(SportsNetwork.com) - The Ottawa Senators are 7-1-3 over their last 11 games, but the club enters Saturdays road tilt with the Carolina Hurricanes having lost three of its past four tilts. After opening a four-game road trip with a 2-0 win in Washington on Monday, the Senators dropped a 4-3 shootout decision Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ottawa was able to salvage a point thanks to Chris Neils game- tying goal with 2:18 remaining in the third period. Clarke MacArthur and Erik Karlsson both posted a goal and an assist for the Sens, while Craig Anderson made 35 stops in a losing effort. Ex-Ottawa goaltender Ben Bishop stopped 33-of-36 shots to earn the win for the Lightning. "We competed all night and I think we did the things we needed to do to be in this game," said Anderson. "We got a point, so there is that." Ottawa, which will complete its trip Tuesday at Columbus, is 11-8-5 as the road team this season. Snowy weather may have shuffled the Hurricanes schedule around this week, but it hasnt hurt their play on the ice. Todays game was originally scheduled for Friday, but was pushed back a day to accommodate the Hurricanes. Carolina was originally slated to play Tuesday in Philadelphia, but that tilt was postponed until the following day due to weather. The Canes then visited Buffalo on Thursday and had Fridays test moved back because they couldnt play on three consecutive days. Saturdays game is an important one in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Senators are currently two points out of the Easts last postseason berth and Carolina is just one point behind Ottawa. The Hurricanes recorded a 4-1 win over a visiting Senators club on Nov. 24, giving Carolina wins in five of the last six meetings. Ottawa has dropped three straight and 10 of the past 11 encounters in Raleigh. Carolina notched a 3-2 win in Philly and followed with a 5-3 decision against the Sabres. The Hurricanes hope to keep heading in the right direction on Saturday, when they play the first of two straight on home ice. Carolina is 11-10-5 as the host this season and will play six of seven tests in Raleigh before the NHL breaks for the Winter Olympics early next month. The Hurricanes and Sabres were tied at 2-2 after 40 minutes on Thursday and Buffalo grabbed a one-goal lead just 48 seconds into the third period. However, Alexander Semin and Andrej Sekera scored 2:25 apart for Carolina near the midway point of the third to give Carolina the lead for good. Jiri Tlusty, who scored the game-winner with 6:10 left in the third period on Wednesday, added an empty-net goal in the final seconds to seal the win in Buffalo. "Were starting to really gel together right now," said Carolina head coach Kirk Muller. "Were getting the goaltending, our big guys are starting to score and our other guys are playing their roles. You put it together, youre getting some good results." Semin finished with two goals, Sekera added two assists and Anton Khudobin made 26 saves for a Hurricanes team that won for the third time in four games. Fake Indians Jerseys .C. -- LeBron James called comments on an audio recording of a man identified as Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling "appalling" and said hes not sure if he would suit up for the remainder of the NBA playoffs if he played for the Clippers. Ken Harrelson Jersey . Just ask Arsenal fans. However, Arsene Wenger has repeatedly told anyone willing to listen that finishing in that spot is more important than winning a cup competition. https://www.cheapindiansonline.com/4198u...ey-indians.html. Felix Pie had an RBI double earlier in the inning, as Baltimore rallied for three runs to overcome a 3-2 deficit. J.J. Hardy had two hits and Matt Wieters chipped in with an RBI double for the Orioles, who pushed their winning streak to three games. Steve Olin Jersey .What they got was a bevy of players chipping in to pick up the slack.Josh Smith scored 18 points and James Harden added 17 as the Rockets used a balanced scoring effort to outlast the Mavericks for a 99-94 victory. Sandy Alomar Jr. Jersey . -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are tightening the race for second place in the Atlantic Division.DUNEDIN, Florida – Despite a tweet reporting Ervin Santana to the Blue Jays as a done deal Saturday morning, the last marquee pitcher on the market remains a free agent. The report made for an interesting day at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, a day that began with reporters scratching their heads at the absence from camp, for a second consecutive day, of starter J.A. Happ, whos battling pain and inflammation in his back. "If the doctor tells you to stay off your feet, you stay off your feet," said manager John Gibbons. The skipper then joked, "Hes not dead, Ill tell you that." Happ has struggled in two spring training appearances. His back hasnt been right during either, which led general manager Alex Anthopoulos to openly muse that there are two, rather than one, available spots in Torontos starting rotation. If multiple reports suggesting Santana has dropped the term demand of a new contract to one year are true, the Blue Jays will continue to kick the tires. There were reports on Saturday that Toronto had offered Santana $14 million for the season, which is roughly the value of the qualifying offer he turned down from his former team, the Kansas City Royals. The Baltimore Orioles also are believed to be interested, with reports they had tabled an offer with a $13 million base salary that could escalate with incentives reached. On the surface, Santana is a risky proposition. While he has been durable, throwing at least 211 innings in four of the last six seasons, he is 31 years old and there are concerns about the health of his right elbow. Santanas patented slider accounts for more than 32 per cent of the pitches hes thrown in his career, a heavy reliance on a pitch that puts severe torque on the shoulder and the elbow. The risk is reduced to almost nothing if Santana is signed only for 2014. The Blue Jays have the money, can afford to cough