INFO » y, with the rest of the Bashford Manor fiel

What do you need to know about last nights big stories? Joe McDonald gives us his take on the biggest and best. This is where we say, Morning, Joe.Stamkos sidelined: Losing Steven Stamkos for any length of time is a terrifying thought for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The teams captain appeared to have injured his right leg during the first period of a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings?on Tuesday night. Lightning coach Jon Cooper did not give reporters an update after the game but said the veteran forward would be re-evaluated on Wednesday. Tampa has been forced to play without Stamkos in the past, but the timing of this injury is particularly bad: Coming off signing an eight-year, $68 million extension in the summer, No. 91 has been playing well, with nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 17 games. Three years ago Stamkos broke his right tibia when he crashed into the net against the Boston Bruins, in November 2013. The Lightning also did not have his services when he had surgery to remove a blood clot in March, forcing him to miss the final month of the season and all but one game of the playoffs. If hes out for an extended length of time this time around, it will be detrimental to the Lightning.Tortorella getting results: Watch out for the Columbus Blue Jackets -- coach John Tortorella has his team focused and productive. After Cam Atkinson scored 37 seconds into overtime in a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals?on Tuesday, the Blue Jackets are now 6-1-1 in their past eight and 8-4-2 overall. Tortorella coached a winless Team USA during the World Cup, and some believed his methods and messages were tuned out by the players. So, it was going to be interesting to see how the Blue Jackets began the season. They are a good team -- and are receiving solid goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky -- and if this success continues, the Blue Jackets could surprise. Tortorella described the win over the powerful Capitals as an identity win for Columbus and its culture. Lets see how long it lasts.Price needs to pace himself: An individual streak is impressive, and it usually equals wins. That was the case for Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price. However, a chance at history ended when the Florida Panthers Aaron Ekblad scored in overtime for a 4-3 win over the Canadiens on Tuesday. Price started the season with 10 straight wins and, with Tuesdays loss, missed a chance at tying George Hainsworths 89-year-old record of 11 consecutive wins. Still, the Canadiens are 13-2-2 to lead the Atlantic Division with 28 points, and Price is the main reason. Individual statistics dont win championships, but Montreal cant win big without him. With the two in harmony, it can lead to great things. Coach Michel Therrien needs to make sure that Price, 29, doesnt get overworked, especially considering his workload during the World Cup. Hes played 11 NHL games already, and with veteran Al Montoya as backup, a good number for Price this season is around 55 games. Cheap Panthers Jerseys China . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Donte Jackson Jersey . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. http://www.cheappanthersjerseyselite.com/?tag=cheap-gerald-mccoy-jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Reggie Bonnafon Jersey . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Graham Gano Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. We are going to take a circuitous route to get to a point I want to make, but bear with me. In this instance, the long way home is the interesting way home.Lets go back for a moment to Kentucky Oaks Day. Remember how Carina Mia had to run in the Eight Belles Stakes on the undercard because she didnt have enough points to get into the oversubscribed Oaks, not for performance reasons, but because of other circumstances beyond her control (the quarantine at Payson Park, Carina Mias winter quarters)? And remember how Carina Mia was so impressive winning the Eight Belles as miles the best that more than a few people opined the fillies in the Oaks were quite fortunate they didnt have to face Carina Mia that day?Okay, now lets flash back to Belmont Stakes Day, to specifically the Acorn Stakes on that tremendous undercard. The Acorn is a prestigious race; its not the Oaks, but its a terrific event, and it was Carina Mias opportunity to extract revenge on the circumstances that prevented her from competing in the Oaks, not to mention two major Oaks figures -- the winner, Cathryn Sophia, and Go Maggie Go, second-best in the Oaks after finishing a tough-trip fourth, and winner