catches, tied for NFL lead among rooki

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CHICAGO -- The Pittsburgh Penguins were wrapping up practice Friday when Tanner Glass grabbed an iPad mini and skated around the temporary rink in the middle of Soldier Field. The 30-year-old Canadian forward smiled as he captured the chilly scene, which took him all the way back to when he first learned to skate at his grandparents farm. "As I grew up, there was an outdoor rink right beside by the main rink," said Glass, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan. "So even tournaments, wed have our real game inside and then wed all just take half our gear off and run across to the outdoor rink and play all day. It reminds me of that and kind of the good old days." Yup, these outdoor games still have an allure for NHL players, especially when they involve two of the best teams in the league. The league gets a marquee prime-time finish for its successful Stadium Series when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins take on Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night at the home of the NFLs Chicago Bears. "Youve got two pretty fast, skilled hockey teams and if the ice can kind of agree with everyone I think that would make for a pretty good product out there," Crosby said. The forecast calls for light snow and temperatures in the teens, but each team has some experience with the pratfalls of playing outside. Chicago lost 6-4 to rival Detroit in the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Crosby had the winning shootout goal when visiting Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 2-1 in the first Winter Classic in 2008, but the Penguins lost 3-1 to Washington when they hosted the 2011 game at Heinz Field. Now the Blackhawks and Penguins return to the great outdoors for their first meeting since Pittsburghs 3-2 victory on Dec. 20, 2011. Its their first game in Chicago since Patrick Kane had the only shootout goal in the Blackhawks 3-2 win on Feb. 20 of that year. While scheduling and the leagues most recent labour dispute have kept the teams apart, the players are plenty familiar with one another. Team captains Crosby and Toews face off for the first time in an NHL regular-season game after leading Canada to the gold medal in the Sochi Olympics last weekend. Crosby, Toews and Penguins forward Chris Kunitz scored in their countrys 3-0 victory in the final against Sweden, which included Marcus Kruger, Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Blackhawks. Penguins coach Dan Bylsma got a chance to see Kane up close when he was behind the bench for Team USA in Russia. "Ive learned quite a bit about his competitiveness," Bylsma said. "You kind of see the smile. Its certainly a ton of skill how he plays the game, but I was impressed by it and learned just the competitiveness that he has and brings to the game. Skill-wise you see it live." The first NHL game at Soldier Field also features two teams in need of a win. The Penguins are coming off a 6-5 shootout loss to Montreal, while the Blackhawks lost 2-1 at the New York Rangers on Thursday night. Chicago, which almost tied the game against the Rangers in the final seconds, is playing its first game in the Windy City since Jan. 26. "Everybody is excited for Saturday," centre Peter Regin, who scored the only goal against New York, said Thursday night. "Obviously we were hoping to get a different outcome tonight, but we play in two days. That is the good thing about the NHL, you play every second night, so its not so long before you can redeem yourself." . The Argentine midfielder made the announcement himself on Twitter on Tuesday and posted a picture of his swollen left foot. His message said he would be out "at least three weeks. . In their first meeting for six years, the Frenchmen dropped serve twice in the first set, but Giquel broke Simon two more times in the second. Gicquel moves on to face sixth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, who advanced with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) win against wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert, despite the Frenchmans 23 aces. http://www.kcchiefsnflfansclub.com/Blac ... ml?cat=926. -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with cornerback Kelvin Hayden. .Simon will work with head coach Gord Dineen and associate coach Derek King behind the bench of the Toronto Maple Leafs American Hockey League affiliate for the 2014-15 season. . Therrien would not confirm his lineup for the game, but he did have the same line combinations practicing together for the third straight day which is usually a pretty good indication of what the lineup will be.CAROLINA (3-8-1) at NEW ORLEANS (5-7)Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FoxOPENING LINE — New Orleans by 9 1/2RECORD VS. SPREAD — Carolina 5-7, New Orleans 5-7SERIES RECORD — Panthers lead 20-19LAST MEETING — Saints beat Panthers 28-10, Oct. 30, 2014LAST WEEK — Panthers lost to Vikings 31-13; Saints beat Steelers 35-32AP PRO32 RANKING — Panthers No. 25, Saints No. 20PANTHERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (21), RUSH (21), PASS (19).PANTHERS Defence — OVERALL (17), RUSH (19), PASS (17).SAINTS OFFENSE — OVERALL (2), RUSH (8), PASS (3).SAINTS Defence — OVERALL (31), RUSH (23), PASS (28).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Panthers offence averages 328.9 yards, about 101 yards fewer per game than Saints (430.3). ... RB De Angelo Williams has averaged 99.9 yards rushing per game during his past 10 games against New Orleans. ... WR Kelvin Benjamin has eight TD catches, tied for NFL lead among rookies. ... Rookie WR Philly Brown has TD catches in his past two games. ... TE Greg Olsen needs 22 yards receiving for third consecutive 800-yard season. ... LB Luke Kuechly had two sacks last week. ... DE Charles Johnnson has sack in six of eight games.dddddddddddd ... Saints enter game tied for first in NFC South with Atlanta despite losing record. ... Saints have lost past three in Superdome, where they won 11 straight before current home skid, and won 20 straight, including playoffs, under coach Sean Payton, who was suspended in 2012. ... QB Drew Brees has passed for at least 300 yards and at least four TDs in each of Carolinas past three visits to New Orleans. ... RB Khiry Robinson, who missed Saints past six games, is expected to play. His 5.2 yards per carry lead all Saints RBs. ... Since Week 8, RB Mark Ingram leads NFL in yards rushing with 608. ... WR Kenny Stills had five catches for 162 yards and a TD last week and now leads Saints in yards receiving with 691. ... TE Jimmy Graham has seven TDs in his past six games against Panthers, with at least one TD in each of those games. ... Graham has 16 TDs in his past 15 home games. ... DE Cam Jordan had sack and his first-career INT last week.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '