Habs try to even series in Game 4 against Flyers

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05/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to draw even in the Eastern Conference finals today, when they host the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 at Bell Centre.

After being outscored by a 9-0 margin in losing the first two tests of this best-of-seven series in Philadelphia, the eighth-seeded Canadiens stormed back on home ice with a decisive 5-1 victory in Game 3 on Thursday.

While Montreal will attempt to even the series at 2-2 this afternoon, the seventh-seeded Flyers will try to grab a three games to one lead before heading back to Philadelphia for Game 5 on Monday.

Thursday's loss was the most lopsided setback of this postseason for the Flyers and was also the club's worst defeat since dropping a 6-0 decision to Pittsburgh in the fifth and final game of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals.

In Game 3, Jaroslav Halak stole some of Philadelphia goaltender Michael Leighton's thunder, making 25 saves to anchor Montreal's impressive victory at Bell Centre. The rest of the Canadiens finally solved Leighton, who registered consecutive shutouts by turning away all 58 shots Montreal had fired at him in the first two games of this series.

Dominic Moore and Tom Pyatt both picked up a goal and one assist for the Habs, while Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Marc-Andre Bergeron also tallied.

"(Halak) made some big saves early in the game," said Montreal head coach Jacques Martin. "I think that (Philadelphia) had three chances in the first five minutes of the hockey game. Then after that I think our team kind of took over and played a strong game at both ends of the ice."

Montreal has been resilient this postseason, rallying from a 3-1 series deficit against Washington and a 3-2 hole against defending champion Pittsburgh in Round 2.

"We moved the puck much better tonight," Gionta said. "We entered their zone a lot better tonight. Our forecheck was good."

Cammalleri's goal was his 13th of this playoffs, placing him fourth on Montreal's franchise list for most tallies in one postseason. Frank Mahovlich is next on the list with 14 goals in the 1971 playoffs.

For the Flyers, Simon Gagne scored the lone goal when he tallied in the third period. Philadelphia also lost for the first time since Game 3 of its conference semifinal matchup with Boston, which held a 3-0 series' lead before the Flyers rallied for a historic comeback. The Flyers had outscored the opposition 24-8 during their six-game win streak.

Meanwhile, Leighton, a journeyman goalie claimed off of waivers by Philadelphia for the second time in his career back in December, had won four straight since taking over the starting job after Brian Boucher hurt both knees during Game 5 against Boston.

The Ontario native, who turned 29 on Wednesday, finished with 33 saves.

"I'm not going to dwell on them scoring that many goals. We know we have to play better defensively and offensively," Leighton said.

On the injury front, the Flyers could get one of their injured forwards back today in Ian Laperriere, who has been sidelined since April 22 with a concussion and brain contusion. Media reports out of Philadelphia and Montreal are saying Laperriere will play today, but Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren is maintaining that both Laperriere and Jeff Carter are day-to-day,

Carter, the club's leading goal-scorer during the regular season, has been sidelined since April 20, when he broke his foot in Game 4 of the conference quarterfinals against New Jersey. Carter is not expected to play today.

Philadelphia and the Habs are battling for the East title despite being the bottom two seeds in the conference, marking the first time since the NHL adopted its current playoff format in 1994 that the seventh and eighth seeds in either conference are playing a series with a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals on the line.

The Canadiens are 4-3 on home ice during the postseason after going 20-16-5 at Bell Centre in the regular season. Philadelphia had a poor 17-21-3 record as the guest this season, but is 4-4 on the road in the playoffs.

The Flyers and Canadiens are meeting in the playoffs for the sixth time. Montreal won three of the previous five encounters, but Philly beat the Habs in five games the last time the franchises met in the 2008 conference semifinals. Prior to that, the previous two encounters were for conference titles, with Montreal earning a trip to the Cup Finals in 1989 -- two years after Philly beat them for the Prince of Wales Trophy in 1987.

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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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