MONTREAL -- Its Brad Richards turn to be the old hand, tutoring his young New York Rangers teammates on what its like to win a

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MONTREAL -- Its Brad Richards turn to be the old hand, tutoring his young New York Rangers teammates on what its like to win a Stanley Cup. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/scott-evans-jersey-for-sale/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Scott Evans . It wasnt like that in 2004, when Richards and teammate Martin St. Louis won the Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. "This whole playoffs its been fun to do that," the 34-year-old Richards said Tuesday. "When I was in Tampa, Marty also, we didnt really have a clue what we were doing. "We were first time through it, leaning on other people, older people, asking them all the questions. Its fun to try to gather the group and talk about things. This group has come together so much and they ask a lot of questions. They make fun of us a lot for doing that, too, but its fun to try to help out that way." The Rangers are two wins away from a trip to the Stanley Cup final after taking the opening two games of the NHL Eastern Conference final from the Canadiens in Montreal. They swamped the flat-footed Canadiens 7-2 in the series opener on Monday afternoon, but then needed a 40-save effort from goalie Henrik Lundqvist to pull out a 3-1 win in a major Montreal push-back on Monday night. Game 3 is set for Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. In 2004, the Canadiens came back to beat Boston in the opening round but then were swept by the Lightning. This year, Montreal is again coming off a Game 7 win over the Bruins and is in danger of losing in four straight to the Rangers. That has Richards, a P.E.I. native who played junior hockey in Quebec with the 2000 Memorial Cup champion Rimouski Oceanic, and Montreal native St. Louis at 6-0 in career playoff games against the Canadiens. Their message to teammates who havent won a Cup is to not let the opportunity slip away. "Weve been to the conference final twice in three years, thats very rare," said Richards. "Look at teams around the league that you think are going to have chances to win Cups every year and it just doesnt happen. "Its very tough. I havent been back to a final since 04. I just try to hammer that stuff home." And despite taking the first two games on enemy ice, the conference final is far from over even if Montreals star goalie Carey Price is out with a suspected right knee injury for the rest of the series. The Canadiens had the puck most of the first period on Monday but came out of it down 2-1 due to an unlucky bounce on a shot from the red-hot Ryan McDonagh and blast on the rush from Rick Nash that was perhaps third-string goalie Dustin Tokarskis only big mistake. Montreal will no doubt come out hard again in Game 3. "Im sure they have more," said Richards. "And you dont always roll the dice that your goalies going to stop all those shots. "They could come with less and score two goals. You just never know. But youve got to give yourself an opportunity and thats by holding onto pucks and getting it down the other end. We did that in Game 1, but in Game 2... youre playing with fire is what Im trying to say." Montreal coach Michel Therrien said his team is confident it can still win the series if it gives up fewer odd-man rushes and keeps up the fast-paced game it brought on Monday night. "I believe that we will turn it around," said Therrien. "Yes, the first game was tough for us emotionally and physically. "We didnt get much time between Game 7 (against Boston) and Game 1 (against the Rangers), and it was an afternoon game. It shows in the result. But I thought we regrouped really well. We were a team that played with a lot of energy, that was pushing the pace, and we played a solid game." Therrien spoke to the media on a conference call while his players took what he said was a much-needed day off. They will practice on Tuesday before flying to New York. "The only thing that were going to focus on is to make sure weve got another solid game in New York," he said. "You get one win and after that, the momentum can change really quickly in the playoffs." There is also the chance of fatigue setting in on the Rangers, whose first two rounds went seven games each. Therrien touched off a debate by giving Tokarski his first NHL playoff start over regular backup Peter Budaj, who let in three goals on eight shots after subbing for Price in the third period of the series opener. It seemed like a hunch. The 24-year-old Tokarski, who has played only 10 NHL regular season games over five years with Tampa Bay and Montreal, has a history of winning championships at the junior and AHL levels, while Budaj has a career 0-2-0 NHL playoff record. It appeared Therrien will stick with Tokarski, at least for Game 3. He said Tokarski played well and wasnt the reason they lost. He also liked what he saw of Alex Galchenyuk, who missed the final two games of the regular season and the first 12 playoff games with a knee problem. The gifted forward taken third overall in the 2012 draft skated on left wing on the second line with Tomas Plekanec and Thomas Vanek. "For a guy that hadnt played for six weeks, I thought he did well," said Therrien. "Especially because this is not regular season pace, this is a playoff pace. "I thought Alex was capable, made some plays. The more the series goes on, the more were going to see Alex get better and better." It should be a happy homecoming for Rangers sniper Nash, who was without a goal in the playoffs and endured some booing in New York before the team got to Montreal. Then he scored in each of the first two games. "Ive tried to stay positive through this whole