TORONTO - If things dont work out for Masai Ujiri as president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors, he could have a career in motivational speaking. Penguins Jerseys China . Ujiri followed an uplifting speech from his boss, Tim Leiweke, with one of equal - perhaps even greater - passion on Friday night when the Raptors hosted an event for season ticket holders. His message to the fans in attendance at the Air Canada Centre and to those watching online: "we need your help." "We have to make this place a living hell for [opponents] to come play here," he told them, standing centre stage in the middle of the ACC court. "And you guys can do it." "When you come play here on [a] Sunday at 1:00, guess what, youre getting your ass kicked. Thats what we need to do here. Thats how we need to build it here. When you come here, play here on a Friday night, youre getting your ass kicked." For over 30 minutes Ujiri held court. He preached, he joked and he shared a story or two. One such story occurred when he visited Toronto as GM of the Denver Nuggets three years ago. It started off with an anecdote about having dinner at the house of Bryan Colangelo, playing him and his kids at ping pong and kicking their butts (he also challenged the crowd to take him on). When he returned to the team hotel, the Four Seasons, at 1am he ran into 10 of his Nuggets players who were just about to head out on the town 12 hours before their Sunday matinee with the Raptors. They were not worried. "We will win tomorrow," they told him. That cant happen going forward, Ujiri insisted. Opposing teams shouldnt be able to get away with taking the Raptors or their fan base lightly. Ujiris third-seeded Nuggets were recently upset by Golden State in the first round of the 2013 playoffs. The difference, according to Ujiri, was the advantage the Warriors had at home thanks to their fans and the environment at Oracle Arena. Thats the impact he believes home-court advantage could have in Toronto. "You know you guys can win us five, you can win us 10 more games, do you guys know that," he asked. "You can. You can. Weve got energy that you guys give us and we have to do it here." This was the first time the Raptors have ever hosted a "season preview" event in which the teams high-powered executives were able to address and interact with some of its most loyal fans face-to-face. The goal for the organization, per Leiweke and Ujiri, is to strengthen the teams relationship with its supporters. Friday nights meet and greet was the first step. "This crowd, everybody talks about it around the league," Ujiri told TSN.ca following the event. "How do we get their support even more? Thats what were trying to encourage." "When there are hard times Im going to interact with them, when there are good times Im going to interact with them. For me thats the nature of the business and there are going to be hard times, we have to be patient here but we have to be spirited, I think, as an organization." It all starts with honesty and respect, Ujiri explained. Although he acknowledged there is always going to be certain information that cannot be shared with the public, he stressed the importance of being up front and avoiding false promises or expectations. "For me theres no spin to it, I dont believe in all that, for me everything is from here," he said pointing to his heart. "You say what your plan is, you say what your direction is and you go execute. We have to be accountable and thats what [fans] want, thats what I think we are supposed to do." "These are the people that pay, these are the people that support the team, these are the people that fight for these guys and we have to be accountable, I truly believe that. Ujiri, like Leiweke before him, thanked Raptors fans for sticking it out through hard times but promised to deliver change. The caveat: it may take some time for the results to reflect that change. This year the measurement will not be wins and losses, the Raptors GM told the crowd, instead success will be contingent on growth. Accordingly, the plan will be determined based on that growth. "We have to figure out our team and evaluate everything and that evaluation starts October 30," Ujiri explained. "Is there chemistry? Is there growth? Are we moving in the right direction? Are players getting better? Are we giving them the right opportunity?" "You try that and when you see that doesnt work, then well figure it out. Trust me, well figure this thing out." For at least one night, the Raptors brass had fans drinking the Kool-Aid. Whether it was Leiweke taunting a fan for wearing a Celtics jersey - "How is the preseason going for you," he joked - or Ujiri regaling us with a tale of executive VP Jeff Weltman attempting to fleece him in a trade a few years back, they put on a show. The culture around this organization has certainly changed, but when will the results follow suit? The answer to that question could go a long way in strengthening the relationship this new regime is working to build with an already restless fan base. "Were one team, one country," Ujiri preached to those fans. "Together, one team, one country. We dont care what the 29 other teams think of us. Were here and Im telling you its going to take patience [but] were going to win. Were going to build it here, were going to work and were going to work hard and build this team." Pittsburgh Penguins Pro Shop . The Senators return from a lengthy layoff caused by Wednesdays attack on Parliament Hill to host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Fake Penguins Jerseys . Erik Logan, president of the network, said Friday that the postponement was made after meetings with the St. Louis Rams. