BROSSARD, Que. Jerseys China Sale . - The Montreal Canadiens were surprised to learn that their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Bruins will start on Thursday night. They were expecting it to start on Friday, and the earlier date made for a busy day of preparations. The special teams unit was on the ice a half-hour early while the main practice went a full hour on Wednesday. "We werent really planning on playing a game (on Thursday), but it all works out better that way," said forward Max Pacioretty. "We were trying to cram in a bit of system stuff as well, so it was a good practice. "We found out (Tuesday) night. I like it better that way. Theres a little less time to think. Were jumping right back into the action. I think thats when I play my best hockey, when Im not thinking." The Canadiens have been idle since completing a sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 22. The Bruins finished off the Detroit Red Wings in five games on Saturday. Although the NHL had not released a schedule, Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin mentioned a Friday start in a television interview this week. The opener was moved up reportedly because Northeastern University has graduation ceremonies at the TD Garden on Friday morning. Game 2 is expected to be played Saturday at 12:30 pm ET, although that has not been confirmed. Pacioretty likes that, too. "I like playing afternoon games," he said. "No meetings in the morning. Not thinking too much about the game. Just going out and playing." The Canadiens will have had eight days off between games. To break the monotony, they held a simulated game day on Monday, with a morning skate followed by an intra-squad game at night. Then they took Tuesday off. "Im about ready to stop practising and start playing," said goalie Carey Price. Jerseys NFL Cheap . Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous round. Jerseys Cheap .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston.GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Pro Bowl is unlike any other All-Star game.The concept is the same, sure; the best players in the league showcasing their talents against each other.But the NFLs version of an All-Star game has a unique selection process for the teams, is held at a different part of the season and the site is usually the same, but not always.An explanation of the Pro Bowl, which will be played Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium:___SELECTING PLAYERSPro Bowl players are voted in by fans, coaches and fellow players, much like All-Star games everywhere.The Pro Bowl differs in how the players are divvied up.With fans complaining about lackadaisical play in the Pro Bowl, the NFL changed the format before last years game in hopes of creating more excitement, allowing players to be selected regardless of conference.Once the players are voted into the Pro Bowl, they are then drafted by captains, regardless of conference, sort of like picking sides for a sandlot game. Former NFL players Cris Carter and Michael Irvin are the alumni captains this season — Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders were a year ago — and picked their teams during a made-for-TV draft on Wednesday.The coaches are different every season, with Baltimores John Harbaugh (Team Carter) and Dallas Jason Garrett (Team Irvin) getting a turn this year.The way the format is set up now, it creates a lot of competition, Houston Texans Pro Bowl defensive lineman J.J. Watts said. Youre in the waiting room waiting to get picked, then you get picked to a team, its like schoolyard ball. It adds an element of competition and intensity.___THE TIMINGUnlike the other major North American sports, the NFL plays its version of an all-star game at the end of the season instead of midseason as in baseball, basketball and hockey.Part of the reason is the physical nature of football. Players — and their coaches — dont want to risk injury with the season going on, so if the game was midseason, they might not try as hard or skip the game altogether.The game used to be played the week after the Super Bowl, but was moved up to the week before the Super Bowl in 2010 to garner more interest. Because of the timing, players from the Super Bowl teams — Seattle and New England this year — do not pllay in the Pro Bowl. Jerseys NFL Wholesale. ___THE SITESThe Pro Bowl is often linked to Honolulu because the game has been played there nearly every season since 1979.This year, the game will be played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, site of the Super Bowl a week later. Its the second time in the past 40 years the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl will be played at the same site, with Miami in 2010.The Pro Bowl returns to Hawaii the next three seasons.___GAME QUIRKSThe NFL has, at times, tweaked the Pro Bowl to add excitement or to experiment with potential rule changes for regular-season games.Last year, the Pro Bowl did away with kickoffs, with teams starting at the 25-yard line to start each quarter and after scoring plays. It also added a 2-minute warning at the end of the first and third quarters — its normally only done just before halftime and the end of regulation.For this years game, the uprights for extra-point kicks after touchdowns will be narrowed 18.6 feet to 14 feet, and the kick will be moved back from the 2-yard line to the 15 to make it more difficult.Kickers have made more than 99 per cent of their point-after tries the past two seasons, so the NFL has looked into making changes.___FAN INTERESTDespite a consideration by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to scrap the game after a lackadaisical performance in 2012, the Pro Bowl remains the most popular All-Star game among North American sports.Last years Pro Bowl was watched by 11.7 million viewers despite being slated against the Grammys, which was more than many playoff games in the three other major sports.The tackling — and sometimes the effort — can be suspect in the Pro Bowl, but U.S. fans will watch just about anything NFL-related.Over the last three years, we were challenged, the players were challenged to make sure the Pro Bowl game was competitive, said Jay Vincent, a former player and the NFLs executive vice-president of football operations.Our All-Star game is very difficult to make competitive because the last thing players want to do is go into the off-season injured, but the men have stepped up to the challenge and made it an exciting game for the players and the fans.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '