those tough buildings and won," Jarrett Stoll said. "

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings have taken similar paths toward the top, hitting big in the draft and making shrewd moves after rough stretches. They find themselves trying to knock each other out in the Western Conference finals for the second straight year. The Blackhawks prevailed last year on their way to the Stanley Cup, and they have the early lead this time after taking the opener, 3-1. They will try to go up 2-0 when the best-of-seven series resumes Wednesday night in Chicago. "We felt this year were in the toughest division and conference," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We just played two real competitive series (against St. Louis and Minnesota). Every game is tight. I think finding a way to win is what its all about in todays game. Our guys are really diligent of doing the little things particularly that some nights give you an edge." Yes, the Blackhawks keep finding ways. Its why theyre eyeing their third championship in five years and are trying to become the first team to repeat since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. In an era with a hard salary cap where players want raises, thats simply not supposed to happen. Parity is the rule, yet the Blackhawks keep rising toward the top. The same goes for the Kings. Theyre enjoying their most successful era with three straight trips to the conference finals and a Stanley Cup two years ago after following a similar path to the Blackhawks. The Kings missed the playoffs from 2003 to 2009 and lost in the first round in 2010 and 2011 before winning their first championship in 2012. Like the Blackhawks did with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, they hit in the draft with Anze Kopitar. They also collected a strong cast to support their core and filled in the gaps with key trades, like the one that landed Marian Gaborik from Columbus in March. "You have to be able to adjust to the game, adjust to the rules, adjust to the style," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "I think thats a big reason why were both in the conference finals again. Whether we can adjust enough to beat the Stanley Cup champions, I dont know." The Blackhawks missed the playoffs from 2003 to 2008 and landed at rock bottom, with dwindling attendance and an alienated fan base unable to watch home games on TV because then-owner Bill Wirtz believed it would be unfair to season ticketholders. They finally emerged with a run to the conference finals in 2009, losing to Detroit. A year later, they beat Philadelphia to end a 49-year championship drought, only to have to part ways with a huge chunk of their team because of cap issues. So they reloaded. "I think management did excellent job with the team," Chicagos Marian Hossa said. "We got a great coaching staff. I think the whole organization, its top class. ... (Los Angeles) is a great organization also. They did an excellent job the last few years. They did it three times in a row. Its just amazing these two teams battling for the West again." The Kings had a few adjustments to make after losing 3-1 in Game 1. Their top line of Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Gaborik got shut down by Toews line, managing just six shots without scoring. Los Angeles will need more from a trio with 16 goals and 24 assists in the playoffs. Even when the Kings had their chances, Corey Crawford stopped most of them. He made 25 saves with several neat stops, turning back Kyle Clifford on a 2-on-1 rush and stopping Gaborik and Brown in rapid succession. So its the Blackhawks with the early lead in the series and the Kings trying to pick themselves up -- again. They did it after dropping the first three games to San Jose in the first round and then rallied from 3-2 down to knock out Anaheim in the conference semifinals. "San Jose and Anaheim had arguably the top two, three, four best home records this year. We went into those tough buildings and won," Jarrett Stoll said. "Chicago is no different. A tough building. Were going to have to figure out a way to win Game 2 and move on." Cheap Nike Free Nz Sale .com) - The Chicago White Sox have officially announced that the club has agreed to terms with utilityman Emilio Bonifacio on a one-year, $4 million contract that includes a team option for the 2016 season. Nike Free Nz Online . -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season. http://www.cheapnikefreenz.com/ . -- Ryan Millers debut for the St. Nike Free Nz Cheap . Trailing by a goal after 20 minutes of play, Joe Pavelski responded with three goals and an assist as the Sharks snapped a two-game losing skid with a 5-2 victory over the struggling Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. Cheap