Canadiens score 5 power-play goals, beat Hurricanes 7-4

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10/27/2007 -

Tomas Plekanec and the Montreal Canadiens overpowered the Carolina Hurricanes.

Plekanec had two goals and two assists, all on the power play, to help the visiting Canadiens beat the Hurricanes 7-4 on Friday night.

``We wanted to get the puck on the net and get rebounds,'' Plekanec said. ``We did all the right things and it paid off.''

Montreal scored five power-play goals, four in the first period, en route to its third straight victory. The Canadiens have scored eight of their NHL-best 16 power-play goals in two games in Carolina, both wins.

``There are no secrets to it,'' Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau said. ``We have guys that can move the puck and make plays. You can pass it around for 2 minutes, but you can't score if you don't shoot it. That's all we did.''

In other NHL games Friday night, it was: Vancouver 3, Washington 2; Buffalo 4, Florida 2; Detroit 5, San Jose 1 and Colorado 3, Calgary 2 in overtime.

Plekanec scored Montreal's first goal with the man-advantage at 8:40 in the first, and assisted on Alex Kovalev and Mark Streit's power-play goals in the period. Kovalev has 338 goals in 1,000 career games.

``They moved the puck about as well as a power play can move it,'' Carolina defenseman Mike Commodore said. ``We weren't great on the penalty kill, but you have to give them credit. Their passes were right on the tape and when they had a chance to shoot, they shot. It was like Maurice Richard and Guy Lafleur out there.''

Kyle Chipchura, Saku Koivu and Mathieu Dandenault also scored, and Andrei Markov added three assists. The Canadiens have 17 goals in their past three games.

Jeff Hamilton, Ray Whitney and Rod Brind'Amour scored for Carolina.Canucks 3, Capitals 2

At Washington, Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo extended his winning streak against the Capitals to 10 games, making 26 saves for the Canucks.

Taylor Pyatt scored twice, and Daniel Sedin added a goal for Vancouver.

Alex Ovechkin and Michael Nylander scored for Washington.Sabres 4, Panthers 2

At Sunrise, Fla., Drew Stafford's fluke goal with 8:48 left in the third period snapped a tie and helped Buffalo end a three-game losing streak.

Stafford scored when his wrist shot bounced off goalie Tomas Vokoun's blocker high into the air, then fell in behind Vokoun. Ales Kotalik, Jochen Hecht and Paille also scored for the Sabres, and Ryan Miller stopped 33 shots.

Jozef Stumpel and Ville Peltonen scored for Florida.Red Wings 5, Sharks 1

At Detroit, Valtteri Filppula scored his first goal of the season and also had an assist, and Tomas Holmstrom added a goal and an assist for the Red Wings.

Henrik Zetterberg scored and has a point in all 11 games this season, and Andreas Lilja and Kirk Maltby also scored in Detroit's fourth straight victory. Chris Osgood made 10 saves, allowing only Alexei Semenov's late power-play goal.Avalanche 3, Flames 2, OT

At Calgary, Alberta, Ryan Smyth scored 23 seconds into overtime for Colorado.

Marek Svatos tied it at 2 with 4:15 left in regulation, and Jose Theodore made 39 saves for the victory. Joe Sakic set up the winner and also scored for Colorado to reach the 1,600-point mark. Alex Tanguay and Matthew Lombardi scored for Calgary.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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