Black- and Whitelist » five goals while losing his last two

BROSSARD, Que. -- Tomas Plekanec doesnt draw a lot of Selke Trophy votes as the NHLs best defensive forward, but coach Michel Therrien thinks he ought to. "He should be a serious candidate for sure," Therrien said Monday of his best two-way centre. "He does so many good things on the ice. "When we ask him to play against the other teams top lines, he always does the job and he can contribute on offence too." Plekanec and his right winger, captain Brian Gionta, play regularly against the top lines in the NHL. More often than not, the matchup works in Montreals favour. The 31-year-old Czech was at the top of his game in a 2-1 win on Saturday night over the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. His unit with veteran Travis Moen on left wing for the night went up against the Blackhawks top line of 2013 Selke winner Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp. Plekanec got 19:36 of ice time, won 56 per cent of his faceoffs and had 11 shots on goal, although he failed to register a point. And Hossa made a sweet move to score in the third period, so Plekanec and his linemates ended the night at minus-1, despite playing perhaps their strongest game of the season. Plekanec said facing top centres, most of whom are much bigger than his five-foot-11 195-pound frame, has been his job for many years and he doesnt think about winning awards for it. "When you go on the ice against those guys you know that your job is to keep them as quiet as possible and try to get their focus on something else than scoring goals," he said. "Thats been my job for quite a few years here -- being a strong guy at both ends of the ice -- but its not up to me to decide that and its not really where my focus is. My focus is on winning the Stanley Cup with Montreal. Its nice to hear, but its not up to me." Despite his many scoring chances, Plekanec ended a three-game points streak. He has 14 goals and 14 assists and is plus-9 in 46 games this season, a little below his 33 points in 47 games in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. His best season was 70 points in 2009-10, but since then he has had more emphasis placed on his two-way game, with time on the second power play unit, and he has settled into a 50-plus points player. "When were good on defence, offence comes out of it," he said. "It think the main reason behind so many scoring chances last game is that we were so strong defensively. "We didnt get stuck in our own zone and we were good on the forecheck. Thats how you get offence." He is also on the first penalty killing unit with Moen on a team that ranks third in the league with an 86.4 per cent kill rate. Now he hopes the team can reproduce that effort when it plays host to the much less powerful attack of the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. The 26-15-5 Canadiens have tended to play up or down to their competition this season, which has made for some embarrassing defeats as well as uplifting wins like that against Chicago. The Devils (19-18-10) are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to Toronto and have points in four straight games. "Weve got to find that consistency in our team play," said Plekanec. "I dont think weve been able to find it yet this year. "Its a good opportunity to come out strong against Jersey. Theyre a good team too, even if theyre not as high in the standings. Weve been playing good games and bad games. Were in a good spot in the standings and thats something we can be happy about, but we have to find a way to be better consistently." It appears Therrien will keep Moen on Plekanecs line. The gritty six-foot-two winger has played mostly on checking lines this season and has only one goal in 41 games. While fans sometimes dont appreciate what Moen brings to the game, Therrien said he is the kind of player that coaches like. "He doesnt do anything spectacular, but his positioning is good, he wins battles on the boards, he understands the game," said Therrien. "For me, Travis is having a good season. "Hes very respected by his teammates. We gave him a nice challenge on Saturday and he had a good game." A concern for Montreal is how its power play, which was scoring regularly early in the season, has sputtered. It has been without a goal in 14 chances over the last four games and has produced only six goals in the last 21. The team has been working on adjustments to a power play that may have become too dependent on setting up shots from the point, particularly from P.K. Subban. "Maybe we have to make some down-low plays instead of trying to feed P.K. for a shot because everyone knows he has a strong one-timer, but if we start making other plays, then things will open up for him again," said Plekanec. Plekanec is also gearing up to play for the Czech Republic at the Sochi