SOCHI, Russia -- Martin St. Louis is going to get a chance to represent his country at the Winter Olympics after all. Hockey Canada announced today that the 38-year-old Tampa Bay forward will replace injured Lightning teammate Steven Stamkos on Canadas mens hockey team at the Sochi Olympics. "I heard from Stammer that he wasnt going to go, so I knew it was a possibility," St. Louis told reporters in Tampa on Thursday. "So I guess I was prepared for it." St. Louis said he felt bad for Stamkos, who tried hard to come back from a broken right tibia he suffered in a Nov. 11 NHL game before being ruled out of Olympic competition by the Lightnings medical staff on Wednesday. "I think weve got to understand how hard hes tried and worked to put himself in the position hes in and give himself a chance," St. Louis said. "Obviously hes disappointed and Im disappointed for him. Stammers a true professional and hes done everything he can this past month to get back to the lightning first and hopefully to Team Canada." St. Louis was considered one of Canadas most surprising snubs when Canadas team was first announced, along with Philadelphia forward Claude Giroux and Pittsburgh forward James Neal. The Laval, Que., native led the league in points in the 2012-13 shortened season with 17 goals and 43 assists in 48 games. He is having another strong campaign in 2013-14 with 54 points (25 goals, 29 assists) in 56 games, good for 11th in the league. "I dont see this as Marty replacing me, I see it as Marty deserving a spot on this team and going over and hopefully bringing back a gold medal," said Stamkos in the same news conference. St. Louis has won two World Championship silver medals for Canada over his career. He played in the 2006 Turin Olympics, scoring two goals and an assist in Canadas disappointing seventh-place finish. St. Louis went on a 10-game point streak (eight goals, six assists) for the Lightning after first being left off Canadas team, announced on Jan. 7. He said the snub had nothing to do with his increased production, but his play of late might have given him the edge over Giroux and Neal. "I dont think its motivation. Ive been motivated the past four years ... the past 10 years. If youre not motivated, youre not even considered for these things. His speed could be a benefit to Canada, which has struggled in the Olympics when playing on the larger international ice surface. Canada won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 and in Vancouver in 2010 playing in NHL-style arenas, but was left off the podium in Nagano, Japan in 1998 and Turin, Italy in 2006. "Obviously its a bigger ice surface. It think my quickness, my speed ... thats what Im going to rely on," St. Louis said. "Its a different game, but I think whatever game plan we come up with, its going to be well thought-out." Stamkos is confident that his teammate can fill any position on Team Canada. "Hes going to go over there and play whatever role possible. I personally think hes going to play a big role," said Stamkos. "The character that he has, the way hes played in big-game situations in the past. I mean, hes won individual awards, hes won the team championships, hes been in those situations. "Its not like its a young guy thats never been in these situations before filling in for someone. This is a guy who can step in and play any role asked." Air Max 95 Femme Pas Cher .ca contributor Grant McCagg provides a look at some risers and fallers on the prospect watch. Nike Air Max 97 Femme Pas Cher .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. http://www.maxnikepascher.fr/grossiste-air-max-90-chine.html. Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Nike Air Max Soldes .85 million contract with the two-time Gold Glove outfielder. Parra earned his second Gold Glove last season when he set a club record with 17 outfield assists. Nike Air Max 270 Destockage . And yet as they left TD Garden amid the slush and snow of a winter storm on Thursday evening, there was a sense among the Leafs that they had finally stood toe to toe with their long-time bully, only to fall just short. ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Someone has to score first and for the first time in eight games the Minnesota Wild beat their opponent to the punch. Jason Pominville and Charlie Coyle scored goals 57 seconds apart early in the third period to break open a defensive standoff and lift the Wild to a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia on Monday night. "Wed been giving up the first goal so many times lately," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "I figure if were not going to score it, dont let them." Josh Harding made 21 saves for this third shutout of the season. "Better start," Yeo said. "And again, thats something weve talked about." In their previous seven games, the Wild had immediately fallen behind and were outscored 15-4 in the first two periods. They were 2-4-1 in those games. Although it took a while for the Wild to get anything going offensively, they effectively kept the Flyers locked down. Playing without leading goal scorer Vincent Lecavalier (back spasms), Philadelphia had only six shots on goal and no real scoring chances in the first 33 minutes. The Wild didnt really, either, until Pominville collected Mikko Koivus pass in the crease and flipped it past Ray Emery 3:52 into the third period. Koivu was skating around the back of the net when he spun and passed behind his defender. "I didnt know if it was Poms or Zach (Parise), but once I saw someone was there, I tried to get it on tape and I did," Koivu said. "Obviously he made a good shot, getting it up high. It was pretty tight for him. Good shot." On the ensuing shift, Coyle tapped a rebound off Jared Spurgeons slap shot into an empty corner at 4:11 to make it 2-0. "It took a while, but we know if we stick to our system, were going to break them down, and thats what happened," Coyle said. It was an impressive and unexpected flurry in a game that had played out as the statistics predicted. When the puuck dropped, the Wilds 17 even-strength goals allowed in 21 games led the NHL; and the Flyers had allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of their past 14 games.dddddddddddd Plus, the Wild had scored only six goals in their five previous games (1-3-1). But Minnesota controlled most of the action, even if its chances were minimal, to improve to 11-3-2 at home. Harding improved to 11-1-0 at Xcel Energy Center this season and 32-10-2 all-time despite playing at a disadvantage for much of the third period. He faced down two power plays to nurse a 2-0 lead - once going corner to corner to dive in front of a point-blank shot by Jakub Voracek - then stopped two shots after Flyers coach Craig Berube pulled Emery with 3:22 left in regulation. "Its unbelievable this year, so many chances," Voracek said. "I hit a couple posts, a couple good saves. Last year everything went under the bar. ... This year I think its going to go in and then something happens. That was a great save by Harding." The Flyers were trying to crack .500 for the first time this season after rebounding from a 1-7-0 start. Theyre 11-6-2 since a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers Oct. 24, but fell to 1-10-1 this season when the opponent scores first. NOTES: Flyers C Vincent Lecavalier (back spasms) was a scratch Monday. He entered the game with a team-leading nine goals. ... Wild D Mathew Dumba, 19, was one of 25 players invited to Canadas Junior National Team camp on Monday. The only invitee on an NHL roster, Dumba would have to be loaned out by the Wild. Thats likely barring an injury on Minnesotas blue line. Camp is scheduled to begin Dec. 12. ... Peter Luukko left his job as president and chief operating office of Comcast-Spectacor, which owns the Flyers, on Monday. Luukko will be replaced on an interim basis by Dave Scott, who recently retired as executive vice-president and CFO. ... The Flyers have killed 14 consecutive power plays. ' ' '