Kommandozentrale » "It was a tale of two games,"

MONTREAL -- Playing against one of the top NHL teams brought out the best in the Canadiens. Montreal limited the Blackhawks, the leagues most potent offence, to only 20 shots on net in its 2-1 overtime victory over Chicago. Chicago entered the Bell Centre with a league-best 165 goals scored this season, an average of 3.58 goals-per-game. Four of the leagues 15 best point-getters -- Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith -- play for the Blackhawks. The Canadiens shut them down on Saturday. "Thats what we wanted to do coming in," said Habs captain Brian Gionta. "They have a lot of offensive power, obviously, that you need to be aware of. We did a good job of handling them." Giontas line frustrated Chicagos big names all night. Keith and Kane were kept off the scoreboard, while Toews and Sharp were kept to a shot and an assist apiece. "It was a good test for us," said Gionta. "We responded right off the bat. We gave them the respect, but not too much. We played them hard, we knew what to expect, we came in with a game plan and stuck with it." The Canadiens outshot the Blackhawks 38-20, and delivered twice as many hits. Andrei Markov, who scored both goals for Montreal, including one in overtime, thought his team played their best game of the season. "Every time we play against a team like Chicago thats high in the standings, its a big challenge," said Markov. "And we responded well." The Blackhawks are currently in third place in the Western Conference. Markov took a deflected pass from Max Pacioretty and found the roof of the net at 1:28 of overtime to beat Montreal native Corey Crawford and secure the victory for the Canadiens. "We have to continue the same way," added Markov, who claimed he closed his eyes as he fired home his game-winner. "Thats our game. We have to try to play that game every night. If you play hard every game like tonight, success will be on your side." Crawford was otherwise outstanding in net for the Blackhawks (29-8-10), stopping 36-of-38 shots he faced in the loss. The 29-year-old missed nearly a month of play with a lower-body injury and is winless (0-1-3) since his return. But Crawford made key saves in the first period to preserve the scoreless draw after Chicago ran into penalty trouble, and made a freakish save at the end of the second to keep the deficit at one. With P.K. Subban in the box for delay of game, a sprawled-out, stickless Crawford robbed Lars Eller from close range with the blade of his skate. "It was a great play," said head coach Joel Quenneville of his goaltenders spectacular save. "He stayed with it. He held his ground well, made a nice skate save. Whatever you want to call what he did ... it was nice to see." After a few close calls by the Blackhawks to start the second, including Sharp missing an open net high and wide, and Kane hitting the crossbar, Markov broke the deadlock at 12:54 for his fourth of the year. With six-foot-five Habs enforcer George Parros screening him, Crawford couldnt react quickly enough when Markovs wrist shot flew past his blocker. "I dont think so, I dont think so," repeated Parros when asked if he got his stick on it. "I wish it did. I knew I had a good screen on the goalie, so I just wanted to let it go through me and see what would happen." Parros has often been left out of the Canadiens lineup. He suffered two concussions this season, and only dressed in 10 games. He finished the game with a shot on net and a plus-1 rating. "Ive been looking for some positivity this year and I finally got some there," said Parros. "It was good to be part of a goal to help our team." Chicago found their equalizer at 9:22 of the third when Marian Hossa deflected Toews pass over Carey Prices outstretched pads. Sharp also got an assist on the goal. Bryan Bickell hit the post to Prices left with just over a minute to play in the third period before the game was sent to overtime. Price finished with 19 saves as Montreal improved to 26-15-5. "If you looked at statistics before the game, the advantage went to the Blackhawks," said head coach Michel Therrien. "But statistics are in the past. What matters to us is tonights game. We can control the present. We can focus on the present." The Canadiens have now won six in a row against the Blackhawks as the host team. Chicagos last win in Montreal was on Dec. 3, 2001. Notes: The Blackhawks had a 10-game point streak snapped after a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday. a Parros returned to the lineup while defenceman Francis Bouillon was a healthy scratch. a The Canadiens are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. a Montreal and Chicago face off again on April 9 in Chicago. Wholesale Nike KD Shoes Online . But history aside, theyre still happy to participate in the Par 3 contest, traditionally held on the day prior to the first round of the Masters. Cheap KD Shoes Sale .com) - Jeff Teague had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 90-85 on Saturday night. http://www.kdcheap.com/ . As they are wont to do, the Spurs made things real easy. The Spurs signed Parker to a multi-year contract extension on Friday, ensuring that the six-time All-Star point guard will be in the fold whether Duncan and Ginobili are able to continue their careers or not. Discount KD Shoes . It was a loss. But it was also a learning experience. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson had 24 points each to lift Brooklyn to a 94-87 win over the Raptors, making their first playoff appearance since 08. "I thought we played a little bit as expected as it is our first playoff game," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. Wholesale KD Shoes . Louis against the Blues. The Canucks picked up their second straight victory in the swings opener on Tuesday in Calgary before getting routed in Minnesota last night, 5-1.TAMPA, Fla. -- The Winnipeg Jets felt much better after ending their road trip with a victory. Mark Scheifele scored 1:04 into overtime and the Jets beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Saturday night. Scheifele scored from the near post off a nifty pass by Blake Wheeler from the left-wing boards. "It was a great pass by Wheeler," Scheifele said. "I owe it all to him." Wheeler also had a goal for Winnipeg, which finished 4-2 on its longest road trip of the season. The Jets were coming off a 5-2 loss Thursday night at Florida. "It would have been disappointing to go home 3-3," coach Claude Noel said. "That would have been a tough one." Jets backup goalie Al Montoya made 28 saves. He caught a break during the first minute of overtime when Tampa Bays Alex Killorn sent a shot off the post. Tampa Bay got a goal from Nate Thompson, and backup goalie Anders Lindback stopped 34 shots. "He was exceptional when we needed him," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. Thompson tied it at 1 on a shot from the slot with just more than a second left in the second period. Martin St. Louis won an offensive zone faceoff before Radko Gudas sent a pass to Thompson, who had been thrown out of the faceoff circle and hadnt scored in his previous 19 games. With his assist, St. Louis moved past Jason Arnott into 91st place on the NHL pooints list with 939.dddddddddddd Wheeler put the Jets up 1-0 on his 100th NHL goal 5:25 into the game. His redirection of Jacob Troubas shot eluded Lindback. Winnipeg, which held the lead after the first period for just the fifth time this season, outshot Tampa Bay 15-5 during the opening 20 minutes. "It was a tale of two games," Cooper said. "There was a clear distinction between the first 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes." Montoya made a nice save on Andrej Sustrs shot from the slot in the first. Lindback stopped an in-close backhander by Olli Jokinen during a Jets second-period power play. NOTES: The Jets are 8-6-4 in one-goal games. ... Linesman Brian Murphy worked his 1,500th NHL game. ... Cooper said D Victor Hedman, who left Thursday nights 3-1 win over Ottawa due to a lower-body injury and is expected to miss a week, is feeling better. ... Winnipeg RW Michael Frolik played after missing one game because of flu-like symptoms. ... Lightning D Eric Brewer (lower body) and Gudas (upper body) both returned to the lineup. ... Jets LW Evander Kane missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Tampa Bay prospect Jonathan Drouin, selected third overall in this years amateur draft and playing for Halifax of the QMJHL, is sidelined by what the team is calling a mild concussion. The left wing was hurt in a game Friday. ' ' '