ERST LESEN! » ays test results are medically speaking on Stamkos.

TORONTO -- Liam Hendriks already had a big day on the go before taking the mound for his Blue Jays debut Friday night. The Australian was called up from triple-A Buffalo, enjoyed his six-month anniversary with wife Kristi, and gave his mother Debbie a long-distance present as she celebrated her birthday Down Under. Hendriks capped a day to remember with an impressive 5 2/3-inning performance in Torontos 3-2 win over Oakland at Rogers Centre. The 25-year-old right-hander allowed three hits and one earned run for his first major-league victory since last August. "Its kind of a big deal today for me," he said. Steve Tolleson staked Hendriks to an early lead with a two-run shot -- his first homer of the season -- in the second inning and the Blue Jays scratched out another run in the third. Hendriks allowed a solo homer to Brandon Moss in the fourth inning. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and left to a standing ovation in the sixth inning. "That was incredible," he said. "I got tingles all over my body for that. This is such a good crowd up here. Its fantastic. They know their baseball up here." Hendriks, who spent parts of the last three seasons with the Twins, earned the callup with a sparkling 5-0 record and 1.48 earned-run average this season with the Bisons. He hopes to take full advantage of this second chance in the big leagues. "Its a huge thing for me," he said. "I was given opportunities in Minnesota and I didnt capitalize on them. Now Ive got a different mindset coming into the season of just getting ready, getting aggressive and getting after guys early. "I think its paid dividends so far and hopefully I can continue this trend and stay up here all year." Toronto manager John Gibbons was impressed. "I would definitely say hes earned another start," he said. The Blue Jays have won four straight games, nine of their last 11 and improved to 11-11 at home this season. Toronto (27-22) is five games over .500 for the first time in over two years. The Blue Jays also lead the American League East division. The last time they were alone in first place this deep into the season was way back on July 6, 2000. It was Tollesons first home run in a Toronto uniform and first in the majors since he went deep on June 10, 2012 with Philadelphia. "We have a tremendous lineup, I mean Melky (Cabrera), Jose (Bautista), Eddie (Encarnacion), all of these guys have been swinging the bat really well," said Tolleson, who batted seventh. "When the bottom of the order can get on base and they can drive us in or produce some runs ourselves that just helps everybody." Scott Kazmir (5-2) shouldered the loss for American League West-leading Oakland (30-18). He allowed five hits and three earned runs over seven innings. However, it was the southpaws throwing error in the third inning that allowed the eventual winning run to score. With Kevin Pillar aboard after a double, Kazmir threw to second base on a pickoff attempt but no one was covering the bag. Pillar ran to third on the play and scored when Jose Reyes hit a slow grounder to the right side of the infield. "That turned out to be costly," Kazmir said. "I should have held on to it. It ended up being the difference-maker in the game." Jed Lowrie was playing shortstop and Nick Punto was at second base. "(Kazmir) thought that I was going to go to the base and I was just there to hold (Pillar) on just a little bit longer because he was extending his lead," Lowrie said. "I wanted to stay there. He looked back and thought I was going to break and I didnt have any plans to." The Athletics made it a one-run game in the eighth inning and threatened in the ninth. Coco Crisp hit a two-out double off Casey Janssen and stole third but the Toronto closer got Lowrie to ground out for his sixth save in six opportunities. Notes: Toronto knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (4-4) will get the start Saturday afternoon against Jesse Chavez (4-1). ... The Blue Jays will host Tampa Bay and Kansas City during the homestand next week. ... Hendriks allowed three walks and had three strikeouts. ... Moss has 11 homers on the season. ... Bautista, who walked in the third inning, has reached base safely in 48 of 49 games this season. He leads the major leagues with 42 walks. ... Announced attendance was 21,007 and the game took two hours 37 minutes. NHL Jerseys China . This weeks Raptors Report puts a bow on Gays brief, 10-month tenure in Toronto and ponders how his absence will affect the teams offence. Are they a better team without him? In addition to acquiring some valuable cap flexibility, what impact will the four incoming players have this season and beyond? Click here for the Dec. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . 