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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Dont worry, Kris Letang insists. The heat is coming. Sure, the Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman admits the New York Rangers dont invite quite the same animosity inside his teams locker room as the Philadelphia Flyers. The Rangers ended any shot of that tantalizing matchup when they beat the Flyers in seven games to set up a showdown with Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference semifinals starting Friday. That doesnt mean Letang expects the next two weeks to be devoid of drama. Far from it. "Im pretty sure the intensity will get really high at one point when we start," Letang said. "The emotion is always going to be part of the game and were going to have to control it the best we can." Its an internal battle the Penguins won during a taut first-round series against Columbus. Expected to send the inexperienced Blue Jackets home without much effort, Pittsburgh needed six trying games to advance. The way the Penguins figure it, thats a good thing. Forced to respond to adversity, they played what coach Dan Bylsma called their best 120 minutes this season to avoid the upset. "We keep coming and we keep coming, playing forward and playing in the offensive zone and grinding teams down with that play with that speed and quickness," Bylsma said. "Games 5 and 6 were our best at playing that way." The Penguins will need to do it four more times if they want to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. They split their four regular-season meetings with New York, all of them coming before the Olympic break. The Rangers hardly look like the team that was still struggling to find an identity when they last faced Pittsburgh in early February. Pittsburgh is no longer the patched-together unit that cruised to the Metropolitan Division title despite having stars Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Paul Martin and James Neal miss large chunks of the season due to injury. The Penguins are healthy. New York is hot. Five things to look for heading into Game 1. SLUMPING STARS: Pittsburgh captain and likely NHL MVP Sidney Crosby hasnt scored a goal in his past 10 playoff games. New York forward Rick Nash has just one in 19 post-season contests wearing a Rangers sweater. Whichever streak ends first could swing the balance of the series. Crosby had six assists against the Blue Jackets, including one to Malkin in the first period of Game 6 in Columbus that gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Crosby knows he needs to take more chances. So does Nash, who can live with the drought as long as the Rangers keep it going. "Thats all that matters," Nash said. "Im going to try to keep getting my game going." LUNDQVIST VS. FLEURY: New Yorks Henrik Lundqvist and Pittsburghs Marc-Andre Fleury are the two winningest goaltenders in the regular season over the past five years, combining for 334 victories. Yet Lundqvist has yet to lift the Rangers past the conference finals while Fleury has struggled in the playoffs since helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2009. Both had their wayward moments in the first round. Both responded with brilliant play. Whoever gets hot — and stays hot — will give his team the upper hand. POWERLESS POWER PLAY: The Rangers went just 3 for 29 on the power play against Philadelphia, ending the series by failing to score 21 straight times with the man advantage. Not exactly the recipe to hang with the Penguins, who had the NHLs best power play during the regular season and was a solid 4 for 15 against the Blue Jackets while adding a pair of short-handed goals in the process. GENOS BACK: Like Crosby, Malkin was in the midst of a lengthy goal drought before coming up with his second career playoff hat trick in the clincher against the Blue Jackets. The rust that came with missing the final three weeks of the regular season appeared to vanish as he lit up Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in Game 6. Playing alongside Crosby at times to try to shake loose the cobwebs, Malkin got hot. Expect to see the two MVPs on the ice frequently against New York. NEW YORK MINUTE: Game 1 marks the middle of a busy stretch in which the Rangers will play five times in seven days. Thats fine by them considering it beats the alternative of watching from home. "Now were in the middle of it and were in the battle," New York forward Brad Richards said. "This is when it gets real fun." ___ AP Sports Writer Ira Podell in New York contributed to this report. Dick Butkus Jersey . scored 18 of his career- high 28 points in the first half, as fifth-ranked Ohio State dominated No. Mike Singletary Jersey . "I honestly dont know," he said. Try this: 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds by Rajon Rondo, a 62-37 rebounding advantage by the Celtics and a horrible 4-for-30 shooting performance on 3-pointers by the Nets. http://www.officialchicagobearspro.com/Brian-urlacher-bears-jersey/ . Hamels threw seven sharp innings to earn his 100th career victory, Domonic Brown had a career-best five RBIs and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 12-1 on Saturday night to end a four-game losing streak. Mike Ditka Jersey .ca. Kerry, In the closing minutes of the second period of Game 4 between Pittsburgh and Columbus there were the remnants of two broken sticks behind the Pittsburgh net. Custom Chicago Bears Jerseys . Toronto FC hosts the three-time Italian league champions in a friendly Aug. 7 at BMO Field, a game that Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said falls within a key part of their pre-season. DETROIT -- Less than two years after boldly signing Prince Fielder to a $214 million contract, the Detroit Tigers traded the slugging first baseman to Texas in another blockbuster move. Fielder was dealt to the Rangers on Wednesday night for second baseman Ian Kinsler. The Tigers agreed to pay the Rangers $30 million as part of the swap, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the amount of money exchanged was not revealed when the teams announced the trade. The $30 million is payable from 2016-20. "Obviously, a very