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." Tony Brown Jersey . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order. Jordy Nelson Jersey . Vonn had another scary moment at Saturdays World Cup downhill in Val dIsere, ending up clutching her knee in pain after losing her balance and missing a gate. But she gave a reassuring answer shortly afterward, saying no new damage had been done to the surgically repaired knee, and that her plans for the Sochi Olympics were still intact. http://www.custompackersjersey.com/custo...ge-5-1612r.html. Next years tournament is also within sight for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has never played in a World Cup, but Cristiano Ronaldo looks destined for the playoffs with Portugal after a night when the qualifying picture in the nine groups became much clearer. Vonnie Holliday Jersey . None of them was better than playing with LeBron James again. Walt Kiesling Jersey .com) - Virginia is for loving Latrell Scott. BEREA, Ohio -- Browns coach Mike Pettine says he expects Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel to get equal reps with the first-team offence next Monday night against Washington. Manziel played with the first-team offence during Tuesday mornings practice, but Pettine said afterward that no decision has been made as to who will start the Browns second preseason game. But it wont necessarily matter, as Pettine wants both quarterbacks to get equal reps or close to it with the first-teamers. Whether thats by series, by quarter or by something else remains to be seen. Pettine said "theres a lot of options on the table" and the staff would figure it out when it meets during the teams off-day on Thursday. That includes deciding who will actually start the game. "Just the factor of starting a game I think is a little bit overblown in this situation because were going to try to balance the reps with the ones in the game," Pettine said. "Brian came in ahead and its a little overrated who trots out there for the first time." No matter what happens next Monday night, though, people are going to tune in to watch. Manziels debut last Saturday against the Lions drew 2.82 million viewers, making it the highest-rated and most-watched preseason game on the NFL Network. Quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains spoke to the media after practice, saying there was still no clear-cut leader in the competition. "I dont think well make the decision based on that (game)," Loggains said. "But its a body of work that theyre accumulating, putting together, and thats how well make the decision." Loggains was in the news after the NFL draft when he said in a radio interview on ESPN Arkansas that Manziel, before he was drafted, sent him a text that read: "I wish you guys wouldd come get me.dddddddddddd Hurry up and draft me because I want to wreck this league together." That slip by Loggains didnt go over too well with the Browns. "He paid his penance for that," Pettine said. "We made him wear a visor that said, Im a dummy for a day during the spring with the walkthrough." "Coach Pettine has a unique sense of humour," Loggains said. "Im trying to get rid of (the visor). Im waiting for someone else to say something so I can pass it on to the next guy." Earlier Tuesday, the Browns signed unrestricted free-agent quarterback Rex Grossman and waived quarterback Tyler Thigpen. With so much experience in co-ordinator Kyle Shanahans offence, Grossman is happy to help his fellow quarterbacks any way he can. "If anybody has any questions or I feel the need to maybe help out, then I will," he said. "I havent shied back from that in the past and Im here to just help." NOTES: Practice ended with a 4th and 1 play to see which side wore the orange jerseys Wednesday. The defence won, stuffing Miles Austin on an end-around attempt. . FB/TE MarQueis Gray (concussion) and CB Justin Gilbert (groin) returned to practice. . WR Josh Gordon (abdomen), WR Nate Burleson (hamstring), LB Darius Eubanks (shoulder) and DL Billy Winn (abdomen) did not practice. DL Desmond Bryant was also feeling nicked up, so his scheduled day of rest was bumped up. . In the Browns depth chart for the second preseason game, rookie FB Ray Agnew is listed as the starting fullback, with Gray listed as a tight end. ... A man covered head-to-toe in an all-orange bodysuit stood on the corner outside the Browns facility before practice, holding up a "Honk for Hoyer" sign to passing cars. ' ' '