we can expect to play right around 33 minutes a night just about every game of the season. His statistical averages may be a tick down from previous years, but they are still very solid and check off a lot of different categories. He has proved himself as an All-Star caliber player in the NBA for the past seven seasons.On the flip side, Jokic is only 21, and his minutes fluctuate from week to week, depending on how hes viewed at that particular time by Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone; just a few weeks ago, plenty of people were asking me if he was someone they had to own or if he was droppable. Also, we mentioned that Millsap is averaging 33 minutes per game this season, and thats a number that Jokic has reached only once in 22 games. While Jokics 23.9 MPG could rise in the coming weeks and months if he continues to produce, theres just as good a chance that his minutes dwindle if he goes into another slump.Kyle Soppe: I think so. We were all high on Jokic coming into the season, and he hasnt disappointed, but my answer here has more to do with not liking what Ive seen from Millsap.With Al Horford taking his talents to Boston this summer, the hope was that Millsap (much like Horford) would thrive in his new high-usage role, but what Ive seen is a player willing to settle. With Dwight Howard clogging the paint, Millsaps average distance of shot is up 13.2 percent over his caareer high that he set last season, and considering that he has failed to show us a consistent jumper, I see no reason to think that his FG% improves in a major way.ddddddddddddJokic, on the other hand, has shown an increase in aggressiveness and efficiency in his four games since returning from a wrist injury that sidelined him for a week (hes shooting 67.5 percent from the field and has taken at least 10 shots in three straight), something that I think earns him playing time as the season progresses. I like this comparison very much and Jokic could be even more involved in this offense if/when Danilo Gallinari misses time.Renee Miller: I dont think theres a fantasy player out there who wouldnt love to compare Jokic to Millsap. Weve been rooting for Jokic since last season!However, the facts that coach Malone hasnt really stabilized the Nuggets frontcourt rotation this season and Jokic missed time with a wrist injury put a damper on the raw statistics. But the real death blow to the comparison is minutes per game. Millsap, in his 11th season, averages 33.0 minutes per game, while Jokic is at just 23.9 MPG. Fantasy value is about opportunity and ability, so even though Jokics player efficiency rating (21.1, 37th in the league), assist ratio (21.8) and 60.8 true shooting percentage are great, he wont rise to the next level until he sees more time on the court.One of the most frustrating things about fantasy is that coaches care more about winning than about stats, and as good as Jokic has been in the past four games, the Nuggets have lost three of four.The last aspect of the comparison is competition. Millsap essentially has none, with Mike Muscala firmly ensconced in a limited bench role, while Denver is also giving almost equal minutes to Kenneth Faried (22.4) and Darrell Arthur (14.6) at the 4. Denver is still working a lot of things out, and its often the case that a very talented basketball players fantasy value suffers during that process.Im hopeful given what weve seen from Jokic this season that a long-term comparison to one of the best all-around power forwards in the game sticks with him. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '