TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos has taken another step forward in his comeback from a broken right shin by taking part in his first morning skate. Stamkos practiced with his teammates on Thursday as they prepared for a game Thursday night against the New York Islanders. The centre had been skating on his own, or briefly joining the team on the ice at the end of workouts. A member of Canadas Olympic team, Stamkos remains confident that he will be able to play with the Lightning and then participate in the Sochi games next month. "Its not a full practice, but to be able to get out and not have to go off early or not have to wait until the end to go on, I wanted to go and try it," Stamkos said. "Its the best its felt." Stamkos has been out since he was injured Nov. 11 at Boston and needed surgery. "A lot of this is physical and how you feel," Stamkos said. "But there is that mental element. The power of the mind is very strong and Ive really come to understand that right now. This is another step closer." Stamkos had 14 goals and 23 points in 17 games before the injury. "Every day hes getting closer," Lightning coach Jon Copper said. Nike Huarache Online Sale . Gonzalez participated in his final game on Sunday, Atlantas 21-20 defeat at the hands of the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers, having posted four catches for 46 yards. Nike Air Huarache Clearance . According to Dave Stubbs of The Montreal Gazette, preliminary talks have begun between Markov - an unrestricted free agent this summer - and general manager Marc Bergevin. http://www.airhuarachediscount.com/. Grimes signed a $32 million, four-year contract to remain with Miami. The deal, which includes $16 million guaranteed, rewards Grimes for his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss almost all of the 2012 season. Discount Nike Huarache Shoes . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. Clearance Huaraches . According to the sportsbook BoDog, the Stampeders are 8/5 favourites to take home the Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on November 24.With a 2-0 series deficit and no Carey Price, Michel Therrien expects nothing less than a positive response when his club takes on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. While the team lost 3-1 on Monday night - a relative improvement from their 7-2 drubbing in Game 1 - the Montreal Canadiens head coach was impressed with the effort his players gave against a tough Rangers squad. "I want to give credit to the Rangers for what they did well," he told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday. "The Rangers defence did a good job of boxing players out, blocking shots and preventing second chances. We just need to keep working the way we did yesterday. Things can change very fast if we keep creating chances. The most important thing is that players follow the game plan and stay alert. If we keep doing that, things will turn around." The Canadiens - trailing by two games for the first time in these playoffs - have held the lead for just 17 seconds over the first 120 minutes played. Henrik Lundqvist made 41 saves in Game 2, including 19 in the third period. "I liked the engagement level of our team in Game 22," Therrien added.dddddddddddd "The first game was emotionally and physically tough for us, but we regrouped really well. On Monday, we played with energy and we pushed the pace. Im anxious to see the guys tomorrow and I feel optimistic for the rest of the series because of the way we competed." The Canadiens will now try to become the 20th team in Stanley Cup playoff history to win a series when losing the first two games at home. Fittingly, the Habs and Rangers have been a part of last three instances its happened - Montreal lost 4-2 to Carolina in 2006 after winning the first two games in Raleigh, the Washington Capitals beat the Rangers 4-3 after New York took the first two games at the Verizon Center in 2009 and Montreal won the first two games at Bostons TD Garden before losing 4-3 in their 2011 series with the Bruins. Still, Therrien is a full believer that his team can win once theyre reset in a couple of days. "Its a challenge to play in New York, but weve won many games throughout the years at Madison Square Garden," he explained. Therrien did not say which goaltender - Dustin Tokarski or Peter Budaj - would start in Game 3. ' ' '