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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 NFL Jerseys China . - IndyCar racing officials expressed confidence on Monday that the NOLA Motorsports Park will be able to complete more $4. Cheap NFL Jerseys Online . The team let Keaton Ellerby, James Wright and Matt Halischuk become unrestricted free agents after declining to make them qualifying offers. Ellerby, 25, appeared in 51 games for the Jets last season and had two goals and four assists. http://www.stitchedjerseysnfl.com/. Theres little time for rest, too. The Flyers and Rangers play again Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Simmonds scored in the first period and twice more in the second for his first career post-season hat trick. Mason survived a busy first period and stopping 31 straight shots until Carl Hagelin scored late in the third. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Outlet . Its been a successful Games for Canada, which will finish near the top of the medal standings again. From repeat gold medal winners to multiple medal winners to undefeated teams to acts that define the Olympic spirit, there are many solid candidates who could be considered to receive the honour. NFL Jerseys Discount . Mako Vunipola was promoted from the reserves, with Matt Mullan called up to the bench on Thursday. "It is important that Joe is with his partner at this exciting time," England coach Stuart Lancaster said.PHILADELPHIA -- Flyers coach Craig Berube wasnt surprised by the way the Philadelphia bounced back on Saturday from a blowout loss because hes seen that type of resilience all season. Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist to lead Philadelphia to a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers. Vincent Lecvalier, Sean Couturier and Luke Schenn also scored for Philadelphia, which rebounded from a 7-3 home defeat to San Jose on Thursday. Chris Kreider and Derick Brassard scored for the Rangers, who lost for just the second time in their past nine games. Philadelphia came out with an edge in the first period following Thursdays loss that Berube called "embarrassing." The Flyers improved to 4-0-1 this season following games in which theyve been beaten by four or more goals. "I think our guys have good character," Berube said. "I was pretty confident wed come out and play hard." Unlike Thursday against the Sharks, Berube liked what he saw on Saturday versus the Rangers. "Theyre a fast, hard-working team and if you want to compete with them you need to play a fast, hard game," he said. The opening 20 minutes featured physical play by both sides, including big hits from Philadelphias Zac Rinaldo on Daniel Carcillo and New Yorks Derek Stepan on Steve Downie, among others. The teams lingered on the ice for several minutes after the first-period horn, with the Rangers seemingly upset by a check from Brayden Schenn in front of New Yorks bench late in the period. The Flyers scored twice in the opening period, with the goals coming 1:06 apart. Lecavalier opened the scoring at 7:04 on a goal that went off Rangers defenceman Anton Stralman. "Thats huge," Lecavalier said. "You want to get that first goal and we got that." Brayden Schenn first was credited with the goal, but it was changed in between periods. Couturier followed with his 10th goal of the season at 8:10, beautifully deking past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and roofing the puck with a forehand shot into an empty net from a difficult angle. It looked as if the Rangers cut the deficit in half early in the second period, but Benoit Pouliots apparent tally was waved off because Pouliot deflected the puck past Flyers goalie Steve Mason with a high stick. Mason finished with 33 saves. Mason was pulled in Thursdays defeat to San Jose, and he was happy to bounce back with a victory. The fact that he outdueled one of the games premier goalies was secondary. "It feels good," Mason said. "But I wasnt going out there (thinking) Steve Mason versus Henrik Lundqvist. I was ttrying to help the Flyers beat the Rangers, and thats what we did.dddddddddddd" New York got on the board a few minutes later when Kreider tipped Rick Nashs pass past Mason and just inside the post from close range. After Kreider missed a great chance to tie the game when his backhanded attempt at an empty net went wide with 10 minutes left in the period, Brassards power-play goal at 11:42 of the second tied the game at 2. Brassards slap shot from the slot after a perfect pass from Brad Richards went off Masons pads and through his legs. Simmonds beat Lundqvist through the legs on a forehand shot from a tough angle on the power play at 13:23 to put Philadelphia back in front 3-2. "I read a high shot and he went five-hole," Lundqvist said. "I thought I was patient on the shot; he just beat me. I thought overall we played a really good game and created a lot of good chances. Disappointing, obviously, but I thought we did a lot of good things." Philadelphia had an apparent goal waved off 3 1/2 minutes into the third period when the officials ruled that Lundqvist had covered the puck even though it trickled into the goal. Mason kept the Flyers in front with a strong, sprawling pad save on Stepan from just in front of the crease with 10 minutes left. Luke Schenn provided an insurance goal with 3:45 left, beating Lundqvist with a wrister from the slot. Lundqvist, who didnt start the Rangers first game following the Olympic break after helping Sweden earn the silver medal in Sochi, finished with 27 saves. He entered the Olympic break having won his last five starts. In his last 14 games against Philadelphia entering Saturday, Lundqvist was 12-2-0 with a 1.77 GAA. Philadelphia defenceman Kimmo Timonen returned to the lineup after sitting out Thursdays 7-3 loss to San Jose to rest after returning from Sochi and had two assists. Timonen helped Finland to the bronze medal. Philadelphia won for the fourth time in the past 16 meetings with the Rangers. NOTES: Rangers RW Derek Dorsett returned to the lineup for the first time since breaking his fibula on Jan. 3. ... New York centre Mats Zuccarello missed his second straight game after fracturing his left hand in the Olympics. ... Flyers backup goalie Ray Emery (lower body injury) wasnt available. Cal Heeter, who never has played in an NHL game, was called up from the AHLs Adirondack Phantoms to back up Mason. Emery was injured in Thursdays loss to the Sharks after he replaced Mason in the second period. Berube said afterward that Emery wouldnt make the trip to Washington for Sundays game, and the coach declined to name his starting goalie for the matchup. ' ' '