Some thoughts from the NHL on TSN panel on Tuesday night: Ryan Keslers performance in Game 5 was the story of the hockey game. Hunter Pence Giants Jersey . When Kesler got injured late in the second period it looked as though he and the Vancouver Canucks were going south, both in the game and maybe the series, heading back to San Jose. However, as the game wore on Kesler found another gear. Kesler found a way to get it done in that epic folklore of Stanley Cup playoff history and he will always be remembered for tipping the puck in, which sent the game to overtime. Despite the injury, Kesler played the fourth most minutes of any forward on the Canucks, with only the two Sedins and Alex Burrows playeing more. To get the tying goal and reestablish himself as the favourite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy at this point in time, thats pretty epic. The Best They Could I dont think you can say that the San Jose Sharks choked. People want to throw that label on it because of past failures, and they didnt get the job done, there is no question. Were they better in this years conference final than they were in last years conference final? Absolutely they were, but they didnt get to where they wanted to get to, where they expected to get to, and they were eminently capable of doing it. The Sharks had the kind of team that could of reached the final, but they simply ran out of gas as Joe Thornton was playing with a separated shoulder. There are a lot of players on this team that are going to take flack for the way they played, including Dany Heatley, but you could tell this was an injured, banged up, battered hockey team that did the best they could. They forced it to overtime to try to get it back to San Jose. Yes, they came up short, but at the end of the day Im not sure its one of those situations where you look at it and say now the Sharks have to blow their team up. There may be some recriminations, but in the grand scheme of things, they got beat by a better team. Power Outage I cant believe Im actually saying this, but the Tampa Bay Lightning have got to get their power play going. The Lightning have feasted on the power play; its the reason they beat Pittsburgh, and its the reason why they eliminated Washington. But in the crucial moments of Game 5, when they were outplaying the Boston Bruins, they didnt get it done. They had eight minutes of power play time between the 6:45 mark of the first period and the 4:07 mark of the second period. Thats 17-plus minutes of game action; eight minutes - almost half that time - they were on the power play and they had nothing to show for it. The Lightning usually win games because of their power play, not lose games. Theyre going to try and get this thing turned around and based on the way theyve played throughout the playoffs youd have to think that the power play could be one area that they would have a lot of improvement for Game 6. Facing Elimination I thought Dwayne Roloson would have - and maybe should have - started Game 5 but I also give the coach the benefit of the doubt because maybe this 41-year-old goaltender needed a little bit of a break, even though he didnt want to admit it. Maybe fatigue is a factor, and Guy Boucher knew that he could put Mike Smith in for one game, and even if they lost he could come back and pitch a well-rested Roloson in an elimination scenario where hell play the game of his life. Al Kaline Tigers Jersey . Cammalleri scored two goals, Corban Knight netted the winner in a shootout, and the Flames erased a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Stars 4-3 on Friday night. Bruce Bochy Giants Jersey . The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday at 4:05 p.m. Tickets for Monday will be honoured Tuesday. The forecast Monday calls for heavy rain throughout the day.SEATTLE - Felix Hernandez outpitched Jeff Samardzija, Robinson Cano hit a go-ahead double and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 Friday night. Fernando Rodney got his 27th save, getting Nick Punto on a called strike three to end it with a runner on third. Punto slammed his batting helmet to the ground with both hands and argued with plate umpire James Hoye, and As manager Bob Melvin joined in, saying the full-count pitch missed the strike zone. Hernandez (11-2) threw eight strong innings. He reached 11 victories before the All-Star break for the first time in his career, getting nicked for two early runs and then shutting down the AL West-leading As the rest of the night. Hernandez made his 11th straight start going at least seven innings and giving up two earned runs or less. Its the longest streak for an American League pitcher since Gaylord Perry had 11 straight for Cleveland in 1974. Cano came through with the clutch base hit Seattle has lacked. James Jones doubled with two outs in the sixth and Cano followed with a flare that landed inches fair down the left-field line to break a 2-all tie. Seattle had been 2 for 35 with runners in scoring position prior to Canos double. Samardzija is 1-1 with Oakland after going 2-7 for the Chicago Cubs. Samardzija threw eight innings, allowing only five hits and striking out five. Hernandez struck out nine and gave up six hits. He rebounded following a shaky first inning to stop the team with the best record in bbaseball. Madison Bumgarner Giants Jersey. Oakland scored a pair of rare first-inning runs off Seattles ace. Stephen Vogts solo homer was just the sixth allowed by Hernandez this season, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. Josh Donaldson followed with a double and scored on Jed Lowries single that sneaked through the infield. Hernandez had given up three first-inning runs all season. But after Lowries single, Hernandez permitted just four baserunners. He struck out the side in the fourth and sixth inning and needed just five pitches to cruise through the seventh. Hernandez found himself in a jam in the fifth with runners on the corners and two outs, but Donaldson flied out. After Vogt led off the eighth with a single, Donaldson grounded into a double play, drawing a fist pump and scream from Hernandez. He then got Brandon Moss to ground out on his 101st pitch to end the eighth and his night. Seattle chipped away at Samardzija, starting with Logan Morrisons homer leading off the second. Seattle pulled even in the third when Brad Miller doubled, advanced to third on Mike Zuninos groundout and scored on Endy Chavezs sacrifice fly. NOTES: Hernandez won 10 games before the All-Star break in 2009 and 2013. ... Oakland 1B Alberto Callaspo left the game in the second inning after straining his right hamstring running out a ground ball. ... Oakland OF Coco Crisp was out of Fridays lineup with a sore neck and Melvin unsure of his availability for the series. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '
