Filmographie » could do with another top-six centre. They

BOSTON -- Sidney Crosby and the potent Penguins have been punchless. Pittsburgh led the NHL in scoring in the regular season. It averaged 4.27 goals per game in the first two rounds of the playoffs. And it poured in 13 goals in the last two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Since then? No addition necessary. The Penguins have just one goal in two losses on their home ice to the Boston Bruins. To play there again this season, they must win Wednesday or Friday and avoid what seemed so improbable just a few days ago -- being swept in the best-of-seven conference finals. "Right now, were not liking the picture, down 0-2. Theyre in control," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "I dont think were frustrated by the fact that we havent scored as much as (the fact that) theyre getting up leads, especially in Game 2." The Bruins won the opener 3-0 but led just 1-0 after two periods. The second game was much different. They rolled to a 4-1 lead after one period and remained aggressive in finishing off their 6-1 rout. The Penguins effort waned as the game went on. "I didnt do anything, didnt change anything. It felt like every time we had a puck that was bouncing, we ended up giving it away," Crosby said. "We gave them the game. We didnt really do anything to give ourselves a chance to win." Combine that with the Bruins high level of play -- disciplined on defence, organized on offence -- and the pre-series chatter about the Penguins being favourites seems like so much nonsense. But any talk that Boston will have an easy path to the Stanley Cup finals is just as premature. "Were going to have to play even better than we did because theyre going to be desperate," Bostons David Krejci said. With a day off to ponder their problems and work at eliminating them, the Penguins offence could resurface. "Its about what we do in the next game," Boston defenceman Andrew Ference said, "not about patting ourselves on the back for whats already happened." Winning the first two games is a good start but doesnt always lead to a good finish. Both teams have overcome 2-0 deficits and gone on to win Stanley Cups. In 2009, the Penguins dropped two games at Detroit by a combined score of 6-2 then took four out of five to clinch their first championship since 1992. In 2011, the Bruins lost two games of the opening round at home against Montreal, then won the next two on the road and captured the series on an overtime goal in Game 7. In the finals, they got off to the same poor start, losing two in Vancouver, but then won their first title since 1972 with a 4-0 road win in Game 7. But in the previous season, the Bruins won the first three games of the Eastern semifinals over Philadelphia then lost the next four. "We have a large group of guys that have gone through this and been in that situation on both sides of the coin," Ference said. "You can really lean on your past experience and not just talk about what could happen, because weve done it all. I think with this team, whether its coming back or having teams come back on us, weve all seen it together and we all know certain lessons that weve learned." Theyve also seen how powerful Pittsburghs offence can be. James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis and Crosby were among the NHLs top 17 in goals per game this season. Crosby was the leader in assists per game. And Crosby and Kris Letang were the top two in points per game. "You dont have a choice but to respect that team that youre playing against, because they are a pretty potent team. Things can change pretty quickly in this game," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "I dont think theres any comfort level in our team right now." The Bruins have stymied the Penguins offence with pressure the length of the ice. A puck carrier gets past one forward then must contend with another, then a defenceman and, finally, Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask. "I think its pretty obvious that we have layers," Julien said. "Our guys are committed to come back and just making sure that theres layer after layer that make it hard for them to get to our net." Its been relatively easy for the Bruins to get to the Penguins goal, whether Tomas Vokoun or Marc-Andre Fleury is trying to protect it. Fleury replaced Vokoun after Krejci, the NHL post-season leading scorer, gave Boston a 3-0 lead at 16:31 of the first Monday night. "We gave up the first goal both games and, from there, everyone is trying to do it on their own," Vokoun said, "its just not going to work." Bylsma hasnt said who will start Wednesday. "I think theres going to be some changes to our lineup," he said, "and some of our combinations, our lines." No need for the Bruins to change anything. All four lines have been productive. The defensive pairings have been strong. And Rask has been outstanding, stopping 55 of 56 shots in the series. Overall, the Bruins have won seven of their last eight games with a 30-15 scoring advantage. "Our teams playing probably its best hockey this year right now," Julien said, "but so is Tuukka. I think hes been unbelievable so far in this series." The Penguins also have been unbelievable -- the other way. Who would have expected an offence with Crosby, Letang and Evgeni Malkin to be so awful? "We know that were looked upon to score and produce," Crosby said. "We have to find ways to create chances and put the puck in the net. Im not going to sit here and say its Rask or anything theyre doing. We have to get better. "Thats the way it is." Cincinnati Reds Pro Shop . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Cincinnati Reds Store . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/ . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Fake Reds Jerseys . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Cheap Reds Jerseys . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session.WINNIPEG -- Grant Clitsomes name is off the list but plenty remain as the Winnipeg Jets work their way through a long list of restricted and unrestricted free agents. Clitsome has signed a three-year extension with the Jets for a reported US$6.2 million, almost double what he was making, keeping him off the free-agent market. Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Wednesday they liked what they saw from the 28-year-old defencemen during the lockout-shortened season, particularly at the end when they were coping with injuries. "The last 33 games of the season last year he had 14 points, he was plus 14, he was averaging 21 minutes a night," said Cheveldayoff. "His game seemed to step up." He finished the season with a plus-10 rating after 44 games, the best of any Jets defenceman. Not bad for a player picked up on waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2012. At just 28, hes also younger than many of the other defencemen on the pending free agent market and Cheveldayoff says he still sees potential for growth. For his part, Clitsome said he wanted to stick with the Jets. "They took a chance on me when they picked me up on waivers and gave me an opportunity to show I can play in the league," said the native of Gloucester, Ont. "I like the coaching staff and the management and Ive been treated first class the whole way. The whole time it was definitely a priority for me to sign in Winnipeg." The Jets have also said theyre interested in keeping unrestricted free agent Al Montoya as backup netminder to Ondrej Pavelec. He played in only seven games last season and started just five, but finished with a record of 3-1-0. Cheveldayoff said Wednesday he had been talking with Montoyas agent "as recently as last night." The Jets are ready to let some of the unrestricted list test the market but theyve already made qualifying offers to their list oof 13 restricted free agents.dddddddddddd That list includes two-thirds of their top line, centre Bryan Little and right-winger Blake Wheeler, as well as key defenceman Zach Bogosian. Cheveldayoff says some of the high-profile deals will likely take longer to conclude. But its like a big jigsaw puzzle as he works through which players to keep and which new players he might be able to add. "There are a lot of moving parts here," said Cheveldayoff. "Youre kind of looking at all of your options. Looking at what might be available in front of you." That includes free agents coming on the market this week as well as possible trades, he said. The Jets are looking for a right-winger to pair with Evander Kane on their second line and also could do with another top-six centre. They may have more room for deals under the salary cap, which comes down $6 million this season, than some other teams. But how much they have to pay to retain their restricted free agents will ultimately determine that number. There are players already in the Jets system who might fill some of their needs but whether they are ready yet also remains a question mark. They have centre Mark Scheifele finally coming up from junior this season and he has matured significantly since he first tried to crack the lineup in 2011-12. But after two disappointing finishes in their new home, the Jets are looking to finally make the playoffs and must do it in a new conference as they move west under realignment. Other deals may be in the works as free-agent talks get under way in earnest, and Cheveldayoff at least appears a little more engaged than he might have in past years. "The interview period has started and we are active in that regard," he said. "There have been conversations that weve had and will continue to have for the different positions that might be available." ' ' '