exciting trade for us in adding Prince Fielder to the organization," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "Also a tough trade to make in that Ian Kinslers been with the organization since he was drafted in 03, and weve signed him here a couple of times. Been here, a catalyst for our World Series clubs, and a huge part of this. A winning guy, a heart-and-soul guy, and Detroit got a tremendous player and person." Its the first headline-grabbing move of baseballs off-season, and it involves two of the American Leagues top teams. Detroit has won three consecutive AL Central titles and reached the World Series in 2012, while Texas won the AL pennant in 2010 and 2011. Fielder, a five-time All-Star, had to consent to the trade before it could be completed. The big first baseman signed a $214 million, nine-year contract with the Tigers before the 2012 season that includes a limited no-trade provision. "Were thankful for what he did for us," Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "Itll be a bat that we miss at times -- theres no doubt about it." Kinsler just finished the first season of a $75 million, five-year contract. With stars like Fielder, Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Anibal Sanchez in the fold, Detroits payroll had become one of the games biggest. And although Fielder hit 55 home runs over the last two years for the Tigers, his numbers dipped this season and he struggled in the playoffs when Detroit lost to Boston in the AL championship series. Fielder hit .279 with 25 homers this year. He drove in 106 runs, but it was his lowest home run total over a full season. He did not have a single RBI in the 2013 post-season and hit .182 in the ALCS. Daniels said the trade came together quickly -- the first discussions took place Tuesday. The Rangers will welcome the durable Fielder, who has played 162 games in four of the last five seasons. Texas was interested in Fielder when he signed with Detroit as a free agent. "Our offer was well below what it ended up being, so we werent that close," Daniels said. "I thought he was a genuine guy that really loved the game, really loved playing the game, loved his boys, his sons." Kinsler batted .277 with 13 homers this year. The a three-time All-Star was limited to 136 games because of injuries to his ribs and right side. Kinsler stole 15 bases in 2013 -- not a high total by his standards but more than any player on the Detroit team he is joining. The trade could save the Tigers more than $75 million in the long run, giving them more financial flexibility with Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer a year from free agency. Fielder is still only 29, and the Rangers are set to add a big bat to the middle of their lineup while also resolving a logjam in the middle of their infield. Jurickson Profar, a highlly touted 20-year-old prospect, appeared to be blocked by Kinsler and shortstop Elvis Andrus.dddddddddddd Now, Profar should have a chance to play regularly. The Tigers signed Fielder to a huge contract shortly before spring training in 2012 -- after designated hitter Victor Martinez injured his knee. Martinez came back in 2013. With Fielder gone, Cabrera may move from third base back to first. "Im really not sure what were going to do as we sit here now today," Dombrowski said. "Eventually, we see him as a first baseman. Will it happen this year or not? Im not sure." The 31-year-old Kinsler fills a need at second base for Detroit after Omar Infante became a free agent. Fielder is due $168 million through 2020, a salary of $24 million per season. Under his no-trade clause, he submits a list of 10 teams each year that he can be traded to without his approval. Texas was not on that list this year, but Fielder agreed to accept the trade and instructed agent Scott Boras to approve the deal. "If he was coming off the best year of his career, hes not available," Daniels said. "I think thats kind of the whole idea of this deal -- if anybody feels like thats a sign of things to come, that hes slipping, you may not like the deal. We dont feel that way. We dont feel that way at all." Kinsler is guaranteed $62 million through 2017: $16 million in each of the next two seasons, $14 million in 2016, $11 million in 2017 and a $5 million buyout of a $10 million option. Its already been an unpredictable off-season for the Tigers. Manager Jim Leyland stepped down after the season and was replaced by Brad Ausmus. Detroit could have come back with a similar roster and probably been favoured to win the division again, but now more changes seem possible. "If you put Kinslers bat at the top of the lineup, thats an instant threat," Ausmus said. "It changes the dynamic, but it doesnt mean its any less potent." If Cabrera moves back to first base, prospect Nick Castellanos might replace him at third. Previously, it appeared Castellanos would have to play the outfield if both Cabrera and Fielder were still on the team. Andy Dirks is still available to play left field, but thats a spot the Tigers could still try to upgrade. They also have six capable starting pitchers -- Drew Smyly was used in the bullpen this year -- so thats a surplus that could come in handy in a possible trade. Detroits bullpen will likely undergo a makeover after struggling last season. The Rangers lost slugging outfielder Nelson Cruz to a late-season suspension as a result of MLBs investigation in the Biogenesis case. Hes now a free agent, and if Texas loses him, Fielder, who hit 50 homers in 2007 for Milwaukee at 23, should help replace his production. "A huge focus for us this winter was finding some kind of middle-of-the-order presence and power, and at 29 years old, I still think theres still a lot of big run production and years ahead of him," Daniels said. Adrian Beltre and Alex Rios are among the dangerous hitters under contract next season in Texas. Beltre had an AL-high 199 hits and Rios, acquired from the Chicago White Sox in August after Cruz was suspended, has a year left on his deal. The Rangers lost a one-game tiebreaker to Tampa Bay for the second AL wild card this year. The trade agreement was first reported by CBSSports.com. 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