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  • January 21, 2020
    WEST POINT, N. [b]Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Beluga For Sale[/b] .Y. -- Sidney Crosby leaned down to unlace his skates in the locker room after a spirited practice at Armys Tate Rink, then glanced around and smiled at all the familiar faces. Home away from home for the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar. "Its nice to have everyone here," Crosby said. Their exhibition slate over and the new NHL season looming, the Penguins travelled to West Point for three days of training and team building over the weekend. It was their third trip here since 2007, and general manager Ray Shero was hopeful the experience would help a team that flopped badly against the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs -- just when it seemed destined to challenge for its fourth championship. "Were getting together with our group in a different place, but its not just a different place," Crosby said. "Its pretty special. Were all together in this. Were trying to benefit from all this." The team arrived Friday morning, met with members of the football team before the Black Knights flew to Dallas for a game, had lunch with the cadets, and listened to a brief talk from Army hockey coach Brian Riley before hitting the ice for the first time. Not much seems to have changed. After their stunning exit in four games in the Eastern Conference finals, the Penguins appear set to give it another go at the Stanley Cup. While other teams make themselves over year after year, Pittsburgh has maintained the status quo on its roster. The Penguins signed high-scoring Evgeni Malkin, defenceman Kris Letang, winger Pascal Dupuis, and coach Dan Bylsma to contract extensions, essentially keeping the core of the team intact. Also back is goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, whos in the last two years of his contract and was a weak link in the playoffs. "Well see how its going to work," Shero said. "I think these guys are at the right age. That core group is about 26 years old. They should be going into their prime. Its not like we made long-term commitments to players that are 33, 34, 35 years old. These guys are special players, top players, and you try to keep them. "Weve been a good hockey team over the last seven years, and we want to try to win a Stanley Cup again like everybody else," said Shero, who also signed a familiar face from the past, defenceman Rob Scuderi. The players appreciate what management has done. "I think it helps," said Crosby, healthy again after being plagued by injuries that included a concussion suffered at the 2011 Winter Classic. "Theres no guarantees. It doesnt mean that the seasons not a process. Being familiar, having that trust in one another, knowing your role and whats expected, that goes a long way. Im glad that were able to have that." "Thats huge," Dupuis said. "You want to go to battle with guys that you trust. I wanted to come back. I didnt know how much they wanted me back. Seeing all these pieces of the puzzle falling back together, now its a matter of us playing together and making it happen. "You dont want to repeat history. You dont want to be a team that does it again and again. At the same time, you can learn from this stuff." That these star players faltered at the most inopportune of times is certainly not unprecedented in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just ask Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito and their teammates on the 1971 Boston Bruins. The highest-scoring team in league history to that point was beaten in seven games by the aging Montreal Canadiens, who used a stunning performance by goalie Ken Dryden, a rookie with six NHL games under his belt, to spur an upset nobody in his right mind would have predicted. The Penguins played the Bruins three times in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and won all three by one goal. After beating the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators in the playoffs, Pittsburgh collapsed. The highest-scoring team in the league went bust as Crosby and Malkin didnt score a single point and Boston outscored Pittsburgh 12-2 in the sweep. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask provided the Dryden factor, stopping 134 of 136 shots by a team that averaged 4.27 goals in its first two playoff series, and Bostons defence took away the swaths of open ice that had allowed Crosby and Malkin to operate. It all happened in early June, yet still seems like only yesterday. "I dont think we were the only team expected to win," Crosby said. "I think it hurts even more because we were that close. Thats the sport. Nothings given to you. You have to be at your best at the right time and get some bounces, and we werent there. "You try to learn from everything," Crosby said. "Well definitely take some lessons. We did a good job the first two rounds, but the playoffs isnt only two rounds. Youve got to find a way to raise your level each series. Every time you get to the next round, its going to get tougher and tougher." Bylsma, who guided the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup, still has no explanation for what went wrong for the second straight year -- the Penguins also were ousted the previous year by the Philadelphia Flyers in a fight-filled first-round series. Hes glad to be back for another try, glad to have much of the same crew on the bench. "There may be a desire or a gut reaction or an outside need to say you need to blow it up and change this, change that," Bylsma said. "I dont think that breaking up this group of players -- theyre quality people -- is something anyone would want to do. Its a team thats won more games than almost every other team in the National Hockey League and more playoff games than any other team the last seven or eight years. Theres disappointment by not winning and going to the finals and winning the Stanley Cup, but the group I think is happy to be together to try to do it again." Added Scuderi: "Me personally, Id rather stick with guys that I know have been there and want to go there again, not blow something up for an unknown equation." [b]Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Semi Frozen Yellow[/b] . - Joao Plata scored twice in the final 24 minutes, including the winner in stoppage time, to help Real Salt Lake remain unbeaten with a 3-2 victory over the winless Chicago Fire on Saturday night. [b]Yeezy Cheap China[/b] .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The new greens at Quail Hollow proved to be a good tonic for Angel Cabrera, who made seven birdies in his round of 6-under 66 to take a two-shot lead among the early starters Thursday at the Wells Fargo Championship. The club changed over to Bermuda greens as it prepares to host the 2017 PGA Championship. Cabrera hasnt had a lot go right this year, making only two cuts in nine starts on the PGA Tour. But something worked in the opening round. Not only was it his best score of the year, it was only his fourth round in the 60s. "It was a very good first round, and we have a lot to go," the Argentine said through a translator. Jonathan Byrd and Stewart Cink each had a 68 in relatively calm, humid conditions in the morning. The wind began to pick up in the afternoon when Phil Mickelson played. Rory McIlroy had six birdies and had to settle for a 69 when he failed to convert two good birdie chances late in his round. Even so, he took advantage of the par 5s, which he failed to do at Augusta National last month, and was pleased to see adjustments in his putting stroke pay off. Others at 69 included Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Martin Kaymer, who had a wild finish to his round. Kaymer played his final four holes in 2 under without making a birdie or a par. After a bogey on the par-3 sixth, he made eagle on the par-5 seventh, chiipped in for eagle from just short of the green on the par-4 eighth and then closed with a birdie. [b]Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Cream White Sale[/b]. "Two eagles in a row, pretty rare. I dont think Ive ever done that before," Kaymer said. "I missed a lot of short putts today as well, so therefor, 3-under par is OK. I stayed in the tournament. But overall, it would have been nice to get a couple more shots here and there because it was possible." Quail Hollow is three years away from hosting its first major. Cabrera is acting as if its already here. He seems to show up only at the biggest events. His only two victories in America were at the 2009 Masters and the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont. He also lost to Adam Scott in a playoff at Augusta National last year. On this day, it was simply a matter of giving himself chances and making a few putts. He holed a birdie putt from 18 feet on No. 3, and knocked in a 40-footer from just off the green at No. 11. Cabrera made five birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn, ending at No. 12 with an approach into 5 feet. Then, it was a matter of hanging on. He made tough par saves on the 16th and 17th, and appeared to be in trouble well right of the 18th fairway, blocked by trees. But he carved out a beautiful shot that reached the front of the green, and he two-putted from long range for par and his 66. "I was lucky," Cabrera said. ' ' '