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BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins plan for making the playoffs this season involves adding young talent around their veteran core.The Bruins, who missed the postseason the past two seasons, open the regular season on Thursday on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets.Their lineup could feature at least three rookies: Defensemen Brandon Carlo and Rob OGara and forward Danton Heinen have made the opening night roster. Austin Czarnik had been on track to make the roster until he suffered a concussion last weekend.Having first-year players to support the group of veterans highlighted by captain Zdeno Chara, forwards Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, and goaltender Tuukka Rask advances the plan general manager Don Sweeney put forth when he took over in the summer of 2015.Thats kind of been the plan is to try and do a better job with drafting and then do as good a job as we can developing and then seeing where that shakes out, Bruins president Cam Neely said Tuesday during a news conference at Warrior Ice Arena.This training camp we probably had a couple surprises as far as guys stepping up a little earlier than maybe we anticipated. But thats the thing that Don expressed when we interviewed him for the position about drafting, developing, getting these guys to understand the type of hockey we want them to play.The Bruins supplemented their veteran core by signing forward David Backes and backup goaltender Anton Khudobin as unrestricted free agents in the offseason.But the major story in training camp was the emergence of the inexperienced players. OGara, Carlo and Heinen are first-year professionals, while Czarnik is in his second year of pro hockey.A core thats five years removed from winning the Stanley Cup could benefit from the rookies talent and their energy.We dont give free passes to anybody, Bruins coach Claude Julien said. When they show they can play here, we give them the opportunity. Were patient with them just like anybody else. When they make mistakes, we understand they have less experience and thats where youve got work with them.Its exciting theres new blood. I think its exciting for the players too, the veterans. Theyve talked about it, they really feel that those guys want to be part of this hockey club and want to blend in.Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs also said his goal for this season is to see his team return to the playoffs.But the Bruins are still trying to strike a balance between becoming winners again and making sure they dont mortgage their future.We certainly dont want to stray away from what we think is going to build us for some long-term success, Neely said. We feel like were on the path to do this in a way thats going to give us some success for a long period of time. Youd like it sooner rather than later and weve had some surprises here at this particular camp.Who knows where itll end up by the end of the year, but I certainly feel like weve got some good young players who are knocking on the door or a couple years away from making an impact on our club while the core is still in a position to play at the level theyre currently playing at. Matt Milano Jersey . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Zay Jones Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. http://www.authenticbillsfanaticfootball.com/authentic-jim-kelly-bills-jersey/ . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Cody Ford Youth Jersey . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Tremaine Edmunds Youth Jersey . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. If you think its hard to shake off a centurys worth of baseball futility, just try to break away from decades of basketball success.The Los Angeles Lakers, NBA royalty, had always been the opposite of the Chicago Cubs. That once-pleasant distinction is now their problem, the challenge of shedding the trappings of that rich history when thats precisely what they need to do to morph into a contending team once again.So even as general manager Mitch Kupchak sat in a room in Lakers headquarters and proclaimed Its all new with this 2016-17 edition of the team, on the wall behind him were framed pictures of Kobe Bryant, James Worthy, Jerry Buss with Magic Johnson, and Jerry West. On the wall across from him where pictures of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. The past is ever-present with this team.You come into the practice facility and walk the halls, and you see pictures of all-time greats, said first-year coach Luke Walton, who went to the Lakers past four trips to the NBA Finals as a player.Yet even with Waltons return to Lakerland, this is as separated as the franchise has ever been from its glory days. Kobe Bryant retired and Byron Scott was let go as coach and in one offseason, there went two central figures from the Staples Center and Showtime eras. For added measure, athletic trainer Gary Vitti, one of the bridges between the two dynasties, retired. Jerry West has been gone since 2000, The Voice of the Lakers Chick Hearn died in 2002, Shaquille ONeal was traded in 2004, Jerry Buss passed away in 2013 and Magic Johnsons name was taken off the company masthead this past year after one tweet too many. Kupchak, who transitioned from playing to the front office in the 1980s, is practically the only name from the past left in the building.I mean, you cant hold on to everything forever, Kupchak said.Every member of the coaching staff except for Mark Madsen is new. Two new therapists and a new strength and conditioning coach will report to Vittis replacement, Marco Nunez. There are two new hires for the analytics department. Theres a practice facility under construction a few blocks away from their current site in El Segundo.A lot of its almost like pressing a reset button, Kupchak said.That includes a shift in the philosophy of building the team. No longer will you see the Lakers take the approach that failed them in recent off-seasons: patching together rosters with players whose primary attributes were expiring contracts that would create the salary cap space for the Lakers to pursue a star free agent. After Dwight Howard walked out the door and the likes of Carmelo Anthony and LaMarcus Aldridge?turned them down in recent summers, it was time to scrap that approach. Not only had the rules that once enabled them to sign Shaquille ONeal changed (the Lakers caan no longer outbid teams, or offer the same number of years as a players current team), so had the landscape.ddddddddddddYou have to have assets; cap room alone is overrated, Kupchak said. I think if you talk to teams in the NBA for the last four or five years that have had all kinds of cap room, its a stressful situation. Because youve got to go out there and pay non-max players, youve got to overpay to get somebody, depending on the city. And you might not get somebody. And then you kick the can down the road a year and try to do the same thing next summer.Thats why this year, rather than fish for the biggest names in the free agency pond, the Lakers quickly signed Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng to contracts worth a combined $136 million over four years. Its explained by Kupchaks one-word expectation for this season: progress. Young teams dont win in the NBA. Adding those two veterans to the all-under-25 group of Julius Randle, DAngelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance Jr. and Ivica Zubac was designed to make the Lakers incrementally better, faster.Taking small steps isnt the traditional Laker way. Its also a potentially risky strategy for this Laker administration under executive vice president for basketball operations Jim Buss, who had pledged to step down after this season if the Lakers have not returned to contending status. A new name at the top could potentially mean new names throughout the organization, including Kupchaks job.My only goal is to get this franchise on solid footing with young players, free agents and flexibility, Kupchak said. And I think weve done that.I dont know how many games were going to win. But my hope is that as the season goes on, our fans, our partners, the TV audience can watch this team play and see growth and see enthusiasm. Luke is not an experienced coach, but Im hoping as this season goes on everybody can watch a coach become a good coach. And watch young players develop and grow. And I want to see exciting basketball. Thats my focus. To get involved in anything else from where I sit is counterproductive. And thats really all I focus on.These are different days in Lakerland, when the immediate goals arent championships, and the players are guaranteed to hang on the walls one day. How will this play? Well, Denzel Washington is a good indicator to follow. He isnt so much a hardcore Laker fan as he is a fan of the sport at its highest level. He typically only sits in his courtside seats when he expects a good game. He was there on opening night, and after the Lakers high-scoring victory over the Houston Rockets he said, with a touch of surprise in his voice, I like what I see. ' ' '