Three weeks have passed since Hockey Canada announced its 25-player mens roster for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. And in that time span, the Tampa Bay Lightning have remained near the top of the Eastern Conference without star forward Steven Stamkos. Playing a key role in the Lightnings recent success has been the play of veteran forward Martin St. Louis, who was passed over by his own general manager Steve Yzerman for a spot on the Canadian Olympic team. The veteran winger and team captain has been on a tear since the Olympic team announcement, racking up 14 points in 10 games since Jan. 7. "I dont think its motivation to be honest," said St. Louis, whose Lightning were set to face the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. "I feel like I played some good hockey this year - Ive had some good bounces - but I dont think (being left off the Olympic team) is motivation. "I mean, Im motivated for Game 1 or Game 10. To play in this league and be successful you need to be motivated. Its been like that my whole career. I dont think these last 10 games Ive been more motivated." St. Louis, who captured his second career Art Ross Trophy last season as the league leader in scoring, also grabbed the spotlight with the first four-goal game of his career against San Jose on Jan. 18. And while hes taken much of the offensive workload in Stamkoss absence, he believes its been a team effort. "At first it was a little shock, obviously, to loose Stammer," he said. "But once the dust settled, we realized were where were at without him. "You have to juggle some lines and find a little bit of an identity. I think we settled down and played some pretty good hockey. We have a lot of young guys that have accelerated in terms of their progress with the amount of ice time theyre getting (and) theyve done well." A lot of credit also goes to great chemistry with his teammates. Summer signing Valtteri Filppula is second in team scoring, while forwards Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat are making big contributions at both ends of the ice. "If you told us before the season started where wed be after Game 53 knowing all the adversity - not that I didnt believe wed be there - I would think a lot of things would have to go right for us to be here," said St. Louis. "Things have gone well considering all the adversity weve gone through." And at age 38, St. Louis himself is still going strong at a point-a-game pace. "Id like to think that Ive been pretty consistent the past few years," he said. "I expect myself to play like I have, so I dont think this year is better than others. "Obviously I had to adjust a little bit not playing with Stammer and I kind of had to re-invent myself a little with shooting the puck a little bit more. Its hard to shoot as much as I have when you play with a 60-goal guy." Air Max 97 In Offerta . With the results, North America claimed 2.5 of the three available points, opening up a 17.5-12.5 lead in the overall standings. A total of 60 points are available, meaning the first team to 30.5 points will win the Continental Cup. Air Max 97 Prezzi Bassi . The New York State Supreme Court only partially dismissed the lawsuit, meaning the case could be headed for trial. The tour announced a year ago that Singh would be suspended for saying in a Sports Illustrated story that he took deer antler spray, which was believed to contain the banned substance IGF-1. http://www.airmax97italia.it/ . In the other Group A game, the Czech Republic stunned Canada, 5-4 in a shootout. Dominik Simon scored the deciding goal in the tiebreaker. The United States scored its first three goals on power plays. "Overall, I love to see the power-play goals we were able to get tonight," said U. Air Max 97 Ingrosso . The Blue Jackets got goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and R.J. Umberger and Curtis McElhinney posted his first shutout since 2011 in a 4-0 victory on Friday night. Air Max 97 Italia . INJURIES - Reds RF Jay Bruce is facing knee surgery for a torn meniscus and it could cost him a month of playing time. Chris Heisey, who has shown some pop (43 home runs, .Barcelona, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Lionel Messi netted a hat trick at Camp Nou on Sunday to help Barcelona rally from a one-goal deficit to collect a 5-1 victory over Espanyol. Espanyol managed to take a shock lead after only 13 minutes as Sergio Garcia broke the deadlock, but Messi pulled one back on the stroke of halftime to level the score. Barcelona regrouped during the intermission and throttled the visitors in the second half. Messi provided the go-ahead goal within five minutes of the restart while Gerard Pique made it three in the 5rd minute. Pedro continued the rout with a goal in the 77th minute before Messi completed his hat trick nine minuttes from time, capping a fine comeback from the Catalan club.dddddddddddd Barcelona moves back into second place in the La Liga by improving to 34 points, 20 points better than Espanyol. Sevilla maintained its fourth-place position on Sunday thanks to a 1-0 defeat of Rayo Vallecano. Carlos Bacca produced the lone goal of the affair, hitting the back of the net with his 10th strike of the league season. Rounding out Sundays action, Villarreal scored four goals in the second half at El Madrigal to collect a convincing 4-0 win over Real Sociedad and Success Isaac scored at the death to help Granada salvage a point from a 1-1 draw with Valencia. ' ' '