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Wholesale NHL Jerseys 2020 .com) - Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to return Tuesday against Nashville after sitting out the past two games because of a minor upper body injury.TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, and Pierre LeBrun have the latest on available players on the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres, if moving Dave Bolland is a possibility for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Steven Stamkos Olympics situation. From the moment Thomas Vanek turned down a reported $50 million contract offer from the New York Islanders, the thought was he has to be moved. Is a deal imminent? Pierre LeBrun: Its not imminent but it could happen before the end of the week, of course we have an Olympic trade freeze Friday at 3pm et. In a perfect world the Islanders would look to divest themselves of that big salary of Vaneks so they dont carry it through the Olympics. But that same big cap number is why some of the contenders – and we know that Los Angeles and Pittsburgh have some interest in Vanek – cant deal yet as they are right at the cap. So it makes this deal difficult before the Olympic freeze. To get Vanek, the asking price is three assets: any combination of a first-round pick, a young player, and a prospect. Whatever the combination, Islanders GM Garth Snow is trying to get his big haul here because we know how much he gave up to get Vanek at the start of the season. Bob McKenzie: The Islanders also have another asset in play in defenceman Andrew MacDonald. Heres a guy that is going to unrestricted free agency at the end of the season, hes only making $550,000 right now, but he leads the NHL in blocked shots. And for the last two seasons hes been the minutes leader for the Islanders. There has been a lot of interest in this player. The Islanders could do a deal with him, maybe between $4 million and $5 million a year, which would be a huge increase on what hes currently making, but the Islanders have lots of young defencemen coming and lots of teams are calling. MacDonalds name is definitely in play. And is one of Thomas Vaneks ex-teammates also drawing interest? McKenzie: That would be Steve Ott of the Buffalo Sabres. We all know that Matt Moulson has been drawing interest, with upwards of a double digit number of teams inquiring about Moulsons availability by the deadline. But Ott is attracting that much, if not more attention than Moulson. Obviously keep an eye on the Sabres, theyre at the bottom of the league and ready to offload people. In addition to Ott and Moulson there is the Ryan Miller scennario playing out but also Henrik Tallinder is another guy who could be moved as well as Drew Stafford and Cody McCormick.dddddddddddd Dave Bolland hasnt played since November 2. Is he still in play? Darren Dreger: Hes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, so Dave Nonis and the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to have to figure out what option they want to pursue with Bolland. There are three of them: No. 1 is theyll negotiate relatively soon and find out what his number would be to avoid free agency. No. 2 is if they dont like the number at this stage in the season, they wait and use him as their own rental to push for the playoffs. No. 3, which isnt anywhere near as likely as No.1 but is certainly an option, is to trade Bolland if you know that a deal isnt likely to be made. By all accounts, everything is going to plan for Steven Stamkos. His plan is to play Saturday and then make a decision with Team Canada at that point. What is Team Canada doing to manage the situation if Stamkos cant go? Dreger: First of all, there are a couple hurdles Canada has to get by. No. 1: they want to find out what Wednesdays test results are medically speaking on Stamkos. Either way, expect Team Canada GM Steve Yzerman to reach out to at least a couple, as many as four or five, of the replacement players – Claude Giroux, James Neal, Eric Staal, Martin St. Louis – to put them on standby. Then you look to Saturday and if Stamkos is able to play against the Detroit Red Wings, then thats a great sign. Obviously theyll monitor how he feels post-game, then theyll make the decision as to whether he or somebody else gets on the Sunday charter flight. LeBrun: And theres a Stamkos-like situation playing out in Minnesota, obviously not getting as much attention. Mikko Koivu, the best player on the Finnish Olympic team, may not be able to play. This thing is going down to the wire. We know one thing, hes not going to play for the Wild this week. He hasnt played in a month after ankle surgery. Hes still recovering and skated on Tuesday, having felt better than he has in a couple days. But at the end of the day, be it Friday or Saturday, Koivu has to get together with Minnesota team doctors and the Finnish Olympic team to make a call on whether or not hes fit to play in the Olympics. That would be a gigantic loss for Finland. ' ' '