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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The do-everything, be-everything centre is slumping, at least as far as superstar slumps go.The elder statesman, resident prankster and unquestioned heart is out for the year and maybe forever with blood that just wont behave.The wunderkind 20-year-old defenceman beat cancer but not a shaky shoulder.The businesslike and still kind of mysterious rookie head coach remains months away from the real litmus test, but the early results are encouraging.And then theres the mumps.For the better part of a month, the Pittsburgh Penguins saw their roster almost comically ravaged by a childhood virus that temporarily —and quite painfully — turned Sidney Crosbys face into something created by a 4-year-old with Play-Doh and took a handful of teammates along for the ride.Yet here Sidney Crosby and the new-look Penguins are at the midpoint of an already eventful season back in their usual spot this time of year: near the top of the Eastern Conference and cruising toward the playoffs, which is only barometer that really matters.Pittsburgh trails the first-place New York Islanders by a point in the Metropolitan Division and are on pace for the second-best regular season in team history. Not bad considering nearly three dozen players — including a steady stream of prospects or minor leaguers thrust into action out of necessity rather than merit — have suited up.It hasnt been easy but to everybodys credit theyve done what they had to do, general manager Jim Rutherford told The Associated Press.Even if Pittsburgh is doing it in sometimes very un-Penguinlike ways. With defence. With goaltending. With responsible checking and attention to detail. While coach Mike Johnston allows plenty of work remains to be done by the time April rolls around, considering what his team has gone through during Johnstons first four months in charge, things could be a worse.The first half we were still learning a lot of different things, getting used to a new system still, forward Brandon Sutter said. Now I think in the second half its been kind of time to cement that into our game.The Penguins hired Johnston to replace Dan Bylsma last summer and tasked him with finding a system that could thrive in both the regular season and the playoffs. The first six weeks went relatively smoothly, even with forward Pascal Dupuis sent to injured reserve with blood clots that have jeopardized his career and Olli Maatta missing a few weeks while a cancerous tumour was removed from his thyroid.It was a mirage. The injuries and illnesses began piling up in December, forcing Johnston to abandon teaching the finer points and simply trying to find enough healthy bodies to throw onto the ice on a given night.Its also forced the Penguins to learn to win by any means necessary, relying more heavily on goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and less on the scoreboard-tilting exploits of Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Pittsburgh is just ninth in the league in scoring, with Crosby on pace for his lowest goal total over a full season. A sputtering power play over the last month hasnt helped, though Crosby did score an overtime goal at Montreal last weekend.Crosby brushes off any concern about his production. Really, wasnt the point of the off-season front office overhaul to find a way to make the team less reliant on their two centerpieces? Crosby and Malkin are both in the top five in the league in points and the Penguins have had 24 different players find the back of the net, the most of any team in the league.In the whole scheme of things its more about how youre playing and making sure the chances are there and everyone is contributing, Crosby said. That goes further than anything.Crosby hardly looked like a guy struggling to find his game in a 7-2 win over Minnesota on Tuesday, collecting three assists and putting together a handful of sublimely spectacular dashes to the net.Weve had so many injuries and so many moving parts here, both him and (Malkin) dont get to play with the same guys all the time, Rutherford said. Hopefully we can get these guys some regular linemates.The process is already well underway. Forward Chris Kunitz appears all the way back from a foot injury that kept him out for 10 games. Rutherford acquired David Perron from Edmonton on Jan. 2, and the talented forward has four points in his first four games, including a slick forehand to backhand rebound from in front of the net on Tuesday night that showcased his soft hands.Rutherford isnt sure the Penguins are done shopping. With Blake Comeau and Patric Hornqvist also nearing returns from their own medical issues and a schedule that includes games against the Rangers, Philadelphia and Chicago over the next couple weeks, theres a chance to build chemistry and make a statement at the same time.Ill get a better sense for it by the middle of February, Rutherford said. I want to see Hornqvist and Comeau get back in there and get that group of forwards together. I do feel were edging in the right direction. Red Auerbach Jersey .com) - Minnesota Vikings fans would surely concede Teddy Bridgewater is not Peyton Manning. Reggie Lewis Jersey . Tristan Jackson returned a missed field goal 129 yards early in the fourth quarter as the Roughriders beat the B.C. http://www.shopceltics.com/Cheap-Kyrie-Irving-Celtics-Jersey/ . In mens doubles, Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Croatian Mate Pavic and Andre Sa of Brazil. Greg Monroe Jersey . Spezza scored a power-play goal with 5 minutes left and Stephane Da Costa had the other two goals to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. Jayson Tatum Jersey . - San Diego Padres centre fielder Cameron Maybin is going to be out two to three months after rupturing his left biceps tendon during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets each will receive four compensatory picks in this years draft for free agents they lost in 2013. Baltimore gets spots in the third, fourth and fifth rounds, with two choices in Round 4. Those slots are 99th, 134th, 138th and 175th. Among the free agents the Ravens lost after winning the 2012 NFL title were Ed Reed, Danell Ellerbe, Paul Kruger and Cary Williams, all key defensive players. The Jets will get slots 139, 209, 210 and 213: a fourth-rounder and three sixth-rounders. They lost free agents Dustin Keller, Matt Slauson, Yeremiah Bell, Mike DeVito, Shonn Greene and LaRon Landry. The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. The compensatory choices cant be traded.dddddddddddd Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and St. Louis each received three compensatory picks. Cincinnati, Green Bay and Detroit got two apiece, while New England, San Francisco and the New York Giants were give one each. In all, 32 choices were awarded for the draft, which begins May 8. Pittsburgh, which lost Mike Wallace, Keenan Lewis, Ryan Mundy and Rashard Mendenhall in free agency last year, gets the highest pick, 97th overall, 33rd in the third round. Green Bay goes directly after the Steelers, having lost Greg Jennings and Erik Walden. Then, Baltimore and San Francisco finish off the third-round; the 49ers lost Dashon Goldson, Ricky Jean Francois, Isaac Sopoaga, Delanie Walker and Ted Ginn Jr. ' ' '