thing," said Nash. "The teams winning, and thats all I care about. "But I want to do what I can to help the team win, and its frustrating when you cant help offensively and youre supposed to." After Game 2, coach Alain Vigneault said he had an inkling that Montreal would start Tokarski, who he referred to as "that gentleman." Asked if he had another inkling for Game 3, Vigneault said: "I do, but Im not willing to share it with you." https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/rip-king-jersey-for-sale/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Rip King . -- Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/brett-brackett-jersey-for-sale/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Brett Brackett .ca. In Sundays Blackhawks-Penguins game, Pittsburgh defenceman Brooks Orpik laid a huge hit on Chicagos Jonathan Toews. Now in my view, Orpik can be clearly seen leaving his feet while delivering a moderately high hit. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/al-del-greco-jersey-for-sale/" class="TyTxtSmlC">https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/al-del-greco-jersey-for-sale/ . "I was so nervous," Hadley said Sunday after winning the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour victory. "I did not eat well last night.PHOENIX -- A trip to the desert was enough to get the Chicago Bulls back on track. Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and the Bulls snapped the Phoenix Suns five-game winning streak with a 101-92 victory on Tuesday night. The Bulls shot 45 per cent from the field and had five players score in double figures, bouncing back from an ugly 99-70 loss at Sacramento on Monday. The Bulls shot 28 per cent and were outrebounded 53-30 against the Kings. One night later, it was a completely different story. "You could have used an excuse if you chose to do so, but thats what I love about the team," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They come out and theyre going to fight. They picked themselves up and did it together and you could tell in the first quarter the commitment to get back, the commitment to get to put their bodies in front of people and take charges, make hustle plays, make effort plays." Jimmy Butler and D.J. Augustin had 18 points apiece for the Bulls, who won for the fifth straight time in Phoenix. Joakim Noah, who was ejected in the third quarter of the loss at Sacramento, had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Chicago (24-24) had dropped three of four, including an 88-79 loss at New Orleans on Saturday. "We got punched in the mouth in New Orleans, we got punched in the mouth in Sacramento and we just wanted to come out and compete for 48 minutes as a team," Noah said. The Bulls kept the Suns prolific offence in check, holding them 13 points under their average even though Phoenix (29-19) was coming off two days rest. Boozer didnt play for much of the fourth quarter as Chicago went mainly with Taj Gibson as an interior defender, but his teammates did damage on offence down the stretch. Augustin had three fourth-quarter 3-pointers to help keep the Bulls in front. Noah also had a couple of key baskets in the final period. Butlers 3-pointer with 4:43 to play gave the Bulls an 89-80 lead, but Goran Dragic hit a 3 and Leandro Barbosa, playing extended minutes with sharpshooter Gerald Green struggling, drove for a layup to cut the lead to 89-85. Then Butler and Noah came up with back-to-back baskets, and the Suns rally fizzled. Drragic, the reigning Western Conference player of the week, led Phoenix with 24 points. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/jason-buck-jersey-for-sale/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Jason Buck. It was the guards fifth straight game with 20 or more points. Channing Frye had 18, and Barbosa scored nine of his 13 in the fourth quarter. "We gave up so much easy stuff," Dragic said. "We didnt bring it, no energy and we didnt do smart plays. They did not let us run our actions. They were denying our big guys. It was just hard to pass and cut." Down 13 points in the third quarter, the Suns went on a 13-4 run to close to 50-46 on Dragics driving layup at the 9-minute mark. The Bulls went up by 11 on a follow by Boozer, but the Suns cut the lead to 60-55 on a pair of Dragic free throws with 4:36 left. Mike Dunleavy scored eight of his 11 points in the third quarter, helping Chicago carry a 69-63 lead into the fourth. The game started with a brisk pace, but the Suns missed more shots and had more turnovers in what turned out to be an offensively deficient first quarter. So low that the 13 points for Phoenix was its lowest total in a first quarter this season. "Thats the difference of a team that really gets after it defensively and makes it tough on all the shots," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "They took us out of our stuff but we let them do whatever they wanted." Boozer had eight points and five rebounds to help Chicago to a 21-13 lead after one. NOTES: Noah was fined $15,000 by the NBA for verbally abusing officials after he was ejected Monday in Sacramento. Noah started Tuesday nights game. "I never thought it warranted suspension, so it was probably appropriate," Thibodeau said. "He got fined for cursing." ... Noah has 22 double-doubles and Boozer 15 this season . Suns players Markieff Morris, Dragic and Green were assessed technical fouls. ... The Suns never led on Tuesday after being in front for all but 1:59 of the 192 total minutes of the previous four games . Suns guard Eric Bledsoe missed his bobblehead night with a right knee injury. ... A bird got into the US Airways Center seating bowl during the second quarter and flew a lap around the court and into the upper deck before finding its way out. ' ' '