Nike Free Wholesale . Weise will have his hearing with the NHL head office over the phone, while the league has requested an in-person hearing with Kassian. Oilers centre Sam Gagner suffered a broken jaw after getting hit with a high stick from Kassian in Edmontons 5-2 win.INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana took every shot Miami could muster Wednesday night. Then the Pacers threw a couple of their own punches — and put the two-time defending champs on the mat. Paul George scored 23 points, Roy Hibbert added 21 and Indiana rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Heat 84-83, taking a three-game lead over Miami in the chase of the Eastern Conferences top seed. "Theyre the champs, theyre going to bring out the best in us," said David West, who made a 3-pointer with 50.2 seconds to go. "They bring out the best in anybody. I thought we just had enough fight." It was one of those rare grudge matches that actually lived up to the billing. Before the game, the teams chided one another with dueling comments. Afterward, nobody was ready to make up. And in between, the action got downright nasty. LeBron James needed a cotton swab in his nose to keep playing in the fourth quarter after getting whacked in the face. Dwyane Wade spent the final minute of the game icing his right hamstring. Pacers centre Roy Hibbert finished the game despite taking an elbow to the face that left him so groggy he didnt even remember getting hit. James and George both wound up taking spills into basket supports, and Lance Stephenson was ejected midway through the fourth quarter after picking up his second technical foul for celebrating a basket. The angry Stephenson waved his hand at the ref and after leaving the court, threw a towel and kicked a door. Coach Frank Vogel was not amused, saying he had a stern talk with his budding star guard before he went home. But it typified a rugged night for Miami (48-22). "It is what it is, they ref the game, we play it," James said. The NBAs best home team ended a two-game losing streak, took a 2-1 lead in the season series and now has the inside track to home-court advantage with just 10 games to play. And (52-20) Indiana still managed to do all of that on a night James seemed to be at his best. The four-time MVP finished with 38 points, eight rebounds, five assists, was 9 of 15 from the field and 14 of 15 from the free throw line. The problem: James also had six turnovers, Wade had six more turnovers and Miami managed only one basket over the final 3 miinutes, 23 seconds.ddddddddddddJames and Bosh both missed late jumpers that would have given Miami the lead, the last an airball by Bosh from just right of the top of the key as time expired. "Unfortunately, that was what I diagramed," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It probably wasnt the best call. It might have been a little too gunslinger on my part. I just wanted an open shot." They were so hard to come by Wednesday night that James was even called for a flagrant foul when he drove to the basket and sent the 7-foot-2, 290-pound Hibbert crashing to the ground. When Hibbert got up, he stumbled. Eventually he had to leave the court to change his blood-spattered jersey, but he refused to sit against the Heat. Hibbert dominated the first half yet again, scoring 17 points. But when the Heat decided to make things tough on Hibbert in the second half, George and his teammates took advantage. George spurred the first fourth-quarter run with two monster dunks — one over the hand of a trailing James — to get the Pacers back in the game. Later, it was Evan Turner, the trade deadline acquisition, who delivered two of Indianas biggest baskets of the night. The first came after James final turnover, on a breakaway layup. The second came courtesy of Mario Chalmers turnover out of bounds. When the middle of the court opened up, Turner bolted through a clear path for an 81-80 lead with 90 seconds to go. "I know how to get my space, Ive been doing that forever, you know what I mean?" Turner said, likely adding another spark to a rivalry that needs none. "Some of my moves Ive been doing since I was a little kid, so I can walk a pretty fine line when it comes to that." After Hibbert made 1 of 2 free throws, Turner scored on the layups, West hit the knockout 3 and all Miami got was a 3 from Bosh with 2.9 seconds left. "Theyre a tough team, psychologically against most teams they have the edge," West said. "Theyve got the best player in the game. Their pedigree, their entire organization, you understand what youre going to get." NOTES: Indiana has won its first back-to-back division titles since 1998-99 and 1999-2000. ... The Heat are now 7-8 in March. ... The Pacers and Heat meet again April 11 in Miami. ' ' '