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PHOENIX -- After a season of injuries and indecision, the Phoenix Suns hope they have tweaked their young roster correctly as they open the 2016-17 season against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.Two years ago, the Suns best three guards (Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas) all played the same position. But the logjam at point guard quickly went from unworkable to untenable, beginning a spiral that forced a reboot to the Suns rebuilding plans.Now the Suns kick off the 2016-17 season with three guards with defined positions and roles.Bledsoe is the survivor of the purge and the undisputed point guard, hoping to rebound from injuries that forced him to watch most of last seasons 23-59 disaster from the sideline.Devin Booker, who rose from the ashes of a terrible season, is now the starting shooting guard and face of the franchise a few days shy of his 20th birthday. He became the fourth-youngest player in league history (behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant) to score 1,000 points in a season.Brandon Knight, plagued by injuries and inconsistency but an undeniable offensive force, will come off the bench as a sixth man who will see major playing time in coach Earl Watsons rotation that now includes former Suns Leandro Barbosa and Jared Dudley and a host of promising but unproven talent.With Bledsoe, Booker, Knight and Barbosa heading up the guard rotation, the Suns waived Archie Goodwin on Monday and opted to keep John Jenkins and Tyler Ulis at the end of the bench. Goodwin had several highlight-reel moments during his three seasons with the Suns but never enough to warrant serious playing time.Suns general manager Ryan McDonough told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM that Goodwin had requested a change of scenery.We felt like we got down to 16 really good, quality NBA players. Archie and his agents for the last few months asked us to accommodate a trade request, McDonough said. With that in mind, we told Archie and his agent wed try to help him move to a team where hed have an opportunity and play. Unfortunately, we werent able to work out a deal. This time of a year, its hard.Forward P.J. Tucker, who underwent back surgery in September, was cleared to play on Tuesday and will come off the bench. T.J. Warren, coming off season-ending foot surgery himself, will start at forward with Dudley and Tyson Chandler at center.While the Suns have missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons, the Kings are trying to break a 10-year postseason drought. Despite an explosive season from center DeMarcus Cousins, who ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring at 26.9 points per game, the Kings won only 33 games -- the most in Cousins six season in Sacramento.The Kings won three out of four meetings with the Suns last season, and Cousins was a big reason.Sacramento will start the season without starting point guard Darren Collison, who will begin an eight-game suspension due to a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery. Ty Lawson will start at the point for the Kings, looking to rebound after two poor seasons and two DUI arrests in 2015.The Kings will open the season with 11 games in the first 17 days. Most of those games will be with Lawson as the only true point guard on the roster.Its going to be a rough stretch, Lawson told the Sacramento Bee. If things go bad, weve just got to stick together. We cant pull apart. Things are going to happen, but I feel like if we stay positive and stick together, well be able to get through it.Former Sun and new King Matt Barnes will miss his first game with the Kings due to rib and knee problems. Cheap Avalanche Jerseys . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. Avalanche Jerseys 2021 . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. https://www.cheapavalanche.com/ . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Fake Avalanche Jerseys . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Wholesale Avalanche Jerseys . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. PITTSBURGH -- Marc-Andre Fleury spent the better part of the Pittsburgh Penguins push to a fourth Stanley Cup watching from the bench while rookie Matt Murray backstopped the franchise to a title.Yet rather than trade the winningest goaltender in team history in the offseason, the Penguins hung onto him, confident they could find a way to make their two-goalie tandem work.Maybe theyre right.With Murray out with a broken hand, Fleury made 39 saves in regulation and overtime then stuffed Washington star Alexander Ovechkin in the fourth round of a shootout as the Penguins edged the Capitals 3-2 in the season opener on Thursday night.Fleury had a chance to end things after three rounds but let Nicklas Backstrom slip the puck past him and extend the game. Pittsburghs Phil Kessel then beat Braden Holtby with a wrist shot initially ruled no goal before being overturned on replay and Fleury stuffed Ovechkin to help the Penguins improve to 5-0 all-time against Washington in openers.I didnt finish it out, so I was a little mad, Fleury said. It was nice to see (Kessel) put that in and I had a chance to redeem myself and finish it out.Patric Hornqvist and Evgeni Malkin scored as the Penguins capped a celebratory night in which they lifted their latest Stanley Cup banner to the rafters during an electric pregame ceremony by tripping up one of their biggest rivals.It felt like a midseason game where youre in position and you pull one of those great wins off, Hornqvist said.Andre Burakovsky scored twice for Washington and Holtby made 28 stops but allowed three goals in the shootout.Obviously they have a lot of energy coming off the ceremony and weve been waiting to play some meaningful games for a while here, said Holtby, who won the Vezina Trophy as the NHLs top goaltender last season. Two good teams and it always ends up in a pretty good game against them.The Penguins began their 50th year with one final nod to their 49th, as Sidney Crosby carried the Stanley Cup onto the ice one last time and placed it on a table at center ice before joining his teammates to watch the banner slowly raised to join others the organization earned in 1991, 1992 and 2009.ddddddddddddNo team has repeated since the Detroit Red Wings did it nearly 20 years ago, and Pittsburgh will begin its second defense of the Crosby-era without their captain, who is out indefinitely while dealing with a concussion. Considering the slog the six-month, 82-game regular season provides, theres no sense of urgency for Crosby to return. The two-time MVP and Conn Smythe winner of last years playoffs he is skating with his teammates and described himself as day to day.The Capitals began the season where they ended their last following a six-game loss to Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was another bitter setback that took some of the shine off winning the Presidents Trophy for having the best record in the league.Washington stayed in its dressing room while Pittsburgh threw one last bash with the Cup and Burakovsky wasted little time providing a buzzkill to the yellow glow-stick waving crowd. He finished an end-to-end rush by taking a feed from Nicklas Backstrom and beating Fleury between the legs just 59 seconds into the game.Hornqvists power-play tip-in 8:47 into the second tied it and Malkin put the Penguins in front when a Washington giveaway and a setup pass from Conor Sheary allowed Malkin to deke his way by Holtby, the puck smacking off the post then off Holtbys left pad and into the net.Burakovskys second 6:13 into the third tied it and set up another taut finish, fitting considering five of their six playoff meetings were decided by a goal.I swear we had six chances to put the puck in the back of the net 3-on-3, so give full marks to Fleury, Washington coach Barry Trotz said.Game notes Pittsburgh improved to 95-49-18 in 162 regular-season games without Crosby in the lineup, including 53-19-9 at home. ... Pittsburgh went 1 for 2 on the power play. The Capitals were 0 for 3.UP NEXTWashington: hosts New York Islanders in home opener on Saturday.Pittsburgh: welcomes Anaheim on Saturday night. ' ' '