Olympics, where hell serve as team captain. One of his teammates will be 42-year-old Peter Nedved, who has been playing in the Czech league since leaving the NHL in 2007. "He plays really well on the big ice and hes suited to that game, so I think hes going to be a pretty good asset," said Plekanec. "I think a lot of people will be surprised at how well hes going to play." Wholesale NHL Jerseys . General Manager Sam Presti said the three-time All-Star had knee swelling that would not subside, and the procedure was intended to solve the problem. He said doctors determined that a loose stitch was to blame for the swelling, that Westbrooks lateral meniscus has healed properly and the procedure was successful. NHL Jerseys China . -- Ryan Gropp scored in overtime as the Seattle Thunderbirds shut out the Spokane Chiefs 1-0 in Western Hockey League play Tuesday. https://www.chinanhljerseys.us/. "Its embarrassing what were doing here," leading scorer Phil Kessel said Wednesday. The most recent failed season came with even more pain than the six that preceded it. There was no hint of an impending implosion when the Leafs came roaring out of the all-star break with back-to-back games against Pittsburgh -- a 5-4 shootout loss followed by a 1-0 win the next night. Discount NHL Jerseys . Some members of the U.S. Congress arent so sure. They say Russia isnt doing enough to assure that athletes will be protected at the Feb. 7-23 games, happening not far from an Islamic insurgency that Russias huge security apparatus has struggled for two decades to quell. Russia may run greater risks in towns outside the tightly controlled Olympic zone. Suicide bombs last month a few hundred kilometres (miles) away have increased concerns, and an Islamic warlord has urged his followers to attack the Sochi Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putins pet project. Clearance NHL Jerseys .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch.The Montreal Canadiens have cooled off dramatically, particularly on the road. Visiting Dallas could be just what they need to regain their momentum. Listen to the Canadiens vs. Stars live on TSN Radio 690 Montreal starting at 5pm et. The Canadiens attempt to conclude their four-game road trip at .500 on Saturday night, when they face the last-place Stars. Montreal (17-9-2) has followed an 8-1-0 stretch by losing five of six (1-4-1). That includes dropping four of five on the road while surrendering 16 goals. Those defensive struggles were again apparent in Fridays 4-3 loss at Chicago. The Canadiens gave up two unanswered goals in the third period, including the game-winner with 27 seconds to play. It was just a bad break, coach Michel Therrien said. I thought our effort was there and we competed against a really good hockey team. At times you need breaks to win the hockey game, and we didnt have the break. Montreal would be wise to avoid overlooking Dallas (9-12-5), which is at the bottom of the Central Division and looking to avoid a fifth consecutive loss. The Habs swept last seasons series and won 6-4 in Dallas as Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban had four points each Jan. 2 Subban enters this visit with two goals and three assists in four games after finding the net at Chicago. His seven goals and 18 points put the 2013 Norris Trophy winner among the top scoring defensemen in the league. Pacioretty hasnt been very productive of late, ggoing two games without a point while getting two - both goals - in seven.dddddddddddd Still, the left wings 12 goals and 20 points lead Montreal. After facing the Stars, the Canadiens open a five-game homestand with Vancouver on Tuesday. The Stars are opening a three-game homestand in search of an end to their four-game slide. Getting off to a strong start could provide a spark, as nine of the 20 goals Dallas has surrendered during its slide have come in the first period. The Stars surrendered three goals in the first 20 minutes of their 5-2 loss Thursday at Detroit. It hasnt been good enough because we havent executed to our potential and I am not happy with the job Ive done, coach Lindy Ruff told the teams official website. Ruff is also not thrilled with the goaltending, either. No. 1 goalie Kari Lehtonen has a 3.13 goals-against average on the season, and hes given up five goals while losing his last two starts. Lehtonen should be back in net after Jussi Ryannas made 24 saves in his season debut Thursday. With any team it starts there. It just does, Ruff said of goaltending. It starts there, and it breeds confidence into your team. I felt last year and I still feel this year that (Lehtonen) is the guy that will get it done for us. Lehtonen stopped 44 of 51 shots against Montreal last season. Tyler Seguin leads the league with 19 goals, and he has four with six assists in his last seven meetings with the Canadiens. ' ' '