Winnipeg head coach Mike OShea praised the veteran from miao1234's blog
BROSSARD, Que. Preston Brown Bills Jersey . -- 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 may 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." Cyrus Kouandjio Womens Jersey . With that command, 20,000 roaring Philadelphia 76ers fans gave AI the standing ovation he earned by stamping himself as one of the franchises all-time greats. Sammy Watkins Blue Jersey . LOUIS -- The St.WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have brought back Bob Wylie to help develop their offensive line. Wylie was Winnipegs offensive line coach in 2007 and 2008 and most recently he coached the offensive line of the NFLs Oakland Raiders in 2011. Under Wylie, Oaklands offensive line improved from one of the worst in sacks given up to the top five in the NFL. Wylie spent the 2010 season coaching the offensive line with the Denver Broncos, and before returning to the NFL he spent the 2009 season coaching the Saskatchewan Roughriderss offensive line. Winnipeg head coach Mike OShea praised the veteran, who has coached for 20 professional seasons. "Bob is a great teacher of the game," OShea said Tuesday. "He has a long resume of coaching experience aand we are thrilled to have him join our staff. Preston Brown Kids Jersey. . His experience in all levels of football, on both sides of the border, is such a huge asset for us." The Bombers also added import offensive lineman Randy Richards and import linebacker Cyhl Quarles to their roster Tuesday. Richards is a six-foot-three, 303-pound offensive tackle who played two seasons at Missouri State University from 2011 to 2012. He went undrafted but had a tryout with the San Diego Chargers and was on Tampa Bays practice roster. Quarles, six-three and 212 pounds, played four seasons at Wake Forest University from 2008 to 2011. He attended the 2012 NFL Combine but went undrafted, signed a tryout contract with the Baltimore Ravens and was released in August 2012. ' ' '
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