fer Washington needed help with defense and rebounding. He averaged career highs of 9.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and about 25 minutes in 71 games, all starts, for the Indiana Pac

TORONTO -- The Stanley Cup final opens Wednesday in Chicago as the Blackhawks host the Boston Bruins. Here are five storylines to watch in the seven-game series: 1. Original Six returns Its the first time two Original Six teams are meeting in the Stanley Cup final since the Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in 1979. Its also the first time two of the past three champions will play for the Cup since the Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976. More than anything else, Boston and Chicago being back in the final speaks to the revitalization of two historic hockey towns that until recently, hadnt experienced this kind of success in decades. The Bruins last title before 2011 came in 1972, and the Blackhawks last before 2010 came in 1961. Winning makes up for a lot of lost time, and since then Bostons TD Garden and Chicagos United Center have featured sellout crowds and electric atmospheres. And while the careers of Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull made for plenty of Bruins and Blackhawks history, its the first time these teams are facing each other in a Cup final. For just the third time in major North American sports history, teams from Chicago and Boston will play for a championship. 2. Conn Smythe watch David Krejci is scoring at a remarkable pace, but hes still not the Conn Smythe front-runner for the Bruins. Krejci leads all players with nine goals and 21 points and Nathan Horton has 17 points of his own, but goaltender Tuukka Rask has been Bostons standout performer. Rask has a playoff-best .943 save percentage and two shutouts, and he stifled the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference final. Following in the path of 2011 Conn Smythe-winner Tim Thomas, Rask is the reason the Bruins have got this far. From Chicagos end, its a wide-open race. Goalie Corey Crawfords numbers arent far behind Rasks, including a 1.74 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. His play hasnt earned him as much acclaim as Rask, but Crawford outduelled Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings and has done everything asked of him so far. Still, dont forget about Patrick Sharp (14 points), Marian Hossa (14 points) and Bryan Bickell (eight goals), any of whom could earn the trophy with a strong series. 3. Goalie change Rask was on the bench two years ago when Thomas carried the Bruins to the Stanley Cup with a 1.98 goals-against average and .940 save percentage. A year earlier, Rask was on the hook as the starter when the Bruins blew a 3-0 series lead to the Flyers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. With Thomas taking a year off and being shipped to the New York Islanders for some welcome salary-cap relief, its Rasks job as Anton Khudobin serves as the backup. Rask has a ring from 2011, but its not the same as winning the Cup as the No. 1 guy. Crawford doesnt have a ring from 2010, when he was the third goaltender watching Antti Niemi win the Cup for the Blackhawks. Crawford lost his two previous series before this years playoffs, stumbling to a sub-.900 save percentage in last seasons loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. But after splitting duties with Ray Emery during the regular season, Crawford has the reins for the Blackhawks in the post-season. He could start making a nice career for himself like Niemi after this impressive run. 4. Power outage The Bruins and Blackhawks have plenty of offensive firepower, but the conference finals didnt feature a whole lot of anything on the power play. Even in breezing into the Cup final, Boston and Chicago combined to go 1-for-27 on the power play in the last round. The Blackhawks were 1-for-14, while the Bruins were 0-for-13. Credit Quick and the Penguins Tomas Vokoun for some of that, but getting the power play back on track may be key in a series that could have a shortage of goals. For Boston, it starts from the point. Rookie defenceman Torey Krug has a team-best three power-play goals despite playing in just nine games. The Blackhawks count on Hossa, who has three, and on their penalty kill to stifle opposing power plays. Chicago has allowed just three power-play goals on 58 chances, good for 94.8 per cent. 5. Chara effect Few defencemen can change the complexion of a game or series like the six-foot-nine Chara, who, despite a lack of mind-blowing stats, should be a Norris Trophy finalist every year. Chara skates almost 30 minutes a game and is a factor in every situation. Along with Rask, he played a huge role in the Bruins holding Penguins stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to zero points. The Blackhawks depth will test the Bruins, but Chara and Dennis Seidenberg thrive on heavy workloads. Unless coach Joel Quenneville can design a way to free his top players from Charas suffocating presence in the defensive zone, its a tall task to beat the Bruins. And Chara is a factor offensively, as well. He has two goals and nine assists in these playoffs, and his blistering slapshot engenders plenty of fear. Fear of Charas impact, on both ends of the ice, is well-deserved. Nike Mens Air Force One High Supreme SP Black/White 698696-010 .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Nike Shox Outlet Clearance . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. http://www.nikeshoesclearanceoutlet.com/cheap-nike-tanjun.html . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Nike React Element 87 Sail . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Nike Vapormax Womens Sale . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. By adding Trey Burke and Tomas Satoransky to the backcourt, and Andrew Nicholson and Ian Mahinmi to the frontcourt, all in a span of about 24 hours, the Washington Wizards attempted to improve their roster depth after missing the playoffs last season.According to a person familiar with the moves, the Wizards will acquire Burke by trading a 2021 second-round draft pick to the Utah Jazz. They also agreed Sunday to a $9 million, three-year contract with Satoransky.The Wizards will contribute $650,000 toward Satoranskys buyout from the Spanish club he has been with, the maximum amount NBA teams can pay. Satoransky was drafted in the second round in 2012 by Washington but has remained overseas since then.The person confirmed the Burke and Satoransky deals to The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because there is an NBA moratorium on such moves until next Thursday.Also Sunday, Washington agreed to a $26 million, four-year contract with Nicholson, a free-agent power forward who has spent his entire four-year NBA career with the Orlando Magic. Nicholsons agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the terms of the deal to the AP.Nicholson wrote on Twitter: Truly blessed and honored to be part of the wizards organization! Thank you for this opportunity (and) cant wait to be in uniform!All three moves were first reported by Yahoo Sports.Burke was the No. 9 overall choice in the 2013 NBA draft out of Michigan and has averaged 12.1 points and 4.2 assists in three seasons with UUtah, mostly as a starter for the first two but only as a reserve last season.ddddddddddddSatoransky is a 6-foot-7 guard from the Czech Republic who is 24 years old.Nicholson is a 6-9, 250-pound Canadian who averaged 6.9 points and 3.6 rebounds last season, while playing under 15 minutes per game. A first-round pick by the Magic four years ago, he has averaged 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in the NBA, with a total of 36 starts.Mahinmi is a 6-11, 250-pound center from France who agreed Saturday to a $64 million, four-year contract and should be able to offer Washington needed help with defense and rebounding. He averaged career highs of 9.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and about 25 minutes in 71 games, all starts, for the Indiana Pacers last season.By adding that quartet, one right after the other, the Wizards now have 10 players on the roster. They began the offseason with only five, before agreeing to a $128 million, five-year contract to hold onto shooting guard Bradley Beal, a restricted free agent.Last season, the Wizards went 41-41 to finish 10th in the Eastern Conference, after making two trips in a row to the second round of the playoffs. Randy Wittman was fired as coach and replaced by Scott Brooks.---AP Basketball Writer Jon Krawczynski contributed to this report.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '