reaching an injury settlement with the team.Cleveland lost starting

PITTSBURGH -- The Ottawa Senators know there is little margin for error if they want to upset the Pittsburgh Penguins. If they dont slow down Pittsburghs potent power play, theyll have a difficult time against Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins. Paul Martin and Chris Kunitz scored power-play goals and Pascal Dupuis added his sixth goal of the playoffs and the Penguins beat the Senators 4-1 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday. "We know its a good start, but its just like the rest of the playoffs we know its just the start," Pittsburgh forward Jarome Iginla said. A promising one at that. Evgeni Malkin extended his points streak to seven games with a goal and an assist for the Penguins while Tomas Vokoun stopped 35 shots to win his third straight game since replacing struggling starter Marc-Andre Fleury. Colin Greening scored for the Senators. Craig Anderson made 26 saves but Ottawa had no answer for Pittsburghs power play. "Their power play is good," Anderson said. "We knew that going in and if we want to have good chance to win a game were going to have to shoot down their special teams. Its huge for them. If were able to kill those off, its a different game." It wasnt in the opener. The Senators had the NHLs best penalty kill during the regular season and turned aside 16 of 19 penalties against Montreal in the first round. Yet they couldnt stop the Penguins from going 2 for 4 on the power play to improve to 9 of 24 with the man advantage in the playoffs, the best of the eight teams remaining. "This power play that they have with all those players, theyre dangerous," Ottawa defenceman Marc Methot said. "Whether weve got to play with more discipline, whatever that is, whatever the answer is its something we have to focus in on." Better hurry up. Game 2 is on Friday night and the Penguins appear to be hitting their stride after needing six games to get by the New York Islanders in the opening round. "I love the way our team came out and played that game," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "Were not just counting on one guy to carry a load ... we were able to do a lot of good things." The 36-year-old Vokoun made his 713th NHL start on Tuesday, but his first with the stakes this big. Despite admitting to some butterflies when told he would get the starting assignment for Game 1, Vokoun overcame some shaky moments early to settle down. Having the lead most of the night certainly helped. Pittsburgh didnt need to wait long to get a chance to put the power play to work. Ottawas Kyle Turris drew a high-sticking penalty before the game was 90 seconds old, and barely a minute later, Pittsburgh jumped in front. Malkin worked his way into the corner then threaded a pass between two Ottawa defenders to Martin at the point. Martins slap shot from the point deflected off Ottawa defenceman Jared Cowen and scooted past Anderson just 2:41 into the game. The Senators didnt take long to tie it, evening things at 1 on the kind of soft goal Vokoun had avoided during his two stellar starts against the Islanders. Ottawas Erik Condra won a battle in the corner for the puck then threw it from behind the goal to the side of the net. Vokoun, anticipating a crossing pass instead of a shot, found himself out of position. The puck squirted behind him and was inches from the goal line before Greening reached over the goaltender and poked it in. Malkin responded with his third goal of the playoffs, though his linemates did all the hard work. James Neal poke-checked the puck away from Cowen behind the Ottawa net then fed it to Chris Kunitz. Kunitz then zipped a pass to Malkins awaiting stick just outside the goal crease and all the reigning NHL MVP had to do was tap it in to put the Penguins back in front. Ottawa, facing the Penguins for the fourth time in the post-season since 2007, had little trouble getting to Vokoun. They even managed to get the puck by him a few times. Just not into the net. On several occasions Vokoun would find himself on the ground as the puck skittered through the crease or toward the goal. Each time it was steered out of danger. "The guys worked really hard," Vokoun said. "They really sacrifice and block shots." The pucks bouncing around Anderson werent always cleaned up so nicely. Pittsburgh went back to the power play late in the second period and Kunitz stuffed home a rebound off an Iginla shot to give the Penguins a 3-1 cushion. "When you get a late goal like that late in a period, you like to build on that," Crosby said. Dupuis, whose five goals against the Islanders led the team, beat Anderson at the end of a short-handed 2-on-1 breakaway with 8:36 remaining to put it away. NOTES: The Senators went 0 for 5 on the power play and are just 1 for 17 with the man advantage against Pittsburgh this season. ... Vokoun is 13-1 in his past 14 starts. ... Iginlas seven-game point streak in the playoffs is the longest of his career. ... Injured Ottawa C Jason Spezza (back) did not travel with the team for Game 1 but has not been ruled out for Game 2. Akiem Hicks Youth Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Roquan Smith Jersey . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. http://www.bearsfootballpro.com/Customized/ . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Dan Hampton Bears Jersey . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Dan Hampton Youth Jersey . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. CLEVELAND -- Cody Kesslers back in the saddle. The Browns are hoping he can stay in it a while.Kessler has recovered enough from an injury to his chest and ribs to start Sundays game at Tennessee, a relief to the Browns who have already started three quarterbacks and played five in five games this season.Kessler, who got hurt in the first quarter of last weeks loss to New England, practiced again on Thursday and following the workout Browns coach Hue Jackson said the third-round draft pick will make his fourth start.I think he is ready to go, Jackson said.Kessler led the Browns (0-5) on a touchdown drive on the series before he got hurt when Patriots linebacker Donta Hightower shot through the line unblocked and put a hard shot on Clevelands quarterback. Kessler said he heard a crunching sound when he hit the turf and feared his injury was much worse.But after a few days of rehab, he feels much better and is looking forward to another chance.Its exciting to be back out and obviously last week was unfortunate, he said following practice. The game got cut a little short for me, so its exciting to get back out there.Kessler said hes still feeling discomfort when he throws, but the pain is manageable.Its starting to go away each day, he said. Its getting better and better.Jackson has been impressed with the improvement hes seen from Kessler, who expected to spend his first season learning in a backup role but was thrust into the lineup after injuries to starters Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown.I just think he is getting better, Jackson said. He is understanding our system, how to play within our system, where to deliver the ball to. He has started to play in a rhythm that runs our offense and a rhythm that works for him. That is what we have to do is, whoever is playing quarterback, make sure we get them in rhythm where they can play and function and play good. He has done a good job, obviouslyy, but still so early in the season and we have a long way to go.ddddddddddddMcCown was cleared to practice this week after breaking his left collarbone in Week 2. The 37-year-old wants desperately to play, but he might need more time to heal before hes completely ready.Jackson said he did not know if McCown will back up Kessler. If McCown isnt available, rookie Kevin Hogan will be the No. 2 quarterback.Wide receiver Terrelle Pryor also took snaps at quarterback this week. He took 14 snaps in Clevelands Sept. 25 loss to Miami and filled in briefly last week after Kessler went down.The Browns also had veteran Charlie Whitehurst on their roster this week, but he sustained a left knee injury against the Patriots and was released after reaching an injury settlement with the team.Cleveland lost starting left guard Joel Bitonio for an indefinite period with a sprained foot, and Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas missed time this week with a knee issue. Jackson, though, said my left tackle is fine and Thomas will play Sunday -- he hasnt missed a snap in nine-plus NFL seasons.Because of injuries and a team suspension after Alvin Baileys arrest, the Browns have had to rotate centers and guards in front of their quarterbacks, hardly an ideal scenario to give them protection. Kessler has taken his share of shots, but knows he has to trust the guys in front of him.Its unfortunate and we want everyone to stay healthy, but you kind of just go with it and roll with it and whoevers in there, you know theyre going to come in and compete, he said. Its kind of how this game works. A guy gets hurt, its the next-man-up-mentality and obviously we have some great guys on our offensive line and guys that keep getting rotated in.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '