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What do you need to know about last nights big stories? Scott Burnside gives us his take on the biggest and best.Lightning will be fine: Game 1 of life without Steven Stamkos (version 3) started pretty much as I expected it would, as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat up on the hapless Buffalo Sabres 4-1 Thursday for their third straight win. The Lightning have over the past few years been forced to play for long periods of time without their captain and offensive dynamo, and they have done so for the most with aplomb. Now theyre faced with a four-month absence after Stamkos underwent surgery Thursday to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee. If there is a team capable of absorbing this kind of body blow, its the Lightning. Im not going to go all hyperbolic and call this a statement game, but on a night when youd expect your veterans to step up, Nikita Kucherov scored his ninth and?Alex Killorn, who had been scoreless in 10 games, delivered a goal and an assist as the Lightning served notice they wont be feeling sorry for themselves in the absence of their captain.Blues bounce back: Its been a weird November for the St. Louis Blues, who had lost five of eight games heading into their first meeting of the season with Western Conference-champion San Jose Sharks Thursday night. Three times the Blues have allowed at least five goals -- very un-Ken Hitchcock like. But in the first rematch of last springs Western Conference finalists, the Blues got back to Blues hockey, clipping the Sharks 3-2. Jaden Schwartz, so key to a Blues team looking for a new generation of leaders, chipped in two goals to give him five in six games after a slow start and Jake Allen, whos had his ups and downs in November, was at times spectacular, turning aside 29 of 31 shots. The Blues, meanwhile, continue to dominate at home, running their record to 7-1-2. The loss, the second in a row, drops the Sharks, who were the kings of the road last season, to a pedestrian 5-6 away from the Shark Tank.Oilers slide continues: Im going to take some responsibility for the Edmonton Oilers plunge off the proverbial cliff. It was a little more than a week ago I saw them in Pittsburgh, and even though they fell 4-3, there was a sense of optimism that this was a team on the rise. Uhm. No. The Oilers are proving that kind of renaissance doesnt happen overnight -- or in their case, over a decade -- as theyve now lost five straight and seven of nine after Thursdays 4-2 loss at home to the undermanned Los Angeles Kings. Connor McDavid hasnt scored in 10 games and was minus-3, and the Oil have been outscored 18-9 during the losing skid. Amazingly, the team still holds onto a playoff spot thanks to its strong start but sadly the past seems very much like the future for the Oilers. Allen Iverson Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Wholesale Grizzlies Jerseys . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. https://www.cheapgrizzlies.com/ . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Vince Carter Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. Yuta Watanabe Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. DENVER -- The Milwaukee Brewers started fast and then had to endure a slow finish. The wait was worth it. Carlos Gomez had two hits and three of Milwaukees five stolen bases, Juan Francisco and Jonathan Lucroy homered and the Brewers held on to beat the Colorado Rockies 7-5 on a rainy Saturday night. Milwaukees Jean Segura had two hits and two RBIs before leaving with tightness in his right forearm. "Hes fine. He may be sore tomorrow," manager Ron Roenicke said. "It tightened up on him is why we took him out." Troy Tulowitzki homered among his three hits and Wilin Rosario also went deep for the Rockies. The Brewers were three outs from winning when the rain picked up and caused a 1-hour, 45-minute delay in the middle of the ninth inning. Jim Henderson then retired the Rockies in over for his 12th save. It made a winner out of Tom Gorzelanny (2-4), who allowed four runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings to get his first win as a starter since May 7, 2011. He was sharp early, giving up just three hits and not allowing a runner to second through the first five innings as the Brewers built a six-run lead. Gorzelanny then ran into trouble in the sixth when the rain started falling. DJ LeMahieu doubled with one out and scored on Tulowitzkis single to centre. Michael Cuddyer walked and Rosario followed with his 14th homer to make it 6-4 and chase Gorzelanny. During the rally, Gorzelanny pointed at the mound, but he said the conditions werent a factor. "I dont think it was more the mound than the mistakes I made," he said. "Something you cant really think about and try not to let it affect you. That inning I could have done a little bit better. All that matters is we got the win." It was a rough start for Colorados Collin McHugh, called up before the game to replace lefty Drew Pomeranz -- who went on the 15-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis Friday. McHugh (0-2), vying to make a case to be the Rockies No. 5 starter, gave up six runs and nine hits in five innings. The Brewers jumped on him in the first inning, scoring three times on four hits. Rickie Weeks, Lucroy and Caleb Gindl all doubled in the inning to give Milwaukee the early lead. They made it 4-0 in the second when Norichika Aoki singled with two outs, stole second and scored on Seguras single up the middle. It was 6-0 after Francisco hit his 13th homer in the third. "They swung the bat well, they were pretty aggressiive.dddddddddddd You just hate to put your team in a hole like that early on," McHugh said. "With guys struggling to swing the bat a little bit you want to give them as much cushion as you can." Milwaukee was also aggressive on the bases. "I knew they were quick I knew they like to run," McHugh said. "I was trying to be as quick to the plate as possible but guys who have wheels who get out there and know what theyre doing on the bases sometimes theres not a whole lot you can do about it." The Brewers got a scare when Segura was hit on the right forearm swinging at a pitch in the fourth. He went down in pain but stayed in the game after a Brewers trainer checked him over. He was replaced by Jeff Bianchi in the bottom of the sixth after experiencing tightness in his forearm. "When you get hit with the baseball you always think its going to be bad," Segura said. "I was having trouble gripping the ball and gripping the bat so (Roenicke) made the decision to take me out. It was getting worse." Segura said he wasnt sure if he would play Sunday. Lucroy hit his 15th homer in the seventh to give the Brewers a three-run cushion. The Rockies threatened bottom of the seventh but reliever Brandon Kintzler got LeMahieu to ground into an inning-ending double play. "We really swung the bat well. Luc adding on the home run I thought was really big," Roenicke said. "Anytime you dont do anything and that team starts catching up, somewhere you need to add on. I thought that was a big home run." Tulowitzki led off the eighth with his 18th to make it 7-5. "Early on it looked like one of those games that could get away from you and we fought our way back and had a shot late," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "That was the silver lining, if there ever is one in a loss. The guys battled their way back and had a shot late." NOTES: Colorado OF Carlos Gonzalez (sprained right middle finger) was out of the lineup for the second straight game. He is considered day-to-day. ... The Rockies optioned RHP Mitchell Boggs to Triple-A to make room for McHugh. ... Brewers RHP Marco Estrada (strained left hamstring) threw a bullpen session Friday and will make a rehab start Monday. He has been on the 15-day DL since June 4. ... The Brewers will send RHP Donovan Hand (0-2) against Colorados Jhoulys Chacin (9-5) in the final of the three-game series. ' ' '