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BROSSARD, Que. -- It was up to veterans Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec to convince the world, and perhaps themselves, that the Montreal Canadiens still have hope. The team that looked so solid in coming back to eliminate the first-place overall Boston Bruins is down 3-1 to the New York Rangers in the NHL Eastern Conference final, but Gionta insisted Monday that morale is good and the Canadiens are far from finished. They will be facing elimination in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, however. "Its no secret: you start doing the right things, you start getting rewarded for it and momentum builds," Gionta said. "You keep carrying that. "A couple of teams have been able to do that this year, the Kings and the Rangers. So its not something that cant be done and with the group we have in here, we believe we can do it. And we believe weve got better as the series goes on." Gionta and Plekanec were part of a Canadiens team that came back from a 3-1 deficit to upset the high-powered Washington Capitals en route to their last trip to the conference final in 2010. They did it that time with desperate shot-blocking, spectacular goaltending from Jaroslav Halak and a quiet belief that they could pull it off. This time, they are looking to third-stringer Dustin Tokarski to imitate Halak. The 24-year-old has been solid in goal since replacing the injured Carey Price in Game 2, allowing eight goals in 11 periods over three games. He helped them claim an overtime win in New York in Game 3 but was beaten on Martin St. Louis overtime snipe in Game 4 on Sunday night. The Canadiens have played the Rangers close to evenly since a 7-2 loss in the series opener, but there were worrying signs in their latest loss. Defenceman Alexei Emein missed most of the first period after blocking a shot and then was mostly immobile after he returned. And top forwards Thomas Vanek, who has struggled all series, and Max Pacioretty were all-but invisible. And they remain without Price, the Canadian gold medallist from the Sochi Olympics in February who suffered a suspected right knee injury when New Yorks Chris Kreider crashed the net in the second period of the series opener. Price skated for about 20 minutes without equipment before the teams optional practice, but coach Michel Therrien said he will not be back in this series. For Gionta, hope comes from a feeling that his team is getting better and still has time to turn things around, as they did when they fell behind 3-2 to the Bruins in the conference semifinal. The Canadiens rebounded with their best game of the playoffs in Game 6 and closed it out in Boston two days later. "We were able to wear (Bostons) defence down with our speed and our forechecking," he said. "We need to get better at that and I think thats what weve got better at as (the New York series) went on. "Try to take advantage of their defencemen down low, try to spend some time in the offensive zone, and start to make breakdowns and make things happen that way. Our backs are against the wall. Its win or go home. I would expect the same kind of effort as we had against Boston for sure." They could also improve on special teams, although they had a breakthrough when P.K. Subban finally got a power play goal to tie the game in the third period on the sixth of Montreals eight man-advantages. "We sat down after the second period and made a little adjustment and it worked and hopefully we can carry it over to the next game," said Plekanec. "Special teams was one of the things that we probably werent good enough at in the series so far, so it would be a good time to turn that around. "Its not over. I didnt see one guy that was down after the game." Plekanec was among five players in the Game 4 lineup who joined the reserve players in the optional skate, along with Tokarski, Rene Bourque, Michael Bournival and defenceman Francis Bouillon, who scored in his first appearance in the series in place of rookie Nathan Beaulieu. Another potential boost for the Canadiens would be to score the first goal, which they did consistently in the first two rounds but have yet to do against the Rangers. It would perhaps give them another missing element -- confidence. "We have to start playing more with confidence, making the right plays at the right time," said Plekanec. "When theres a play, weve got to make it. "When theres no play, weve got to go for the puck. Sometimes we didnt make the right decisions, so thats an aspect that definitely can be better. Confidence is a thing that, when you dont make the right plays, you start chipping it in instead of making plays, and sometimes its a situation where you should have made a play." Therrien feels his team has shown it can bounce back against the Bruins and can do it again. Gionta, a Stanley Cup winner with New Jersey in 2003, agrees. "Part of the playoffs part of being a professional, of being part of a winning team is being able to regroup and forget about it and deal with the circumstances that are ahead of you and not with whats behind you," he said. "Guys were disappointed. It was a huge blow. But the series isnt over. We still believe in this group so no one is panicking." Jordan 3 For Sale Cheap .Y. - The Philadelphia Eagles game at Green Bay against the Packers on Nov. Jordan 3 Discount . The San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders are giving it a try, too. http://www.wholesaleairjordan3.com/. Tepesch, back from the minor leagues, earned his first major league victory in more than 10 months and the Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday. Air Jordan 3 Wholesale . "I only want to go through this one more time," Crosby said Friday. The 24-year-old captain hasnt played since the symptoms resurfaced following a loss to Boston on Dec. 5. Doctors allowed him to return to full practice on Tuesday and while Crosby is pleased with the way his body is responding he refuses to put on his return. Air Jordan 3 Online Shop . -- The Sacramento Kings have signed first-round pick Nik Stauskas to his rookie contract.MILAN - After opening up a three-point gap at the top of the table and winning at Napoli for the first time in more than 14 years, Juventus will look to continue its march to the Serie A title against Hellas Verona on Sunday.Martin Caceres marked his return from injury by scoring in the 3-1 win at Napoli and he believes Juventus sent out a warning to the rest of the league with that result.We go out on the pitch every game looking to give our all, Caceres said. We returned home from the San Paolo, a place where we hadnt won for many years, with the three points.We once again sent out a message, which is always the same: were Juventus and we always go out there to win.It will be the second time Juventus plays Verona in the space of a few days with the two clubs meeting Thursday in the Italian Cup. However, it will be a much changed Juventus team, with coach Massimiliano Allegri resting the likes of Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo for the first match.Here are some of the things to know about this weekends games as Serie A approaches the halfway stage:___WAR OF WORDSRoma fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 in the derby against Lazio last weekend but the two clubs have continued to do battle off the pitch, with a war of words between their two presidents rumbling on all week.Among other things, Lazio president Claudio Lotito said he would resign if Roma won the league title, while his counterpart James Pallotta released an odd statement on the cubs website.Next time I come to Rome I will attempt to educate him on our strong and profitable financial position as I would speak to a young child (speaking slowly with as many one syllable words as possible), said Pallottass statement.ddddddddddddIf he still cant figure it out, I give it up.Roma travels to Palermo on Saturday evening, knowing it can move provisionally level with Juventus at the top of the table.___DEFENSIVE WOES FOR MILANAC Milan hosts Atalanta on Sunday with something of a defensive crisis.Cristian Zapata will likely be out for a month after fracturing a metatarsal in his foot, while Mattia De Sciglio could be out for around six weeks after suffering a recurrence of a foot injury that sidelined him in November.De Sciglio would have been suspended for the visit of Atalanta but Milan will be hoping his injury is not as bad as feared. The duo have been a mainstay of Milans defence for most of the season.Sulley Muntari, Marco Van Ginkel and Pablo Armero trained on Thursday and will be fit for the weekend.Milan has won just one of its past five league matches.___ICARDI ON FIREInter Milan forward Mauro Icardi is scoring goals for fun and will be looking to add to his tally at relegation-threatened Empoli on Sunday.Icardi, who has already beaten his tally for the whole of last season, has scored in both of Inters matches this year.The 21-year-old has 10 goals so far this season, one less than league leading goalscorer Carlos Tevez.Weve signed players that put quality into the box and I hope to score another 10 goals, if not more, Icardi said. (Lukas) Podolski and (Xherdan) Shaqiri have come in and weve got pace up front.Inter has won two of its past four matches, drawing the other two, against Lazio and Juventus.Roberto Mancinis team is ninth in Serie A, but six points off third spot in what promises to be a riveting battle for the final Champions League spot. 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