BOSTON -- Putting the puck past Henrik Lundqvist is a huge challenge for the Boston Bruins. Of course, they have to get it to him first and thats a tough task against the shot-blocking New York Rangers. "Theyre definitely going to be laying down to block those shots," Boston forward Patrice Bergeron said after practice for Thursday nights series opener. "We have to be aware of that. I think its about finding ways to get that puck to the net and faking shots and moving more." On Monday night, it seemed the Bruins wouldnt have to worry about that. They were close to elimination. Then they rallied from a three-goal deficit in the last 11 minutes of the third period and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Bergerons overtime goal in Game 7. "You dont give up," Bruins forward Jaromir Jagr said Wednesday, but "if you try to do it again, youre probably not going to do it even if you try 100 times, but it happened." Now its time to forget that unforgettable comeback. Its time for the Eastern Conference semifinals, the first playoff meeting between the teams in 40 years. Lundqvist, last years Vezina Trophy winner and finalist for that award this season, enters the series with consecutive shutouts in Games 6 and 7 against the Washington Capitals. He stopped 62 shots in those games while facing elimination. The key to the shutouts? "Box them out before they get (near the goal) so they cant provide a screen," Rangers defenceman Dan Girardi said. "If we cant box them out, the biggest thing is getting (at) their sticks. Hankie is going to stop that shot if he sees it. We have to do a good job of letting Hankie see those first shots, make sure theres no tips." Girardi led the NHL this season with 125 blocked shots, just under three per game. The Rangers were sixth with 16.1 per game. And in the playoffs, they have three of the top seven shot blockers -- Girardi in second place with 24, Ryan McDonagh in fourth with 20 and Ryan Callahan in seventh with 18. And even though Bruins captain Zdeno Chara can slap the puck at more than 100 mph from the point, theyre not likely to shy away. "Anything they can get to, theyre going to block," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "If they have a chance to block a shot, they are going to block a shot. Everybody." If they do, Chara could make it painful. "Im certainly not going to ask him to take anything off his shot because theyre blocking," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. He wants his players to keep their heads up and watch where theyre shooting instead of just looking down and hitting the puck as hard as they can. "Were going to have to work extra hard to get those pucks through and then get them to reach the net," Julien said. "At the same time, I dont think its a big secret to know that they got a pretty good goaltender, and that traffic in front of the net is going to be something were going to want to do a lot." Bostons Tuukka Rask, a more aggressive goalie than Lundqvist, also has been outstanding in the playoffs. But he could be without three injured veteran defencemen. Andrew Ference missed Games 6 and 7, Wade Redden sat out Game 7 and Dennis Seidenberg played just 37 seconds of the finale before being sidelined. None of them practiced Thursday. "Sometimes its better not to practice and just to play," said Julien, careful not to tip his hand. Rookies Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug all could be active. "Its going to be a challenge for us," Rask said. "It gives these new guys an opportunity to step up and show what theyve got. If I was in their shoes Id be really excited." Both teams leading goal scorers in the regular season -- New Yorks Rick Nash (21) and Bostons Brad Marchand (18) -- were shut out in their first series. But Marchand assisted on Bergerons series-winning goal and Nash seems to be making progress. "He certainly wasnt totally on but hes very close," Tortorella said. "I thought he played very well in Game 7. Hes playing and I think hes going to be a really big part of this as we enter into Boston." Both teams snared some much-needed rest after playing two games in two days Sunday and Monday. Bergeron expects a low-scoring series. Girardi expects it to be physical. "Both teams want to get on the forecheck," he said, "create some momentum that way." Julien wants his team to fight for position in front of Lundqvist, who allowed just 12 goals in seven games against Washington. "They protect their goaltender fairly well," Julien said. "You know hes good enough to stop what he sees. They box out extremely well, so weve got to work hard to take away that vision that he needs in order to stop pucks. Theres going to be a lot of battles, I think, in this series. "By the end of it, I think youre going to have some exhausted teams." Joe Smith Jersey . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Jim King Jersey . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. https://www.cheapwarriors.com/579o-jerry-lucas-jersey-warriors.html . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Golden State Warriors Shirts .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Golden State Warriors Gear . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . The MCC University (MCCU) scheme has received a significant boost with news that a sponsor has been found to cover previous cuts in funding.The MCC announced earlier this year that they were to cut their funding of the programme by around 50% (from over ￡550,000 a year to around ￡275,000 a year) from the start of 2017. With the ECB unwilling to make-up the shortfall, the long-term viability of the scheme had been in doubt.But now Deloitte, the accountancy and consultancy firm, have been secured on a two-year deal. While the search for more sponsors and longer term deals goes on, the centres can expect higher levels of funding than anticipated this year and less of a shortfall than feared next.Around 23% of current England-qualified cricketers involved in the first-class game developed in part through the MCCU scheme which has six centres in Oxford, Cambridge, Cardiff, Durham, Loughborough and Leeds-Bradford. Among the players to have graduated through the system are director of cricket for the England team, Andrew Strauss, Ireland captain William Porterfield, Surreys Zafar Ansari, former England spinner Monty Panesar, Kents Sam Billings and England Womens captain, Heather Knight.Set-up by former England opener Graeme Fowler in 1996, the aim was to ensure young people did not have to choose between education and cricket. By providing them with good quality coaching and playing opportunities at the same time as allowing them to gain a further education, the scheme not only encourages some into sport who might otherwise be lost, but prepares those who do break into the professional for the life after their sporting retirement.Fowler has long argued that the ECB have a duty of care to fund the scheme, suggesting it helps avoid some of the pitfalls encountered by players as they look for opportunities once their on-field careers come to an end.ddddddddddddNot only does this scheme encourage more of the best and brightest players to pursue a career in the game, Fowler told ESPNcricinfo in March, but it honours the duty of care we should have to them at both ends of their career.While the programme perhaps does not generate the coverage it deserves - it sometimes suffers for being judged on its short-term, on-field results rather than its long-term, off-field impact - a strong case could be mounted to suggest it offers, alongside the PCAs personal development programme, one of the most positive developments in player welfare since the introduction of pensions and insurance policies. It receives no direct funding from the ECB.It easily represents the biggest outlay of funds made each year by the MCC on cricket projects. The MCC has, over the last decade, spent more than ￡6.5m on the project and, in addition to the six MCCU centres, includes the funding of the MCC Combined Universities side (which consists of cricketers unsigned by the first-class counties and has just enjoyed its best season in the 2nd XI Championship) and the Loughborough Women side.Fowler stood down from his post at Durham MCCU in 2015. He was concerned by changes to the programme which he saw as an emphasis shift away from the development of excellence and more towards community based initiatives. ' ' '