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Lightning Nuts & Bolts: Callahan on AC/DC; Namestnikov on Tonight Show; Stamkos on fighting

 
Tampa Bay Lightning center Vladislav Namestnikov (90) celebrates as he scores the first goal of the game against Philadelphia Flyers during first period action at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Thursday evening (10/30/31).
Tampa Bay Lightning center Vladislav Namestnikov (90) celebrates as he scores the first goal of the game against Philadelphia Flyers during first period action at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Thursday evening (10/30/31).
Published Nov. 29, 2014

Short shift With RW Ryan Callahan

Must-TiVo TV Show: Sons of Anarchy

Second-best sport: I played soccer growing up. I don't know if I was any good at it.

Best concert: AC/DC at (Madison Square) Garden. Couple years ago when they did their reunion tour. It was awesome.

If you weren't a hockey player: I may be a school teacher. My mom was a school teacher. I always looked up to her.

Favorite memorabilia: We were just talking about it because Dominik Hasek got put in the Hall of Fame (last week). When I was a kid, I remember … getting a card signed by him. I treasured that when I was a kid because I was a big Sabres fan.

Vladdy makes 'Tonight Show'

Rookie center Vladislav Namestnikov (above) is not a household name, but his name earned him a mention on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday. Fallon was doing a "Pros and Cons" segment about Las Vegas potentially getting an NHL team.

One of the pros was it would be "the best way to see names like Semyon Varlamov, Vladislav Namestnikov …" The con: "… Besides taking an eye exam." Namestnikov (vla-dih-SLAHV nah-MEHST-nih-kawv) doesn't think his name is hard to pronounce, but he got a kick of out of the clip. "It was a joke at first," he said. "But someone sent me the video. It's pretty cool."

Needless to say, Fallon nailed Namestnikov's name.

Stamkos gets McDavid fight

Touted prospect Connor McDavid, widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft, has taken criticism for getting in a fight Nov. 11 and fracturing the fifth metacarpal bone in his right hand, forcing him to miss five to six weeks with his junior team in Erie. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, once in McDavid's shoes, says it was just "bad luck."

"I'd be a hypocrite if I said not to fight, because I had a couple fights in my draft year," said Stamkos, the first overall pick of the 2008 draft. "I even had one in the (2008) top prospects game.

"(McDavid is) an emotional person and very passionate about the game, and that's the game of hockey. At the end of the day, it was bad luck. The thing is, if he fights and is okay, I think the media takes a completely different look and says, 'What a guy he is, sticking up for himself. He's not afraid to go and do that,' and they'd play it off like that."

Stamkos' fight in the prospects game was against Yann Sauve, a Canucks second-rounder.

"I remember different people telling me, 'Stammer, we don't want you fighting or risk breaking your hand,' " Stamkos said. "That was specifically said, so that's the risk, obviously. But I'm not going to harp on (McDavid) because he did that. He stuck up for himself, and sometimes you need to do that. In saying that, maybe he'll think twice next time around."

From the fans

For Namestnikov: What is it like to be on the penalty kill?

Said Namestnikov: "It's an honor. It's nice that the coach trusts you. I've killed penalties my whole life, so it's great to do it here."

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