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30	December 2019

were second and third respectively after the open

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins have insisted during their extensive front office overhaul that the on-ice product doesnt need to change much for the franchise to return to the NHLs elite. Adidas NMD Mens Australia . Small tweaks, not big ones, are required. Mike Johnstons job is to figure out which ones to make and -- perhaps even more importantly -- how to make them work. The Penguins hired the well-travelled Johnston to replace Dan Bylsma on Wednesday, charging the hockey lifer with creating the right system for stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to thrive in both the regular season and beyond. Considering the talent at his disposal, the 57-year-old Johnston likes his chances. After spending the last six years with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League preaching an uptempo attack, Johnston welcomes the opportunity to work with one of the most explosive offences in the NHL. "The core group is exactly where I want it," Johnston said. Good, because theyre not going anywhere. Instead, its everything around Malkin and Crosby -- who earned his second Hart Trophy as the NHLs Most Valuable Player on Tuesday -- that is changing. Johnstons hiring ends a tumultuous six weeks in which the Penguins were bounced from the Eastern Conference semifinals by the New York Rangers after blowing a 3-1 lead, fired Bylsma and general manager Ray Shero, and brought in longtime Carolina Hurricanes executive Jim Rutherford to clean up the mess. Rutherford settled on Johnston after a lengthy interview process that included an ill-fated run at Willie Desjardins, who opted to take the vacant job in Vancouver. Regardless of the path taken, Rutherford is confident he ended up at the right destination. "I feel very strongly that weve got the right coach," Rutherford said. One whose success will depend on his ability to take Pittsburgh on extended playoff runs. Bylsma won more games than any coach in club history but was fired on June 6 after going just 4-5 in post-season series since leading the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup title. Johnston understands the onus to win on a given night, but stressed the focus will be on preparing Pittsburgh for the challenges of hockey in May and June, not October or November. "The bottom-line expectation for me is that, from training camp through the first part of the season, everything we do is setting the table for the playoffs," Johnston said. "The score is relevant but its not as relevant as the habits that we are going to have to make us successful in the playoffs." Pittsburgh is Johnstons first NHL head coaching job, though he spent two previous stints as an assistant with Vancouver and the Los Angeles Kings. He said he has a bit to learn about the challenges of an 82-game NHL season, which is one of the reasons the Penguins also brought in Rick Tocchet to serve as Johnstons top assistant. Tocchet played 18 years in the NHL, including two seasons in Pittsburgh, where the four-time All-Star helped the Penguins win their second Stanley Cup championship in 1992. The 50-year-old Tocchet also spent more than a season as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2008-10. While Tocchet said that his old team has underachieved in recent springs, he doesnt see that as a stumbling block. "There are teams that wish they had (Pittsburghs) problems," Tocchet said. "The way Mike is going to coach this team, the way these guys play is high tempo. Its something guys are going to enjoy." Tocchet replaces Todd Reirden and Tony Granato, holdovers from Bylsmas staff who were let go on Wednesday. The Penguins retained goaltending coach Mike Bales and video co-ordinator Andy Saucier. Assistant coach Jacques Martin will also remain with the team in an undetermined capacity. Johnston is hardly a novice when it comes to dealing with pressure or highly skilled players. He was a part of Canadas coaching staff at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the first Games in which NHL players were allowed to compete. It led to nearly a decade as an assistant with Vancouver (1999-2006) and the Kings (2006-08) before he landed in Portland, where he spent six years helping young players navigate the choppy waters of professional life. The seas will be only more tumultuous in one of the NHLs most high-profile jobs. Johnston is OK with the pressure. With the 26-year-old Crosby and the 27-year-old Malkin in the midst of their primes, there are worst places to start. "This group wants to win," he said. "Theyve won the Stanley Cup, and I believe they want to do it again." Air Max 270 React Sale Australia . The first baseman hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Mets to a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Adidas NMD R2 Australia .com) - The Buffalo Bills will return to the friendly confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday when they welcome the upstart Cleveland Browns to town. http://www.salenikeshoesaustralia.com/air-max-97-clearance/max-97-plus-cheap.html . -- Shanshan Feng was alone in her opinion about the pin positions in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.LIENZ, Austria -- Overcoming several injury-plagued seasons, Marlies Schild of Austria finally set the best mark for most World Cup slalom victories Sunday by winning her 35th race to overtake Switzerlands Vreni Schneider on top of the all-time list. The 32-year-old Schild is a four-time World Cup slalom champion, but she missed a host of races after breaking a leg in 2008 and then tore ligaments last year. That meant she was stuck on 33 slalom wins for close to two years until winning in Courchevel, France, this month. "My 34th win was a weight off my shoulders," Schild said. "Suddenly everything got easier in training though racing is still something different." Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish. Brittany Phelan of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was 11th to lock up a spot for the Sochi Olympics. "As much as it would have been nice to be on the podium Im still happy with fourth," said Gagnon, who has been racing slalom, giant slalom and super-G this year. "By the end of the second run my legs were shot. Im doing all the disciplines and I think its finally catching up to me. "Im going to take a little break and then get back to business." Phelan needed a top-12 result to meet the alpine qualification criteria for Sochi. "It started off shaky and then I got faster and faster down the course," she said. "For the second run I knew I had to clean up the top and I think it went pretty well. I just kind of went for it." Schild got her record-setting win in impressive style. Lying 0.69 seconds behind in sixth after the opening leg, she used a blistering second run to finish in one minute 55.63 seconds and beat American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin, who led the competition after the first run. Shiffrin finished 0.41 behind. Olympic slalom champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany was third, 0.63 behind Schild. "It was tough for me," said Schild, who celebrated her fourth career win in a Lienz slalom. "I had not a good feeling in the first run. In the second, my skiing felt really well and I just tried to point my skis down." The victory was Schilds 54th career podium in slalom. She is now tied with fellow Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell (downhill) for the second most podiums in one discipline. Only another Austrian skier, Renate Goetschl, has more, with 59 top-three finishes in downhill. Shiffrin has never made a secret of her admiration for Schild, making her defeat by the Austrian bearable. "I always want to win but she skied better and was faster," Shiiffrin said. Vapormax Plus Australia. "I am OK with taking second place. If she skies better, I am all for it. She is still one of my idols and she keeps inspiring me. As long as I am on the podium with her, I am happy." Shiffrin lost out on the chance to become the youngest winner of five slaloms in one calendar year. At 18 years and 291 days old, the American would have been 67 days younger than Janica Kostelic when the Croatian standout won five slaloms in 2000. However, the missed record didnt bother Shiffrin too much. "I am happy with a podium," Shiffrin said, adding "its a bit disappointing" to lose her first-run lead after failing to find her rhythm in the second. In two years since getting her first podium here in 2011, Shiffrin has 12 top-three finishes including five wins. She looked set for her sixth when she took the lead after the first run. In an increasingly heavy rain, Shiffrin was slowed by a mistake as she almost skied out four gates from the finish but still beat the field by 0.22. "I felt really good and the snow was awesome, so all good," said Shiffrin, who has been dominating slalom racing in 2013, winning the world title and the World Cup discipline title. Shiffrin maintained her lead in this seasons slalom standings with 202 points, two clear of Schild. Hoefl-Riesch went top of the overall standings with 611 points, edging Liechtensteins Tina Weirather by two as well. Many racers struggled with the rainy conditions, with Maria Pietilae-Holmner of Sweden and Kathrin Zettel of Austria, who were second and third respectively after the opening run, failing to finish. Hoefl-Riesch, fourth after the opening run, took full advantage. "Its a nice feeling," the German said. "Of course I benefited from others not finishing but I am just happy to get to the podium." Having won the overall title in 2011, Hoefl-Riesch is again one of the main contenders for this seasons crystal globe, with four-time champion Lindsey Vonn suffering from a knee injury and defending champion Tina Maze struggling to match her outstanding results from last season. The Slovenian finished more than three seconds off the lead in 15th. "The chance to compete for the overall title hasnt been as good for a long time as it is now," said Hoefl-Riesch, who is considering Weirather, Austrias Anna Fenninger en Switzerlands Lara Gut as her main challengers. "Regarding the overall title, its good to earn points here as my rivals dont do slalom." The womens World Cup continues with another slalom next Sunday in Bormio, Italy. ' ' '