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ . Under the deal, the Vikings will donate an undisclosed sum of money to five gay rights-related charities over the next five years. Kluwe said he wont receive any money as part of the settlement. "This will help a lot of people that really do need that help," Kluwe said.BOSTON -- Alex Ovechkin looks as if hes ready to carry the Washington Capitals to one of the Eastern Conferences final playoff spots. Coming off a strong game two days earlier, Ovechkin collected his 800th career point and raised his league-leading total to 43 goals with a pair of power-play scores, leading the Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon. "I think were just playing more solid right now," said Ovechkin, who became the 150th player to collect 800 points. "We dont have time to make mistakes. Every point right now is very important for us." Joel Ward and Eric Fehr also scored, and Braden Holtby made 36 saves for the Capitals, who won their fourth straight in their push for the playoffs. "I think we were missing our swagger a little bit," Ward said of his teams play before the Olympic break. "When our team plays with a little bit of cockiness we seem to get wins. We were missing that before the break. Were finding ways to win. The bottom line is were winning games." Ovechkin had the go-ahead goal and two assists in a 5-4 win at Florida on Thursday. Its his first season of 40-plus goals since collecting 40-plus in his first five seasons from 2005-06 to 2009-10. The Capitals star winger even impressed Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask with his second goal. "The second one it seemed like he was going short side and it just kind of knuckled in," Rask said, breaking into a slight smile to show how impressed he was with the shot. "I was trying to ask him and he was kind of shaking his shoulders. Its funny when you see those. He was kind of leaning into it. Its like impossible to go the other way and it goes the other way. Youre like, Come on, buddy." Washington, which hosts Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, remained one point behind the Flyers for the conferences eighth and final playoff spot. Patrice Bergeron and Shawn Thornton had Bostons goals. Rask stopped 27 shots in his first start since winning the bronze medal with Finland at the Sochi Olympics. It was just the Bruins second regulation loss in their past 13 games (8-2-3). The Bruins lost 5-4 in overtime at Buffalo on Wednesday. "Were getting caught cheating too much in the offensive side and its ending up in the back of the net," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "Its something we need to fix because were giving up too many goals." Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was disappointed how his team started out. "For sure that wasnt our best game," he said. "We could have done a numberr of things differently and better. Pittsburgh Penguins Shirts. We have to learn from games like this, especially against an opponent like this." The Capitals opened a 3-0 lead on second-period goals by Ovechkin and Ward. Similar to his first score of the game, Ovechkin one-timed a blistering shot over the right shoulder of Rask inside the far post from the left circle for his milestone point. Ward stole a puck near the blue line from defenceman Johnny Boychuk, broke in alone and shifted to his backhand before tucking a shot behind Rask for an unassisted score midway into the period. The Bruins cut it to 3-1 on Bergerons power-play goal 41 seconds later when he snapped off a shot from the slot that beat Holtby inside the left post. Thorntons centring pass was inadvertently tipped past Holtby by defenceman Mike Green as he was skating hard to the net battling for position with Bruins forward Gregory Campbell at 17:32. The goal was originally credited to Campbell, but changed early in the third. But the Capitals made it 4-2 when Fehr scored on a clean breakaway midway into the third. He poked the puck into an open area near centre ice from his own blue line, skated in on Rask and beat him between the pads. Holtby made a key pad save on Chris Kellys breakaway bid while his team was on a power play with 3:06 to play. Washington led 1-0 after one on Ovechkins first goal. He one-timed John Carlsons pass from the left circle inside the far post at 18:39. The Capitals held Boston to one shot on goal when they were short-handed for a full two minutes after Jay Beagle was called for holding and Tom Wilson high-sticking during the delayed penalty early in the first period. "That was a big kill for us," Holtby said. "I didnt know it was a 5-on-3 until I looked up on the faceoff. The guys made some big plays. I think one or two shots got through." NOTES: Capitals RW Martin Erat, who had to leave Thursdays game after injuring his left foot, tried to skate during pregame warmups but came off quickly and was not in the lineup. ... Washington C Mikhail Grabovski was also out after re-injuring his left ankle Thursday. ... It was the first of three meetings between the teams. ... Nicklas Backstrom collected an assist on Ovechkins first goal to pass Peter Bondra for seventh place on the clubs all-time list with 354 assists. ... It was the second game since the Olympic break for both teams. ... Boston faces the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. ... Washingtons entered the game with the leagues second-best power play. ' ' '