~TheFuriousX~ » the Blue Jays used two unearned runs to beat Chris Till

WEST POINT, N.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." 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Its a blessing and a burden for nine sons of former NHL players who are all expected to be taken in the first four rounds of the draft this weekend.BALTIMORE -- Dustin McGowan has endured injuries and operations, long stints on the disabled list and countless rehab assignments to keep his baseball career afloat. It all paid off Friday night, when the Toronto right-hander earned his first victory since 2008 with an effective and emotional effort at Baltimore. McGowan allowed five hits over 6 1-3 innings, and the Blue Jays used two unearned runs to beat Chris Tillman and the Orioles 2-0. Making his second start since September 2011, McGowan (1-1) walked one, hit two batters and struck out two. He had faced the Orioles 13 times previously -- going 0-3 with a 6.99 ERA and allowing 50 hits in 37 1-3 innings. McGowan spent time on the disabled list in each of the last six seasons. He had shoulder surgery in 2008 and 2010 and missed the entire 2012 season. In his debut this year, he didnt make it out of the third inning in a loss to the New York Yankees. Against Baltimore, however, McGowan allowed only one runner past second base. "Its kind of a sentimental night, you know, one of those deals," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Hes come a long way and he answered the bell. He had a rough one, his first one, and he bounced back tonight against a good-hitting ballclub. Yeah, its very rewarding for not only him but for everybody that knows him." The 32-year-old McGowan couldnt have been much happier. "I think the most important thing is just feeling good," he said. "I got the opportunity to pitch again and thats all I could ask for. Just trying to make the best of it." After McGowan left, Brett Cecil got five straight outs and Sergio Santos worked a perfect ninth for his fourth save. It all added up to McGowans first win since June 22, 2008. "Hes always been one of the top guys here since he got drafted by the Blue Jays," Gibbons said. "The organization has expected big things out of him. Hes had some tough luck along the way. Who knows how the season will finish out? But hes off to a good start, thats for sure." Tillman (1-1) allowed three hits over eight innings, lowering his ERA to 0.84. But the right-hander received no offensive support from his teammates, who were coming off a three-game series against the Yankees iin which they collected 40 hits.dddddddddddd Two throwing errors by third baseman Jonathan Schoop provided Toronto with a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Jose Bautista reached on Schoops first errant toss and came around to score on the rookies second misfire. Dioner Navarro followed with a potential double-play grounder, but the relay to first base from shortstop Ryan Flaherty skipped past Tillman, allowing another run to score. "Its baseball. It could have happened early on in the game when I was missing (pitches) and we wouldnt even be talking about it," Tillman said. Schoop made no excuses. "I just like threw it away," he said. "I wish I played better defence for Tillman. He pitched a great game. Ill learn from it, be better tomorrow." In the fifth, Baltimore hit three straight two-out singles to load the bases for cleanup hitter Adam Jones, who flied out to centre. "A lot of guys hit balls right at guys. Its just how it is with this game," Jones said. "There will be days when we bloop them and they all find a home, but tonight, nothing. Crickets out there." McGowan had a lot to do with it. "You tip your cap," Jones said. "They pitched a good game." NOTES: Baltimore SS J.J. Hardy missed a fifth consecutive game with back spasms but expects to return Saturday. He received a cortisone shot Thursday and practiced Friday. ... Right-hander Bud Norris returns from a six-day layoff to start for Baltimore on Saturday against Toronto RHP Drew Hutchison. ... Ravens CB Lardarius Webb threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Toronto SS Jose Reyes (hamstring) participated in running drills prior to the game. Hes expected to run the bases Saturday and then could "head out in the next few days" for a rehab assignment, according to Gibbons. ... Bautista has reached base in all 11 games (13 walks, seven hits). ... Orioles 3B Manny Machado (knee) will get two at-bats in a simulated game Saturday but will not run the bases. ... Toronto leadoff hitter Melky Cabrera singled in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. ... Orioles LHP Brian Matusz was absent with an illness and did not show up at the ballpark. 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