John Ziegler Jr.’s tumultuous 15 years as NHL president began with the league ushering in the Wayne Gretzky era and ended with labor unrest and a players strike in 1992.The NHL on Friday confirmed Ziegler’s death New York Islanders Hats Authentic , although the cause was not immediately known. He was 84 and living in Florida.“His positive imprint on the game of hockey cannot ever be overstated,” Chicago Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz said. “While he will be missed, his legacy and contributions to our sport will carry on forever.”Ziegler was the first American to run the league and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987.He was credited for helping the NHL become an international league by increasing the number of European players and opening the door for Russians to compete in North America.Ziegler was the NHL’s fourth president, succeeding Clarence Campbell in 1977. Two years later, he played a key role in brokering a merger with the World Hockey Association in which the NHL added four teams from the upstart league — the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers.While the Jets, Nordiques and Whalers eventually relocated, the Gretzky-led Oilers quickly succeeded Custom New York Islanders Jerseys , winning four Stanley Cups between 1984 and 1988. The Oilers posted a picture of Ziegler handing the Stanley Cup to a beaming Gretzky on the team’s Twitter feed.The NHL eventually grew to 24 teams under Ziegler by expanding into San Jose in 1991. In 1978, the NHL had dropped to 17 franchises when the Cleveland Barons ceased operations after merging with the Minnesota North Stars.Just as important, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman credited Ziegler for attracting talent from across the Atlantic. The share of NHL players not born in North America grew from 2 percent to 11 percent on Ziegler’s watch, Bettman said.It was a period that introduced the NHL to its first wave of Russian-born stars such as Viacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Alexander Mogilny and Pavel Bure.Contentious labor talks between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association over playoff bonuses, free agency and pension funds led to the players voting to strike in the final weeks of the 1991-92 season. The strike lasted 10 days.League owners unhappy with the labor agreement ousted Ziegler two months later. He was replaced on an interim basis by Gil Stein. The NHL hired Bettman the following year and appointed him the league’s first commissioner.“John provided invaluable counsel during my early days as commissioner and was always generous with his time,” Bettman said.Ziegler was from Grosse Pointe, Michigan www.officialhockeyrangersshop.com , and broke into the NHL serving as legal counsel for the Red Wings and their arena Olympia Stadium in 1960. He worked his way up the ranks to eventually represent the Red Wings on the NHL’s board of governors.During Ziegler’s time as league president the Red Wings were sold to the late Mike Ilitch, whose family still owns the team.“We are extremely grateful for the guidance and support John provided as president of the NHL when our family purchased the Red Wings in 1982,” Red Wings governor Christopher Ilitch said. “John left an immeasurable mark on both the Red Wings organization and the sport of hockey worldwide.”After leaving the NHL, Ziegler worked at a Detroit law firm and served as an alternate governor for the Chicago Blackhawks. BOSTON (AP) The Tampa Bay Lightning have a chance to get the last licks on the Boston Bruins at home.Dan Girardi scored 3:18 into overtime to give Tampa Bay a 4-3 victory over Boston on Friday night in a game that featured more face-licking from Brad Marchand but left the Lightning with a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals as they return to Florida for a potential clincher in Game 5.”It’s going to be the hardest game of the series, and it always is,” said Tampa Bay wing Ryan Callahan, who was swabbed by Marchand’s tongue in the second period – the second straight opponent to complain about the tactic by the Bruins’ forward.”It’s unfortunate that he goes that low to do that, but doesn’t take us off our game,” Callahan said. ”Hopefully New York Rangers T-Shirts Authentic , the league looks at it. I don’t know if there is discipline for spitting in someone’s face, but to me it’s worse if not the same.”Tampa Bay jumped ahead 2-0 for the second straight game. But this time Boston answered with three straight goals, including a short-handed score by Patrice Bergeron – his second of the game – to break a third-period tie.Steven Stamkos tied it 3-all with seven minutes left in regulation after Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy turned the puck over behind the Boston net after he appeared to be pulled down from behind. Girardi ended it when he got a stick on a pass from Alex Killorn that was deflected off Brian Gionta’s skate in the crease.A two-time NHL goal-scoring champion, Stamkos had just one goal in the playoffs before adding an empty-netter in Game 3.”It was like Stam said, `I’ve had enough,”’ Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. ”It was just a matter of time, but we needed him, and he was there for us.”Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov also scored for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves.Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots for the Bruins. Torey Krug New York Rangers Hoodies Authentic , who was helped off the bench to the locker room in the third period and did not finish the game, had a pair of assists, as did Marchand.But Marchand – whose nickname ”Little Ball of Hate” even made its way to President Barack Obama when the Bruins visited the White House after their 2011 Stanley Cup win – was the talk of the postgame more for his penchant for licking opponents.Marchand went nose-to-nose with Callahan after a whistle with 1:21 left in the second, then leaned in and tried to lick Callahan’s face. The Lightning forward pushed him away.”He punched me four times in the face,” Marchand said. ”He just kept getting close. Nothing big.”The Toronto Maple Leafs also complained about the tactic during their first-round series with Boston. Told that Callahan compared licking to spitting and said it should be penalized accordingly, Marchand said, ”That’s cute. Good for him.”Two nights after scoring twice in the first 3:19 for a lead they would never relinquish, the Lightning again opened a 2-0 lead. Point scored about five minutes in when he split defenders Zdeno Chara and McAvoy at the blue line and then faked out Rask in the crease.With the Bruins already a man down, Chara then backhanded the puck over the glass on a clearing attempt for another penalty. It was back to 5-on-4 when Kucherov made it 2-0 midway through the period on a power-play one-timer from the faceoff circle.But David Pastrnak one-timed a golf-shot into the net to make it 2-1 after one New York Rangers Hats Authentic , and then the Bruins tied it early in the second on a give-and-go from Bergeron to Krug and back to Bergeron. Boston was back on the penalty kill six minutes into the third when Marchand chased down a puck in the Lightning end and then delivered a cross pass that Bergeron redirected into the net.Tampa Bay tied it with seven minutes left after Kucherov appeared to pull McAvoy down behind the Bruins net. The puck worked its from to J.T. Miller and then Stamkos in the slot for a one-timer to tie it 3-all with seven minutes left in regulation.”It looks like he reached around and pulled him down,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. ”Charlie’s a strong guy. But it wasn’t called, and it’s in our net. The non-call impacted the game directly.”NOTES: Bruins Hall of Famer Ray Bourque was in the crowd. … Referee Francois St. Laurent took a spill in the first minute of the third period and crashed head- and shoulder-first into the boards behind the Lightning net. He remained in the game.