of the subsequent Black-Eyed Susan. And Carina Mia did gain a measure of revenge, winning the Acorn as clearly the best, beating both Cathryn Sophia and Go Maggie Go.Somewhat lost in that intriguing Carina Mia-Kentucky Oaks storyline was the performance of the runner up in the Acorn, Off the Tracks. Off the Tracks showed a lot of potential winning both of her starts last year, including a strong score in the Schuylerville Stakes. She romped in the Margate in her first start this year despite being announced as being nowhere near completely fit. She was then switched over to trainer Todd Pletcher, and followed with what was her only unsatisfying outing, a third as the 4-5 favorite to Go Maggie Go in the Gulfstream Park Oaks.But as flat as Off the Tracks was in the Gulfstream Oaks was as good as she was in defeat in the Acorn. Off the Tracks was held up in traffic from late on the far turn to nearly mid-stretch in the Acorn, costing her momentum, while Carina Mia got the jump on her with a clear, unobstructed run on the outside. Im not suggesting that Off the Tracks would have beaten Carina Mia in the Acorn with a clean trip. No one knows that. But what we do know is, Off the Tracks finished strongly once clear, was beaten only a little more than a length, and, notably, finished ahead of both Cathryn Sophia and Go Maggie Go.That was the setup to Off the Trackss start in Saturdays Mother Goose at Belmont Park, another race that, among other things, put the form of the Kentucky Oaks to the test, and other race that threw shade on the Oaks form.Off the Tracks faced three opponents in the Mother Goose who ran in the Kentucky Oaks -- Lewis Bay, who finished a good third; Mo dAmour, who finished fifth; and Rachels Valentina, the daughter of the heralded Rachel Alexandra who was widely expected to rebound off a sixth in the Oaks as the favorite. And Off the Tracks was simply much, much better than all of them.ddddddddddddOff the Tracks set the Mother Goose pace under pressure, and while Belmonts main track was quite fast on Saturday, her fractions of 22.79 seconds, 45.53, and 1:09.62 were very strong for a race for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles. Thats why when Lewis Bay, who did stumble at the start, but who also sat a beautiful inside trip off the pace, tipped out at the top of the stretch with dead aim on Off the Tracks, she looked 2-5 to inhale Off the Tracks and win decisively. Instead, Off the Tracks turned back and ran away from Lewis Bay like she wasnt even there. This was powerful stuff.As for Mo dAmour, she clunked along to finish a non-threatening fourth. And in Rachels Valentinas defense, she also stumbled at the start. But still, she really gave it up in the stretch after holding sweet early outside stalking position and finished fifth, again as the favorite.Its funny. When a division has a leader as dominant as Songbird is in this years 3-year-old filly division, the rest of the division is, far more often than not, weak and uninspiring. Not so with this years 3-year-old filly division, though. Its stunning how there are so many legitimately good ones, even in the face of Songbird.Lucky us.Quick notes* She is a Grade 1 winner and twice Grade 1 stakes placed, so shes set for life. Nevertheless, I honestly feel bad for Rachels Valentina. Given that her mom is Rachel Alexandra, how can she ever live up to expectations?* I like early-season 2-year-old racing. Its good for the game, and its good for 2-year-olds. That said, I usually dont put much stock in early-season 2-year-old stakes results, which is why 2-year-old rankings dont appear in my Watchmaker Watch until mid-August. However, if the resurgence in early 2-year-old racing that seems to have taken place over the last couple of years continues, I might reassess.But my skepticism of early 2-year-old stakes is being put to the test by the Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs. I thought the Bashford Manor was, in relative terms, a very strongly run race. The final time of 1:09.39 for six furlongs is impressive compared with the 1:11.01 fillies needed to complete the Debutante Stakes just 34 minutes later. Classic Empire came from inside, outside, and inside, and from well off the pace to catch the very speedy Recruiting Ready, with the rest of the Bashford Manor field a city block up the track. I think both a very nice prospects.* Its anyones guess if he will improve for the experience, or if he will return to his free, front-running style, but Danzing Candy clearly did not like being rated early in the Affirmed Stakes at Santa Anita, and could only finish second at 1-5. It wouldnt matter so much if Danzing Candy werent so talented. But he is very talented, as he showed when he w