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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. 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." Jason Motte Jersey . Rookie Marek Mazanec made 39 saves for his first NHL victory and the Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-2 Saturday night. Ozzie Smith Jersey . Justine finished first with a score of 22.44 while Chloe was second with 21.66 points. Defending champion Hannah Kearney of the U.S., was third at 21.49. A third Dufour-Lapointe sister, Maxime, failed to make the final group and finished 12th while Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was 10th. http://www.cardinalsrookiestore.com/Card...ls-Kids-Jersey/. The 10-year deal the league and players agreed to that ended the 2011 lockout gave either side the right to opt out after six years. With the league projecting financial growth, there has been speculation that players will take that option in three years, especially since a new national TV contract will be in place by then. Tim McCarver Jersey . The Laval Rouge et Or defensive back/kick-returner gained the invitation following his showing Sunday at an NFL regional combine in Baltimore. lex Reyes Jersey .Brazil midfielder Ricardo Goulart scored the winner in the 50th minute to give the defending champion a four-point advantage in the standings over second-place Sao Paulo, which beat rival Palmeiras 2-0.NEW YORK -- Nearly halfway through their homestand, more than halfway through their season, and the only move the New York Knicks are making is backward. Evan Turner scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Thaddeus Young made a key 3-pointer on a play the Knicks admittedly botched, and the Philadelphia 76ers send New York to a fifth straight loss with a 110-106 victory on Wednesday night. Blowing a favourable portion of their schedule, the Knicks fell to 15-27, a season after losing 28 games total in winning the Atlantic Division. "This is the time right here to make up ground and were not," guard J.R. Smith said. "Were playing better on the road than we are at home and it should be the other way around if anything." Michael Carter-Williams and Young each added 19 points for the 76ers, who won for just the second time in nine games. James Anderson finished with 18 points as Philadelphia outrebounded New York 54-39 to snap a three-game skid. "Our team was good tonight. We played good team defence and we ended it with rebounds," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "So Im happy that we came in here and found a way to get a win and it was through our defence." Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points after a slow start for the Knicks, who were at least competitive after losing the previous four by a combined 75 points. They are 0-3 on an eight-game homestand that matches a franchise record. But its not helping the Knicks at all, as they started their second half with another loss after going 15-26 through the midpoint of their schedule. With that in mind, Brown said he expected to see an "angry team" that wanted to fix things. Instead, the Knicks started slowly and finished poorly. "I really dont know what it is, why we cant play well on our own home court," Anthony said. "This should be the time where we gain some momentum, gain some confidence as a team playing here on our own home court, but that dont seem like its the case right now." After trailing most of the game, the Knicks ran off 10 straight points to open the fourth quarter and take a 90-84 lead on Tim& Hardaway Jr.dddddddddddds three-point play. Philadelphia then held New York without a basket for more than 5 minutes and moved back into the lead at 96-92 on consecutive 3-poiners by Carter-Williams and Turner. "Really big for us to come back," Carter-Williams said. "We stayed together, stayed as a team, shared the ball at the end and we executed down the stretch." Smith ended the Knicks drought with a 3-pointer, but baskets by Young and Anderson pushed it to 100-95. New York had one last chance when it got within two, but Young made a wide-open 3-pointer and Turner followed with a basket for a 107-100 cushion that sent fans for the exits. The Knicks said they knew what the Sixers would do on the possession that ended with Youngs open look from the top of the key, but coach Mike Woodson said they "botched it up." Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points for the Knicks in his return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench Monday in a loss to Brooklyn. Woodson wanted to return to the bigger lineup similar to the one that beat the 76ers in the last meeting. But the Knicks also had Amare Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin for that game, and both are out now with sprained left ankles. The loss to the Nets was a tumultuous holiday for the Knicks, as their blowout loss was followed by quotes from Anthony that seemed critical of his teammates effort and Chandler that appeared to question coach Woodsons defensive strategy. They probably didnt feel much better after this one, losing to a team they had defeated eight of the previous 10 times. "Weve got to believe that we can win a game," Woodson said. Anthony missed all four shots and had just one point in the first quarter while the 76ers hit 56 per cent for a 33-26 lead. He came back with 13 in the second, helping the Knicks pull to 61-56 at halftime. NOTES: Sixers F Brandon Davies had surgery for a broken right small finger. The Sixers said Davies, hurt Saturday against Chicago, will be re-evaluated in two weeks, though Brown said hes expected to be out longer. ... The Knicks are worth a league-high $1.4 billion, according to a ranking in Forbes. ' ' '