The Chicago Bulls were open all over the floor

MONTREAL -- The wild fans, the history and the weight of expectations make the Montreal Canadiens a demanding team for any hockey coach, especially those with no NHL experience. Howie Kendrick Jersey . But three who were in that position in the late 1990s and early 2000s -- Alain Vigneault, Michel Therrien and Claude Julien -- have gone on to do some impressive things in the NHL. A victory in the Eastern Conference final between Vigneaults New York Rangers and Therrien, in his second stint with Montreal, will put one of them in a Stanley Cup final. Between the three men, they will have been to the final five times. In 2008, Therrien reached the final with the Pittsburgh Penguins, losing in six games to the Detroit Red Wings. In 2011, Juliens Boston Bruins defeated Vigneaults Vancouver Canucks to claim the Stanley Cup. And in 2013, Julien had the Bruins back in the final only to lose to the Chicago Blackhawks. All three have credited the chance they got to coach middling-to-weak Montreal teams with their later success, even if their head coaching prospects were in doubt when they were eventually let go by the Canadiens. "You never know about the future," said the 50-year-old Therrien, whose team is coming off a second-round win over Juliens Bruins. "We learned a lot when we were young and that goes with experience. "Having to deal a lot with you (reporters) is a big part of our job. But it goes through a process. It goes with experience. Myself, Alain, Claude, we were young coaches at the time and we learned a lot. We started in Montreal and, Alain and me, we almost took the same route. We went back to the minors and went back to junior and the American League. "So Im glad for the success (Vigneault) had in Vancouver and New York. That was a great learning experience as a young coach to start in Montreal." There were actually four inexperienced coaches in a row, as Mario Tremblay got it started when he replaced Jacques Demers in 1995. But while Tremblay later worked as an assistant, he never got another head coaching job. In 1997, Tremblay was replaced by Vigneault, a former Ottawa Senators assistant who had been coaching in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Vigneault was replaced midway through the 2000-01 campaign by Therrien, who in turn lost his job to Julien in 2003. Vigneault was out of coaching for two seasons but returned with the junior P.E.I. Rocket before being named head coach of the Manitoba Moose, the Canucks AHL affiliate at the time. He was promoted to the Vancouver job to start the 2006-07 season and promptly took the Canucks to a division title and got the Jack Adams Trophy as NHL coach of the year, beating out Therrien and Buffalos Lindy Ruff. The Quebec City natives Canucks finished first overall in the NHL twice. But a drop-off last season saw Vancouver opt for former Rangers coach John Tortorella while Vigneault signed a five-year deal with New York. Now Vigneaults looking for another trip to the final. "My first NHL gig as a head coach was in a beautiful place, a Canadian city where hockey is passionate, hockey is demanding," the 53-year-old said. "Expectations were always very high, so I learned a lot. "I worked with some great people. It took me six years to get another kick at the can and obviously when I got my other chance, I used my experience in Montreal and my experience of going back to junior and also going to the American League and tried to help my new NHL team the best way I could. Now, this year, the Rangers have given me another opportunity and thats what Im trying to do." When Therrien left Montreal, he got a job coaching the Penguins farm club in Wilkes-Barre and was promoted to the NHL club on Dec. 15, 2005. He was fired suddenly on Feb. 15, 2009, one season after going to the final, in favour of Dan Bylsma. The new coach got Pittsburgh back to the final and avenged the defeat of Therriens team the year before by beating the Red Wings for the Cup. Therrien worked in television while waiting for his next chance, which came when new general manager Marc Bergevin hired him to return to the Canadiens at the start of last season. After Montreal, Julien was hired by the New Jersey Devils, but he also fell victim to a surprise firing late in the 2006-07 season despite a 47-24-8 record. The Bruins snapped him up the following season. Jake Noll Nationals Jersey . Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Doug Martin broke the news that hes cleared for full activity moving forward. Adam Eaton Nationals Jersey . His team rose to the occasion Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Sweden in the bronze-medal game. "The sting from yesterday is not something we hid from or pretend didnt happen," Dineen said. https://www.cheapnationals.com/897r-yan-gomes-jersey-nationals.html .Y. - Geno Smith shouted a couple of mighty expensive expletives.CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls were open all over the floor, so Joakim Noah kept collecting assists. Jumpers for Jimmy Butler and Kirk Hinrich. A dunk for Taj Gibson, another jumper for Butler, and on and on it went. The All-Star centre put on quite a show. Noah had 14 assists in his fifth career triple-double, leading the streaking Bulls to a 109-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday. "Its really all my teammates," he said. "I think were getting better every game." Noah also had 13 points and 12 rebounds in his second triple-double of the season, but it was his deft passing that really stood out. It was the most assists by an NBA centre since at least the 1985-86 season and a franchise record for his position. "What can you say? He is playing MVP basketball," Gibson said. "He is doing everything in all facets of the game." Chicago had seven players score in double figures and set a franchise record by committing only three turnovers in its ninth win in the last 10 games. The Bulls also reached 100 points for the fourth consecutive game for the first time since Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2010. D.J. Augustin had 21 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as Chicago (33-26) improved to 21-8 since Jan. 1 and a season-high seven games above .500 overall. Butler scored 19 points and Carlos Boozer had 14. "Weve hit a stretch where we have guys that are healthy playing that I think they know what to expect from each other," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I think theyre playing to their strengths." While the Bulls are galloping through the weak Eastern Conference, the Knicks are floundering. Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and Tyson Chandler had 22 rebounds, but New York dropped its sixth consecutive game. The Knicks (21-39) are just 6-16 since Jan. 14. "Its embarrassing," Anthony said. "Its frustrating and its embarrassing." Swingman Iman Shumpert had three points on 1-for-6 shooting in his return to the lineup. He missed five games after he sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during New Yorks 98-91 victory over New Orleans on Feb. 19. Noah rolled his right ankle at the beginning of the second half and got it re-taped before comingg back in at the start of the fourth quarter. Brian Dozier Jersey. He heard more chants of "M-V-P! M-V-P!" when he went 1 for 2 at the line to make it 89-70 with 9:26 to go. There were more loud cheers when Jimmer Fredette checked in with 3:08 left after joining the Bulls earlier in the day. The sharp-shooting guard drilled a long jumper on his first shot, making it 107-83 with 2:16 remaining. Fredette, the 10th overall pick in the 2011 draft, was bought out by Sacramento on Thursday and cleared waivers on Saturday. His contract with the Bulls covers the rest of the season. "It was great. I mean, these guys did a great job the whole game and got a big lead and I was able to get into the game," Fredette said. Led by Noah, the Bulls jumped all over the Knicks right at the start. He capped Chicagos opening 16-1 run with a driving layup and rebound tip-in. It just kept getting worse for New York, which shot 32 per cent from the field in the first quarter. Butler scored 10 points and also found Gibson for a big dunk as Chicago jumped to a 37-16 lead, setting a season high for points for the opening period. "They came out with more energy than we did, took advantage of us," Chandler said. "On the defensive end, backdoor cuts that pretty much changed the game." The lead grew to 25 early in the second before Anthony and Amare Stoudemire started to heat up. Anthony made a nice pass to Stoudemire for a reverse layup that got New York within nine with 3:33 to go. Anthony drove the baseline for a smooth jam, but Noah found Butler for a jumper that lifted Chicago to a 59-48 halftime lead. Noah had 11 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds at the break. "You cant come on the road and start like that and expect to win," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. NOTES: Anthony has said he plans to become a free agent this summer, and there was at least one sign calling on him to come to Chicago. "I cant see next year," Anthony said. "I cant even see tomorrow at this point." ... Stoudemire and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 14 points apiece for New York. ... The Bulls improved to 14-2 this season when they score 100 or more points. ... The Bulls and Knicks have one more scheduled meeting, on April 13 in New York. ' ' '