Canadiens edge Bruins

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11/08/2007 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Plekanec tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Montreal Canadiens to 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins in a tight contest between two Original Six and Northeast Division rivals at TD Banknorth Garden.

The forward line of Plekanec, Alex Kovalev and Andrei Kostitsyn produced both goals for Montreal, which has won two straight and three of its last four games overall. Kovalev notched his eighth goal while Carey Price made 28 saves in the win.

Marco Sturm scored the lone goal for the Bruins, who are winless in their last four games (0-2-2). Tim Thomas turned aside 30 shots in the losing effort. Boston will host Buffalo and Toronto on the remainder of this brief three-game homestand before the club faces these Canadiens again in Montreal on November 17.

The Canadiens scored the game's first goal with under three minutes remaining in the first period. Montreal blueliner Francis Bouillon knocked down a Boston dump-in attempt inside his own blue line and quickly made a sharp outlet pass to Kostitsyn in the neutral zone.

Kostitsyn picked up speed, crossed the blue line and streaked down the left- wing side before he centered the puck from the outer rim of the circle. Plekanec accepted the pass in the slot and sent a wrister toward the net. Thomas made a partial save, but the puck trickled under his pads before Kovalev tapped it over the goal line at 17:05.

The Plekanec-Kovalev-Kostitsyn trio struck again near the midpoint of the middle session for a two-goal advantage. A nice backhand pass by Kostitsyn from inside the right circle eluded the stick of Boston's Zdeno Chara and was perfectly placed in the low slot for Plekanec, whose deke move forced Thomas completely off balance and Plekanec slid home a backhander near the left post with 11:13 remaining.

At the 14:12 mark of the second, the Bruins sliced their deficit in half on Sturm's sixth goal of the season. Amid a flurry of activity in their offensive zone, the Bruins were buzzing and it was only a matter of time before it paid off. Chuck Kobasew's wrist shot from the left slot caromed off of traffic in the goal mouth before Sturm's backhander from between the circles lit the lamp.

With 22 seconds remaining before the second intermission, Price made a brilliant save to keep the Habs ahead. Boston forward P.J. Axelsson was all alone down low and had a good look with a wrist shot from near the goal line to the left of the net. However, Price's paddle deflected the puck away.

Other than a scary moment for Boston defenseman Aaron Ward, the third period was mostly uneventful. The Bruins produced 10 shots on goal, but the frame was marked by a momentarily motionless Ward, who accidentally blindly collided with Bouillon on a shift change. At first the stretcher was called for and was carted onto the ice, but Ward eventually sat up on his own power and was helped off the ice by teammates.

Game Notes

This marked the fifth consecutive victory by Montreal over Boston dating back to last season...The teams combined to go scoreless on five power-play chances, four of which were awarded to Boston...This was the second time this season that the stretcher has been wheeled onto the ice in this arena. On October 27, Philadelphia defenseman Randy Jones checked Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron head-first into the glass. Bergeron was taken off on the stretcher and has not returned to the ice as of yet. Jones received a two-game suspension...Attendance was 15,183.

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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