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WASHINGTON - Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper doesnt think left wing Ryan Malones DUI and cocaine possession charges will be a distraction to the post-season-bound team. Stone Johnson Jersey . "Ryan is probably a little embarrassed of whats gone on. He made a poor decision, getting behind the wheel when he had alcohol in his system," Cooper said before Tampa Bay beat the Washington Capitals 1-0 in a shootout Sunday to close the regular season. "But for me, Ive watched all the good decisions Ryan Malones made in his life, and how charitable hes been and what a staple hes been in our community in the years hes been here," Cooper added. "I hope this one instance doesnt take away from that, because hes been a class act for us, on and off the ice." Malone didnt travel with the team to Washington. It isnt yet known what his status for the playoffs will be. Tampa Bay will host the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, with Game 1 scheduled for Wednesday. An officer saw Malones SUV strike a curb after making a left turn from the centre lane in the early hours of Saturday, Tampa Police Lt. Paul Lusczynski said. After being pulled over, Malone got out of his vehicle, and the officer smelled alcohol on his breath, Lusczynski said. According to the police report, the officer found 1.3 grams of cocaine in one of Malones pockets. "We talked about it as a team yesterday, and its a real unfortunate thing, but I dont think it was really on too many guys minds here today with the ... stakes of this game," Matthew Carle said after scoring the only goal in Sundays shootout. Malone refused to take field sobriety tests, but a breath test given at the jail recorded blood alcohol levels of 0.112 and 0.116 per cent, Lusczynski said. Florida law considers a driver impaired at 0.08. Malone was released from the Hillsborough County jail on $2,500 bond. His car was impounded by police. "The one thing is, no matter what happens, regardless of anything, youre dealt with as a human being first, hockey player second. Thats how we deal with everything. ... So you want to look after your players in their life first," Cooper said, pausing at times to choose his words carefully. "Im happy everythings OK with Ryan. ... Ive spoken to Ryan. There is a whole process thats going to go through here. Its out of our hands." NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Saturday that Malone "is subject to mandatory evaluation" under the substance abuse program agreed to by the league and the players union, and "his future playing status" will be determined based on the terms of that program. "Lets just say nobodys perfect. We all make marginal decisions at one point in our life. I know Ive made them," Cooper said. "Hell let this be a learning experience for him," Cooper said, "and were really looking forward to getting him back at some point." Malone has five goals and 10 assists in 57 games this season for the Lightning. The 34-year-old forward is in his 10th NHL season, his sixth with Tampa Bay. He has 92 goals, 201 assists and 388 penalty minutes in his career. "Hockey-wise, weve had way more distractions worse than this one. This is more of a life issue that is a friend of ours that we know is physically doing OK. Hopefully the worst is over. This is moving onward and upward after that," Cooper said. "But as for the hockey, this wont be a distraction at all for us." Stefen Wisniewski Jersey . An unconventional night for Texas-El Paso nearly led to the Miners getting a huge upset. Down by 14 with 2:21 left, the Miners went on a frantic closing spurt that fell just short, and UTEP was beaten by No. Reggie Ragland Jersey . -- The Chicago Bears say they have agreed to a one-year contract with centre Roberto Garza.PETERBOROUGH, Ont. -- Steven Lorentz snapped a 2-2 tie in the third period to lead the Peterborough Petes to a 5-2 win over the Oshawa Generals on Thursday in Ontario Hockey League. Peterborough (27-28-5) had a 2-0 lead in the second period before the Generals (39-17-5) tied the game with a pair of power-play goals from Hunter Smith. Greg Betzold opened the scoring for Peterborough in the first period, and Nelson Armstrong made it 2-0 with a power play goal in the second. Anthony Stefano added to the lead in the third period and Nick Ritchie added an empty netter. Andrew DAgostini made 25 saves for Peterborough, and Daniel Altshuller stopped 28 shots for Oshawa. --- STEELHEADS 3 ICEDOGS 1 ST CATHARINES, Ont. -- Bryson Cianfrone and Josh Burnside both scored and had an assist in the third period as Mississauga downed Niagara. Defenceman Jared Walsh had a power-play goal in the first period for the Steelheads (23-33-4), while Spencer Martin made 31 saves for the win. Jordan Maaletta was the lone scorer for the IceDogs (19-33-8) and Brent Moran stopped 25 shots. Jackson Barton Jersey. --- STORM 5 BATTALION 3 NORTH BAY, Ont. -- Zack Mitchells goal at 12:53 of the third period was the eventual winner as Guelph held off a late charge by the Battalion. Stephen Pierog, Robby Fabbri, Jason Dickinson and Kerby Rychel rounded out the scoring for the Storm (46-10-3). Matthew Mancina made 34 saves. Barclay Goodrow and Connor Jarvis both scored in the last six minutes to bring North Bay (32-22-6) to within a goal. Vincent Praplan and Miles Liberati also scored for the Battalion, while Brendan ONeill turned aside 23 shots. --- SPITFIRES 4 COLTS 1 WINDSOR, Ont. -- Sam Povorozniouk and Ryan Foss both had power-play goals as the Spitfires flew past Barrie. Remy Giftopoulos and Ben Johnson also scored for Windsor (36-22-3), while Dalen Kuchmey made 27 saves for the win. Kevin Labanc had the only goal for the Colts (31-26-3) and Daniel Gibl stopped 14 shots. ' ' '