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BALTIMORE -- Orioles slugger Chris Davis has tried just about everything to break out of lengthy hitting slump. Extra batting practice and intensive video study havent worked. Maybe a seat in the dugout will help the Baltimore star come up with the solution. Davis wasnt in the starting lineup Monday night against the Chicago White Sox. Manager Buck Showalter explained the move as simply an effort to get Delmon Young some playing time, but Davis knew better. He attributed the benching to his lack of hitting this month. "Thats pretty evident," Davis said. "Its about putting the best nine out there every game, giving yourself a chance to win, and lately I just havent been very good." Davis is batting .216 with 12 homers and 37 RBIs. Over his previous 14 games, he was 7 for 54 (.130). Last year, Davis hit .286 and led the majors with 53 home runs and 138 RBIs. "If youd have asked me in the off-season or during spring training if I thought I was going to struggle like Im doing this year, Id have told you that you were crazy," Davis said. Of the day off, he said, "Maybe it will give me a chance to clear my head." Davis misery this season began in earnest with an oblique injury that put him on the disabled list. That, however, is not an issue in his current struggle. "Im trying to figure it out. I know its frustrating for people to watch me go through it, but can you imagine how much more frustrating it is to actually go through it?" Davis said. "At the same time, we still have a lot of baseball left to play and I know Im going to get an opportunity to come out of it. I know Ill come out of it." Nothing hes tried to reverse the trend has worked, and Davis acknowledged that he hasnt a clue what to do next. "Im not really feeling a whole lot at the plate right now other than frustration," he said. A year ago, Davis was so sharp at the plate that almost every swing produced results. This year, not so much. "When youre hitting .330, it feels like you hit every hole, every pitch you take is a ball," he said. "When youre hitting just over .200, it feels like every pitch you take is a strike and every time you hit a ball hard somebody is standing there." Teammate Adam Jones suggested that a bloop hit, and not a tape-measure home run, could be the cure. "He might need to get jammed, bad jammed, and he hits it on the label right above his fingers and it falls for a base hit," Jones said. "He might figure it out from there." Showalter said Davis would start Tuesday, and the manager was optimistic that his first baseman will soon get back on track. "Hes close," Showalter said. "I have a lot of confidence it will pick up as the season goes." Craig Stammen Jersey . 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Daley had a goal and an assist, Kari Lehtonen recorded his fifth shutout of the season, and the Stars clinched their first playoff berth since 2008 with a 3-0 victory against the St. Matt Szczur Jersey . -- Kyle Busch edged teammate Joey Logano at the Bristol Motor Speedway finish line Friday night to become the all-time winningest driver in Nationwide Series. Jordan Lyles Jersey . Ghoulam has put pen to paper on a four and a half year deal, tying him to Napoli until 2018. The 22-year-old Algeria international, who played for France at Under 21 level, has made 87 league appearances in four seasons at Saint-Etienne. PITTSBURGH -- Kris Letang darted down the Consol Energy Center ice, the defencemans black hair flicking out from underneath his helmet. Everything looked in place. The speed. The agility. The slick stickwork. Yet for as polished as Letang appeared during his first workout alongside his teammates in nearly two months on Monday, the 26-year-old remains uncertain when hell be able to pull his No. 58 sweater over his head and suit up in an actual game. Consider it part of the fallout from the scariest moment of Letangs life. Seven weeks after a stroke blindsided him, Letang remains optimistic he will play again this season but too cautious to throw out a date. "I was on the ice today because I want to return," Letang said. "Ill be able to play again. I dont know when." Neither does his coach. Dan Bylsma pointed out that unlike defenceman Paul Martin -- who remains sidelined with a right hand problem -- concrete signs of progress for Letang are tougher to glean. Throwing an arbitrary timeline out there wouldnt do any good because things can change in an instant. "Theres no date to be determined for Kris," Bylsma said. "Right now hes back in a full practice. Thats a good thing." One the Penguins hope will send a bit of a jolt through a constantly churning lineup that has stagnated in Letangs absence. The Penguins are just 7-5-2 since Letang fell ill on Jan. 28 and while their spot atop the Metropolitan Division remains secure, they have ceded the top spot in the Eastern Conference to the Boston Bruins. The slide includes a home-and-home sweep by Philadelphia over the weekend in which Pittsburgh was dominated for the first four periods before salvaging some dignity in the final 40 minutes of a 4-3 loss on Sunday. Not exactly the best way to build momentum heading into the last month of an interminable regular season. Though the Penguins have lost an NHL-high 413 man games to injury this season, they are trying to avoid excuses. They steamrolled through the first four months of the season before falling since Letangs third trip to the injured list. They can play well even as Bylsma plays mix-and-match with his lines. "I think now with the amount of time left in the season its about rounding our game into form for the post-season," defenceman Rob Scuderi said. "Its something you cant flip a switch overnight. You always want wins, but Id be OK if wed play the right way.dddddddddddd" Having some familiar faces around would help. Letang wasnt the only player back on the ice Monday. Forward James Neal (concussion) practiced, as did wingers Chris Kunitz (lower body) and Beau Bennett (wrist). Thats plenty of additional firepower for a team that already has Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, though the duo has played with limited effectiveness recently while skating without familiar faces by their side. Neal and Bennett likely wont be available until later in the week, though Kunitz has a chance to play on Tuesday night when the Penguins host Dallas. The 34-year-old is tied with Crosby with a team-high 31 goals, and his ability to make something happen in front of the net was missed as Pittsburgh found itself dominated by the Flyers over the weekend. Still, Pittsburghs Stanley Cup playoff chances could rest on Letangs health. One of the fittest players in a league of fit players admits hes still stunned by his stroke diagnosis. Doctors said there was a "0.01 chance" of Letang suffering a stroke, odds so slim Letang refuses to say hes in the clear from it happening again. Letang would rather not talk about it. Hed rather just focus on skating and getting himself ready for whenever doctors give him the go-ahead to play. He confessed to being tired, but not overwhelmed during a spirited 60 minutes on the ice. At one point he could sense his teammates taking it easy on him. He ordered them to get back to work. "Guys were being really careful when wed go into the corner," Letang said. "I told them they can go as hard as they can. Thats the main reason why Im out there. I want to get to the same place I was before." A place that makes Letang one of the best at his position when healthy. A Norris Trophy finalist a year ago, Letang has 10 goals and eight assists in 34 games this season, though his general presence is missed as much as his production. The feeling is mutual. Letang understands the fixation on his return. Trust him, hes just as concerned as everybody else. "Even the day I had the stroke I asked the doctor when I would be able to play again," Letang said. "It never crossed my mind that I could have a stroke at 26. It could (happen again) because it happened once. Who knows? Im not going to worry about that." ' ' '