re going through a little bit of a dry spell," he said. "Its li

PITTSBURGH -- Kris Letang darted down the Consol Energy Center ice, the defencemans black hair flicking out from underneath his helmet. Everything looked in place. The speed. The agility. The slick stickwork. Yet for as polished as Letang appeared during his first workout alongside his teammates in nearly two months on Monday, the 26-year-old remains uncertain when hell be able to pull his No. 58 sweater over his head and suit up in an actual game. Consider it part of the fallout from the scariest moment of Letangs life. Seven weeks after a stroke blindsided him, Letang remains optimistic he will play again this season but too cautious to throw out a date. "I was on the ice today because I want to return," Letang said. "Ill be able to play again. I dont know when." Neither does his coach. Dan Bylsma pointed out that unlike defenceman Paul Martin -- who remains sidelined with a right hand problem -- concrete signs of progress for Letang are tougher to glean. Throwing an arbitrary timeline out there wouldnt do any good because things can change in an instant. "Theres no date to be determined for Kris," Bylsma said. "Right now hes back in a full practice. Thats a good thing." One the Penguins hope will send a bit of a jolt through a constantly churning lineup that has stagnated in Letangs absence. The Penguins are just 7-5-2 since Letang fell ill on Jan. 28 and while their spot atop the Metropolitan Division remains secure, they have ceded the top spot in the Eastern Conference to the Boston Bruins. The slide includes a home-and-home sweep by Philadelphia over the weekend in which Pittsburgh was dominated for the first four periods before salvaging some dignity in the final 40 minutes of a 4-3 loss on Sunday. Not exactly the best way to build momentum heading into the last month of an interminable regular season. Though the Penguins have lost an NHL-high 413 man games to injury this season, they are trying to avoid excuses. They steamrolled through the first four months of the season before falling since Letangs third trip to the injured list. They can play well even as Bylsma plays mix-and-match with his lines. "I think now with the amount of time left in the season its about rounding our game into form for the post-season," defenceman Rob Scuderi said. "Its something you cant flip a switch overnight. You always want wins, but Id be OK if wed play the right way." Having some familiar faces around would help. Letang wasnt the only player back on the ice Monday. Forward James Neal (concussion) practiced, as did wingers Chris Kunitz (lower body) and Beau Bennett (wrist). Thats plenty of additional firepower for a team that already has Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, though the duo has played with limited effectiveness recently while skating without familiar faces by their side. Neal and Bennett likely wont be available until later in the week, though Kunitz has a chance to play on Tuesday night when the Penguins host Dallas. The 34-year-old is tied with Crosby with a team-high 31 goals, and his ability to make something happen in front of the net was missed as Pittsburgh found itself dominated by the Flyers over the weekend. Still, Pittsburghs Stanley Cup playoff chances could rest on Letangs health. One of the fittest players in a league of fit players admits hes still stunned by his stroke diagnosis. Doctors said there was a "0.01 chance" of Letang suffering a stroke, odds so slim Letang refuses to say hes in the clear from it happening again. Letang would rather not talk about it. Hed rather just focus on skating and getting himself ready for whenever doctors give him the go-ahead to play. He confessed to being tired, but not overwhelmed during a spirited 60 minutes on the ice. At one point he could sense his teammates taking it easy on him. He ordered them to get back to work. "Guys were being really careful when wed go into the corner," Letang said. "I told them they can go as hard as they can. Thats the main reason why Im out there. I want to get to the same place I was before." A place that makes Letang one of the best at his position when healthy. A Norris Trophy finalist a year ago, Letang has 10 goals and eight assists in 34 games this season, though his general presence is missed as much as his production. The feeling is mutual. Letang understands the fixation on his return. Trust him, hes just as concerned as everybody else. "Even the day I had the stroke I asked the doctor when I would be able to play again," Letang said. "It never crossed my mind that I could have a stroke at 26. It could (happen again) because it happened once. Who knows? Im not going to worry about that." Mariners Jerseys China . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. Wholesale Mariners Jerseys . Charlottetown scored four times in the third period en route to a 5-2 win over the defending champion Halifax Mooseheads on Friday. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . The union filed a grievance late Thursday, one day after Goodell suspended four players who participated in bounties from 2009-11. The complaint says Goodell is prohibited from punishing players for any aspect of the case occurring before the new collective bargaining agreement was signed last August. Custom Seattle Mariners Jerseys . The Blue Jackets got goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and R.J. Umberger and Curtis McElhinney posted his first shutout since 2011 in a 4-0 victory on Friday night. Seattle Mariners Shirts . As the schedule flipped from November to December, they would go on to drop five straight, falling six games below the .500 mark before a franchise-altering trade turned them into an unrecognizable team. NASHVILLE -- The Boston Bruins have dealt with their share of injuries this season. Still, they always seem to find a way to win. On Monday night, Matt Fraser and Ryan Spooner, two players with 17 NHL games between them this season, and a potent power play led the Bruins to a 6-2 victory over the Nashville Predators that gave Boston coach Claude Julien his 400th career win. "That is something I will look back on after I retire," Julien said. "I prefer to look at how we are going to do the rest of this season." Tuukka Rask, who stopped 32 shots for the victory, was unaware of the milestone. "That is great," Rask said. "Nashville had a lot of chances, especially in the third period. This was a great way for us to go into the break." Reilly Smith scored a power play goal at 10:47 of the first period, one of three for the Bruins. "There is depth in this organization," Smith said. "A lot of teams may have looked past us in the last few games because we have so many guys who arent regulars on the roster like Spooner and Fraser." Fraser scored his first goal of the season at the 5:59 mark of the first period. Spooner added three assists, two on power play goals. "You know, the first couple of games, you get nervous out there," Spooner said. "But now that Ive been playing a solid two-way game Ive just been trying to focus on using my speed to create some chances." The Bruins opened a 3-0 first period lead. But they were mindful that in Nashvilles previous outing with Montreal Saturday night for force overtime. At the 3:25 mark of the third period when Nashvilles Craig Smith scored his second goal of the game to trim the lead to 3-2 it was time for Boston to find a way to retaliate. The answer was the power play which produced two goals in the span of 49 seconnds.dddddddddddd Jarome Iginla scored first at 5:01, his second goal of the game. At 5:50 Carl Soderberg, who also had a pair of assists, found the net to give the Bruins a 5-2 edge. Brad Marchand closed out the scoring with 4:06 left to play. Reilly Smith, who assisted on Soderbergs goal also had the assist on Marchands goal. The Predators outshot the Bruins 34-33. Nashville coach Barry Trotz was frustrated with the play of his goaltenders, pulling starter Carter Hutton at 5:59 of the first period after he gave up his second goal in four shots. Marek Macanec closed out the game and faced 25 shots. "Once I saw the second goal I had seen enough," Trotz said. "Right now they are going through a little bit of a dry spell," he said. "Its like getting hit with stun gun. But the goalies we have are trying their best, plain and simple." Despite the late rally by the Predators, the Bruins never felt they were losing momentum. "I thought we played well pretty much the entire game," Reilly Smith said. "They had that power play goal and they created a lot of good chances from what they had, but I thought we dominated the game for the most part. "The power play was really clicking because when they jumped back in we were able to shut the door," he said. "Carl did a great job of putting it in the back of the net when he got the opportunity." NOTES: This was the second game in a row that the Predators had been outscored by three goals in the first period. . This was the first meeting between the Predators and Bruins since March 17, 2011. . The Predators have scored eight power play goals in six consecutive games. . Spooner had a season high three assists. . Soderberg recorded two assists for the third time this season and has six points in his last eight games. ' ' '