his final one, retiring the side in order before leaving to a standing ovation fro

The Senators playoff chances may be finished, but their general manager will be paying close attention to the final 10 games of the season as he starts to focus on the 2014-15 campaign. Speaking to TSN 1200 on Friday evening, Bryan Murray said he has not made any final decisions on his team for next season – and that includes giving a formal vote of confidence to head coach Paul MacLean. When asked directly about MacLeans job security moving forward, Murray did not make any guarantees for his head coach or any of his players. “I dont have a definite answer to that, but Pauls got a contract going forward. He was Coach of the Year last year and I dont know what happened this year necessarily as far as performance is concerned,” Murray said. “I think hes a very good coach and I think he has the ear of the players in the room. We had some really tough outings and its shared amongst a lot of people – myself included. We thought this team was better. We thought we had enough skill here to offset a couple of little things we were missing last year – and it didnt work out. Was that because of the departure of Daniel Alfredsson? Was it because we overestimated a couple our young guys? I think all of those evaluations will take place and will continue. With 10 games to go, well be watching very closely with the effort that is put forward here. Im certainly not planning to make any decisions until the 82 games have gone by and well make a decision based on the whole year.” Murray also elaborated on the prognosis of Bobby Ryan, who underwent surgery on Thursday in Montreal to repair a sports hernia injury that had been plaguing him for most of the season. Murray indicated that Ryan should be able to resume his off-ice training in a few weeks and his summer program should not be affected. Ryan – who had a team-leading 23 goals at the time of his injury – had a disappointing first season as the Senators failed to make the playoffs and he did not reach the 30-goal plateau. However, Murray was quick to point out that his injury played a major role in his lower productivity and the front office remains committed to him long-term. Ryans contract expires at the end of next season and while the Senators are not allowed to start formal negotiations on an extension until July 1st, Murray was adamant the club would push hard to keep him in Ottawa. “I think hes going to be happy to talk to us. We certainly plan to try to keep him, we hope to get something done with Bobby so he will have a long career in Ottawa,” said Murray. While Murray cannot open his contract talks with players like Ryan and Jason Spezza until July 1st, he can start negotiating with a pending free agent for his summer in Ales Hemsky. Acquired by the Senators at the trade deadline, the 30-year-old has been a nice addition to the Sens lineup and has found chemistry with Spezza on a consistent basis. Murray has not opened formal negotiations with Hemskys camp, but says that will be coming soon. “Ive said hello to his agent and Ive talked to Ales a little bit and I get the impression he likes it here, he likes the city and he likes the way hes been treated. Until you start talking and realize what the commitment is – term and dollar wise – its hard to know. Certainly well have conversations and thats part of the reason why we traded for him at the deadline. We thought if we could get him on board here and he gets to know the group and how we operate, it might be easier for us to negotiate with him and can be an advantage for us.” Murray also said he yet to open up negotiations with netminder Robin Lehner, who is set to become a restricted free agent this summer. While he has had a down year with only eight wins in 32 games and a 3.23 GAA, Lehner figures to be a major piece for the organization moving forward. And the general manager does not anticipate an issue re-signing the 22-year-old coming out of his entry-level deal. “I know that Robin has indicated that he likes Ottawa and he wants to stay here,” said Murray. “Well get it done with Robin, but its just a matter of where he fits into our long-term plans here.” Joe Maddon Jersey . -- Kyle Busch edged teammate Joey Logano at the Bristol Motor Speedway finish line Friday night to become the all-time winningest driver in Nationwide Series. Chicago Cubs Jerseys . Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward who plays his first exhibition game on Wednesday against Pitt State, was the top prospect in the class of 2013. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Jason-Heyward-Kids-Jersey/ . Wade is posting a short film on his website next week, with a sneak preview scheduled to come out Wednesday. Custom Chicago Cubs Jerseys .C. - Brent Sutter scored 1:32 into extra time as the Charlotte Checkers came from behind to defeat the visiting Abbotsford Heat 5-4 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. Kyle Schwarber Jersey . They were right in that they responded to coach Randy Carlyles goaltending switch to erase a two-goal deficit.SAN FRANCISCO -- If Tim Lincecum wants to win without an overpowering fastball, he knows he will have to find his way through games when he is nowhere near his best. And he was nowhere near his best Friday night. And yet, he still won. Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Hicks homered to back a wildly effective Lincecum, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2. "He was bobbing and weaving out there the whole game," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. Lincecum (4-3) struck out four and walked six in six innings. He allowed five hits and also had two wild pitches, escaping trouble in nearly every inning. Only 57 of Lincecums 112 pitches were strikes. "Youve got to battle when you dont have your best stuff, your best command. And today was just that," Lincecum said. "Its kind of an ugly win, but Ill take it. Joe Mauer and Chris Parmelee drove in Minnesotas only runs in the third. Sandoval hit a three-run shot in the first, Hicks hit his eighth homer off Kyle Gibson (4-4) in the fourth and drove in another run on a flyout in the seventh. Gibson gave up five runs and five hits in five innings, working quickly and in command for most of his 72-pitch outing. He struck out four and walked none. "I really got beat on three pitches, which is the frustrating part," Gibson said. San Francisco opened its six-game homestand with some pop at the plate and slick manoeuvring on the mound. Hunter Pence extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an infield single after Angel Pagan doubled leading off the first. Pence was originally ruled out, Bochy challenged the call and umpires overturned it after a 33-second video review. Pagan was thrown out at home on Buster Poseys grounder, but not before third baseman Trevor Plouffes throw pulled Brian Dozier off second on what wouldve been an inning-ending double play. Then, Sandoval sent the first pitch he saw over the brick wall in right to put the Giants ahead 3-0. It was Sandovals fifth home run this season. "I just focused and tried to calm myself ddown a little bit more," Sandoval said.dddddddddddd Mauer hit an RBI triple and Parmelee drove in another run for Minnesota in the third to slice San Franciscos lead to 3-2. In the bottom of the inning, Pagan tripled and scored for San Francisco after shortstop Eduardo Escobar couldnt corral Pences grounder. Despite his lack of command, Lincecum kept the Giants in control. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, still searching for consistency as his fastball has faded in recent years, walked two and threw two wild pitches in the third without allowing a run. Sandoval fielded Gibsons grounder at third and threw out Escobar at the plate before Lincecum struck out Dozier to end the inning. In the fifth, Lincecum loaded the bases before getting Escobar to hit a weak groundout to first. Lincecums saved his smoothest inning for his final one, retiring the side in order before leaving to a standing ovation from the announced sellout crowd of 41,514. Left-hander Jeremy Affeldt tossed a scoreless seventh for the Giants. After Javier Lopez allowed two baserunners in the eighth, Jean Machi got pinch-hitter Josmil Pinto to ground into a double-play before pitching a perfect ninth for the save. "We were a little sloppy defensively and we missed plenty of opportunities to get some hits," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "A rough start for us here, and that team over there knows how to take advantage of you." NOTES: The Giants will wait until at least Saturday to decide if RHP Matt Cain, who strained his right hamstring Wednesday at Colorado, will make his next start Monday against the Chicago Cubs. Bochy said Cain "was bouncing around pretty good" in the clubhouse. ... Mauer and Posey, who have each won an MVP at catcher, both started at first base. ... Twins RHP Samuel Deduno (1-2, 3.53 ERA), originally slated to start Sunday, will take the mound on Saturday. Ricky Nolasco will pitch Sunday. ... Ryan Vogelsong (2-2, 3.62) goes for the Giants on Saturday and lefty Madison Bumgarner starts Sunday. ' ' '