up the second round selection in Junes draft (their first round picks, ninth and 11th overall, are protected) and Santana is a better option than Happ. The club shouldnt, and fans likely wouldnt, balk at a rotation of R.A. Dickey, Brandon Morrow, Mark Buehrle, Santana and Drew Hutchison. What to do with Happ would be a matter for a later date. While some in the organization are concerned about Santanas propensity to give up the home run, the Jays learned through a raft of injuries last season that a club can never have enough quality pitching. If Santana struggles in the meat-grinder that is the American League East, again, there is no fretting when there is no long-term commitment. The Blue Jays value the arms of Hutchison and Marcus Stroman, believing both to be ready to contribute soon to a successful team. While neither would be hurt by more seasoning at Triple-A Buffalo, Hutchison appears ready to return to the Blue Jays after a lengthy injury absence and Stromans major league debut doesnt have to be far behind. Santana could serve as a viable, experienced, bridge to Stroman and Aaron Sanchez. Hutchison started and threw three innings in Saturdays 4-3 win over Minnesota. His only blemish was a two-run home run by top prospect Byron Buxton in the third. He struck out five Twins, including the side in the second, and was routinely registering 93-95 miles per hour on his fastball. McGRIFFS STILL GOT IT Former Blue Jays first baseman Fred McGriff is back in the fold, serving as a consultant and an in-uniform coach this spring. Hes out on the field, stretching with the players and taking infield. Those are get-to-know-you opportunities for the long-time big leaguer. "Im just trying to get to learn these guys," said McGriff. "This is my first time in big league camp with the Blue Jays and just trying to see what makes guys tick and everything and help the pitchers. If Im running sprints or taking ground balls with the guys its just about getting to know guys." Now 50 years old, McGriff appears fit enough to still be able to play. He does P90-X workouts, Insanity too, although he jokes he "cant swing (a bat) … thosse days are over.dddddddddddd "Just by me stretching and running with these guys, there may be a pitcher that says, Hey, Fred, what did you look for in this situation as a hitter or what did you do right there," said McGriff. "If Im taking ground balls, theyre trying to make Moises Sierra a first baseman a little bit and theyve got Adam Lind and those guys so trying to tell them little secrets I had, little things I did because I was blessed to play 18 years." McGriff spent four full seasons with the Blue Jays, from 1987-90. He was traded to San Diego, along with Tony Fernandez, in the famous deal that brought Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter to Toronto prior to the 1991 season. Since retiring in 2004, McGriff has dabbled in broadcasting and served as an ambassador for the Rays, his hometown team and the club for which he played twice (1998-2001, 2004) While he enjoyed visiting patrons in the luxury suites to take pictures and sign autographs, he wanted more. As a consultant, hell spend a week out of each month visiting one of the Blue Jays farm cities, treks that will take him to, among other places, Buffalo, Manchester, New Hampshire and Lansing, Michigan. McGriff could see himself in a front office one day. "Ive got a brain, I was blessed to play and Ive got some knowledge," said McGriff. "I would love to try to help the Blue Jays in any way I can to get back to a World Series. Use my brain, ask me some questions about some different pitchers, hitters, maybe try to get into management, be a decision maker. Say a team may be interested in making a trade, maybe they can ask me, Hey Fred, why dont you go check out this player, see what you think or make some phone calls and see how this guy is off the field." McGriff, known as the "Crime Dog," is able to relate to todays player despite the many differences he sees. "They make a lot more money now," said McGriff. "When I was a rookie the minimum was $62,000 and now the minimum is $500,000. Its a whole lot different ballgame with social media and everything. Its so different. Guys, you may see them leave the field and go hop on the phone and get on their Twitter account or Facebook or something like that. "The game of baseball is still the same," he continued. "Youve got to try to get 27 outs and if our pitcher is better than your pitcher were going to win ballgames. Even though the dollars have changed and everything and everything else that goes on, its still baseball." WILSON PLAYS HERO Kenny Wilson played the hero in the Blue Jays 4-3 victory over Minnesota on Saturday. His ninth-inning triple, a drive off the centerfield wall, cashed Erik Kratz with the game-winning run. "It was just two strikes, looking for a pitch up in the zone and I was able to put a pretty good swing on it," said Wilson. Wilson, 24, was a second round pick in the 2008 draft. Hes been slow to develop offensively but the Blue Jays saw enough value in the defensively sound speedster to protect him from Decembers Rule 5 draft. He was added to the 40-man roster. "When I got the call from Charlie Wilson it was pretty surreal," said Wilson. "I went to the (Arizona) Fall League, playing there and I was really hoping I could get added to the 40-man in November and when he asked me I was really excited." A native of Tampa, Wilson has worked with the likes of McGriff on ways to shorten his swing. Hell need to improve on a six-year minor league batting average of .229 and OPS of .640. But if Wilson gets on base, hes a threat to run. Hes stolen 194 bases in 490 minor league games. RASMUS UPDATE Colby Rasmus reported no problems with his neck after playing catch and taking swings in the batting cage. Hes been out for more than a week with neck spasms and received a cortisone injection to settle down the affected muscle. The plan is for Rasmus to work out tomorrow, enjoy the team day off on Monday, then play on Tuesday in St. Petersburg against the Canadian Junior team. ' ' '