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." Cheap Air Jordan 3 Wholesale . But unfortunately for the Niagara Falls, Ont., native, a pulled muscle wouldnt allow him to go past the second set. Japan sealed its victory over Canada in the first-round Davis Cup tie after Nishikori downed an ailing Dancevic 6-2, 1-0. 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Cheap Air Jordan 3 For Sale . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights.ABIDJAN -- Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure were picked for Ivory Coasts provisional World Cup squad of 28 players on Tuesday. Drogba and Toure are expected to form the spine for Africas top-ranked team when it plays Japan, Colombia and Greece in Group C in Brazil. Toures brother Kolo, a Liverpool defender, was also on the preliminary list released by coach Sabri Lamouchi, along with strikers Wilfried Bony of Swansea and Gervinho of Roma. Emmanuel Eboue, the former Arsenal and now Galatasaray right back, was not picked and looks set to miss the World Cup. Drogba, one of Africas best-ever strikers, is 36 and almost certainly heading to his last World Cup. Ivory Coast has its best chance of going far at the World Cup in Brazil after being drawn in a relatively manageable group. "I never said it was an easy group ... but we have our chances," Lamouchi said. Lamouchi expressed fears Tuesday at his squad announcement over the fitness of midfielders Souleman Bamba and Mathis Bolly, and Everton striker Lacina Traore, but he picked all three in his preliminary squad. The group will be cut to 23 for the World Cup. The coach also said Drogbas recent lack of game time because of a knee problem was an issue. "Not seeing Drogba on the field is also worrying." Lamouchi said. Yet the Ivorians still have a tallented squad drawn mainly from the Turkish, French, German and English leagues and are expected to perform better than 2010, when they exited in the group stage after being drawn to face with Brazil and Portugal.dddddddddddd The squad will travel to the United States on May 24 for a training camp in Dallas ahead of World Cup warm-up games against Bosnia on May 30 and El Salvador on June 4. Ivory Coast opens its World Cup campaign against Japan in Recife on June 14. ------ Squad: Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (Lokeren), Sylvain Gbohouo (Sewe San Pedro), Sayouba Mande (Stabaek), Badra Ali Sangare (ASEC Mimosas) Defenders: Serge Aurier (Toulouse), Benjamin Angoua (Valenciennes), Brice Dja Djedje (Marseille), Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro (Toulouse), Didier Zokora (Trabzonspor), Kolo Toure (Liverpool), Souleman Bamba (Trabzonspor), Arthur Boka (Stuttgart), Constant Djakpa (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ousmane Viera (Rizespor) Midfielders: Cheik Tiote (Newcastle), Serey Die (FC Basel), Ismael Diomande (Saint-Etienne), Didier Ya Konan (Hannover), Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Max Gradel (Saint-Etienne), Mathis Bolly (Fortuna Dusseldorf) Forwards: Didier Drogba (Galatasaray), Wilfried Bony (Swansea), Gervinho (Roma), Salomon Kalou (Lille), Lacina Traore (Everton), Giovanni Sio (FC Basel), Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moscow) China NFL JerseysCheap Nike NFL JerseysNFL Jerseys CheapWholesale NFL JerseysCheap Basketball Jerseys OnlineStitched Hockey JerseysWholesale Baseball JerseysFootball Jerseys OutletCollege Jerseys For SaleCheap MLB JerseysWholesale Soccer JerseysWholesale Jerseys For SaleWholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '