KANSAS CITY, Mo. Roy White Jersey . -- The Royals shook up their coaching staff Thursday in an attempt to jumpstart their failing offence, making Dale Sveum the hitting coach and Mike Jirschele their third base coach. Pedro Grifol, who took over as hitting coach last season, will now instruct catchers. The moves were announced after the Royals finished off a disastrous homestand that included a sweep at the hands of Houston, and before they opened a four-game series in Toronto. Sveum said the Royals havent done a good enough job this season of hitting pitches in the upper half of the strike zone. "The bottom line is weve struggled with elevation and weve swung at pitches down in the zone probably way too much," he said. "From thigh high to the top of the strike zone, were not doing enough damage." The Royals began the day last in the majors with 21 homers, putting them on pace to match the 1976 club for the fewest in franchise history for a non-strike-shortened season. Theyre also last in the American League in runs and slugging percentage. "There is not one man in the lineup thats hitting the ball well," Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said Wednesday. "Were just cold." Yost said "a different voice can make a difference," to struggling batters, but the Royals have heard plenty of voices about hitting: Sveum is Kansas Citys fifth hitting coach in less than three seasons. The Royals let go of Kevin Seitzer two years ago in the hope that somebody else would help the club generate more power. Seitzer was eventually hired by the Blue Jays, who currently lead the majors with 76 homers -- more than Kansas City is on pace for all season. Jack Maloof and Andre David were hired before last season, but they only made it a couple of months before they were reassigned within the franchise. It was at that point that the Royals hired Grifol and Hall of Famer George Brett on an interim basis. The Royals showed signs of life once that duo was in charge, slowly climbing into playoff contention. Grifol was given the job on a full-time basis after Brett stepped down in July, but lasted less than a year in the role. "Hes the one that pulled us out of our trouble last year," Yost said of Grifol Thursday. "A year later, we find ourselves in the exact same spot." Sveum, a former Brewers and Cubs manager, had been serving as the Royals third base coach. But he also has plenty of experience as a hitting coach, helping Milwaukee finish in the top three of the National League in homers in each of his three seasons. "Hes got experience, he studies hitting," Yost said. "Hes got a lot of knowledge. He helped Prince Fielder get, in my opinion, to the next level as an offensive performer." Cory Gearrin Yankees Jersey . The Canadians led for much of the game before Argentina forced overtime in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Canada weathered the storm after squandering a lead with a series of made shots. "Its a fantastic win for our country with 11 first-time Canadian national team members," said head coach Roy Rana. Phil Rizzuto Jersey . - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying. https://www.cheapyankees.com/2411g-joe-pepitone-jersey-yankees.html . -- The Guelph Storm are moving on to the Western Conference final after defeating the London Knights 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action.The red-hot Montreal Canadiens will visit the Chicago Blackhawks, who are looking to extend their longest winning streak in four months, without some of their key players. Goalie Carey Price and defencemen Andrei Markov and Alexei Emelin didnt make the trip to Chicago, with head coach Michel Therrien giving them some rest ahead of the playoffs. Catch the game on TSN and TSN Radio 690 as the first of a doubleheader, starting at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. With Price at home, Peter Budaj will get the start in net for Montreal with Dustin Tokarski backing him up. The Blackhawks have opened up April with three straight victories, their longest string of consecutive wins since a three-game span from Dec. 8-11. A win tonight would give Chicago its longest winning streak since a six-game run from Nov. 21-30. Despite the recent success, Chicago if four points behind the Colorado Avalanche for second place in the Central Division. The holder of that spot would earn home-ice advantage over the third-place club in the opening round of the playoffs. Both the Blackhawks and Avs have three games remaining, with Colorado idle tonight. Chicago is coming off a 4-2 victory over the Central-leading St. Louis Blues, with Patrick Sharp scoring the go-ahead goal late in the second period and Marcus Kruger following with a goal in the opening minute of the third frame. Jeremy Morin also scored and added an assist for the Blackhawks, while Ben Smith put the puck into the open net and Corey Crawford came up with 21 saves. "Very workman-like three games in a row and we got rewarded each night," said Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville. "It was a good week for us and I liked our response to a real tough week prior." The Blackhawks have won three straight and six of their last seven at home going into tonights regular-season finale at the United Center. Chicagos final two games are on the road in Washington and Nashville. The Canadiens, meanwhile, are looking to hold off the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division. Montreal is two points ahead of the idle Bolts with three games to go for both clubs. The Habs may be hitting their stride at the right time, having won seven of eight and 10 of their previous 12 games. That includes Saturdays 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings that saw Montreal rally from blowing a three-goal lead. Captain Brian Gionta, in his 300th career game with the Canadiens, scored his second goal of the game with 6:47 remaining to put his club back in front after it failed to hold a 3-0 edge. Alex Galchenyuk was credited with an insurance tally with 4:20 to play after Tomas Plekanecs shot deflected off him and in. Despite squandering the sizeable lead, Gionta liked how his team reacted. "We let them get back in the game, but we showed a lot of poise sticking with it and not being rattled by their three goals," he said. Max Pacioreetty scored his 39th goal of the season and Carey Price posted 34 saves. Joe Girardi Jersey. Montreal will play its final road game of the regular season tonight ahead of home meetings with the New York Islanders and New York Rangers. The club also is slated to have defenseman Josh Gorges back in the lineup for the first time since March 5 as he was sidelined with a hand injury. The Canadiens have won seven of their previous 10 meetings with the Blackhawks, including a 2-1 overtime victory in Montreal on Jan. 11. Chicago has still managed to win three straight and five of the last seven encounters at home. Los Angeles Kings at Calgary Flames The Los Angeles Kings resume their four-game road trip on Wednesday night with a matchup against the Calgary Flames. Catch the game on TSN as the back end of a double header, starting at 10pm et/7pm pt. Already locked into third place in the Pacific Division, the Kings have lost the first two contests of this swing and three of their last four overall on the heels of a six-game winning streak. Los Angeles will visit the divisions second-place team in the opening round of the playoffs, currently the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks trail the Anaheim Ducks by three points for the top spot and the two teams clash on Wednesday night. The Kings, meanwhile, conclude their road trip on Thursday at Edmonton before hosting Anaheim to close the regular season on Saturday. Los Angeles is coming off Saturdays 2-1 setback to the Vancouver Canucks. Slava Voynov had the lone goal and Jonathan Quick yielded two goals on 40 shots, while Marian Gaborik notched an assist for his 699th career point. "We played a hard game," said Kings coach Darryl Sutter. "We played really solid." Defenseman Drew Doughty missed the contest with a bruised left shoulder, snapping his streak of 199 consecutive games played. He returned to practice on Monday, but the Kings are unlikely to rush him back to action given their current place in the standings. The Flames are hoping to head into the offseason on a roll as they have won three straight for the first time since a five-game run from Jan. 22-Feb. 1. They capped a 3-2-0 road trip with Mondays 1-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Karri Ramo made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and Mark Giordano scored the games only goal just 23 seconds into the third period on a power play. The defenseman one-timed the puck from the high slot off a pass from Jiri Hudler. "It was a tough game and they were in our zone for a lot of time," said Ramo. "But we got the one goal and were able to make their life harder." The Flames also are set to host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday before ending the regular season at Vancouver on Sunday. Calgary has lost six of seven and 10 of its last 14 versus the Kings, and Los Angeles has won six in a row in Calgary. That includes two previous trips there this season. ' ' '