Arizona tied it at 17 on Jay Feelys

MONTREAL -- Tomas Plekanecs second-period goal, and a strong performance by Carey Price, gave the Montreal Canadiens a 3-1 victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in NHL pre-season action. Antonee Robinson USA Jersey . Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty also scored for the Habs (3-3-1), while Price made 29 saves. Cory Conacher was the lone goal scorer for Ottawa (4-2-0). Craig Anderson stopped 22 shots. The Senators outshot Montreal 30-25. This was Montreals second game in as many against the Senators. Ottawa beat Montreal 5-2 on Wednesday. The Senators, who have played three games in as many nights, fielded a much younger - and less-experienced - team on Thursday. Veterans Jason Spezza, Chris Neil, and Erik Karlsson were all healthy scratches. Ottawa got on the scoreboard first when Conacher tapped a loose puck into the net at 5:09 of the first. Price stopped the initial Chris Wideman shot from the blue line, but neither he nor Andrei Markov could clear the puck. The goal was Conachers third of the pre-season. Galchenyuk tied the score late in the first, completing a nice tic-tac-toe play between him, Lars Eller, and Daniel Briere. Plekanec gave the Canadiens the lead, and the eventual win, at 18:06 of the second period, firing a shot in the roof of the net from the face-off circle to Andersons right. Max Pacioretty doubled the Canadiens lead mid-way through the final frame. Earlier in the day, the Canadiens announced that eight players had been assigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Habs AHL affiliate, including forward Christian Thomas and defender Greg Pateryn. The Canadiens open the regular season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Joe Corona Jersey .3 seconds remaining, and No. 7 North Carolina held off a resilient No. 25 Virginia team, 54-51, on Saturday. John Henson contributed a double-double with 15 points to go with 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels (25-4, 12-2 ACC), who have won five straight and 10 of 11. Jesse Gonzalez USA Jersey .1 Sam Stosur will meet Germanys second-ranked player Andrea Petkovic in the opening match of the Fed Cup World Group semifinal. http://www.soccerusateamonline.com/Bobby-Wood-Copa-America-Jersey/ . Anaheim Ducks Reassign D Colby Robak to Norfolk Admirals (AHL). - Team Website D Eric Brewer (foot) removed from injured reserve. GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer knows what his teams personality has become. And it has nothing to do with his side of the ball. "Were a tough, grind-it-out defensive team," he said. That was apparent on the first play from scrimmage against Houston on Sunday, when the Cardinals forced a fumble and returned it for a touchdown. It was a sign of what would come in the second half. The Cardinals turned up the defensive pressure and sent the Texans to their franchise-record seventh straight loss, 27-24 Sunday. Palmer threw two touchdown passes and Arizona held on despite a late fumble. The Texans (2-7) were without coach Gary Kubiak, who collapsed on the sideline against Indianapolis last Sunday night with what was diagnosed as a mini-stroke. Defensive co-ordinator Wade Phillips is filling in as interim coach. "All in all it seems like the same theme," Phillips said. "Team is playing tremendously hard but not enough plays. One play here, one play there, and they really dominated us in the second half on their defensive side of the ball." Arizona (5-4) got off to a quick start when linebacker John Abraham knocked the ball out of quarterback Case Keenums arm and Matt Shaughnessy returned it 6 yards for a touchdown only 14 seconds into the game. The Texans led 17-14 at the break, but managed just 41 yards in the final two quarters "As a defence, we just told ourselves 17 is the max," linebacker Daryl Washington said. "No more points to be scored. Lets play nasty, lets play dirty." Keenum threw three touchdown passes, two on remarkable catches by Andre Johnson. J.J. Watt forced two fumbles, recovering both of them for Houston. The second one set up Johnsons 5-yard TD catch that cut the lead to three with 4:34 to play. "We made good adjustments," Arizona coach Bruce Arians said of the second half. "The running game was kind of gone. We felt if we could get them in a one-dimension game we could get after the quarterback, and we were able to do that." Palmer completed 20 of 32 for 241 yards. Keenum was 22 of 43 for 201 yards no interceptions, but was just 7 for 17 for 42 yards in the second half. Arizona reeled off 13 consecutive points and Palmers 19-yard touchdown pass to Andre Roberts put Arizona up 27-17 with 6:42 to play. The Cardinals, coming off a bye, had trouble holding on. Rashard Mendenhall was stripped of the ball by Watt in a crowd on a run up the middle and the standout Houston lineman recovered at the Arizona 5. On third down, Johnson gathered in Keenumss pass and was able to get both feet inbounds for the touchdown. Matt Miazga USA Jersey. He had scored on a similar catch in the first quarter. "Those were two of the best catches I have ever seen in my life," Keenum said. "You cant even describe it. You have to watch it to see how awesome those catches are. " Houston got the ball back with just over two minutes to play but, at third-and-3 at the 35, Keenum threw two incompletions. Jerraud Powers knocked the ball away from receiver DeAndre Hopkins on fourth down to seal the win. After his first-play miscue, Keenum completed 4 of 4 for 44 yards in an eight-play, 49-yard drive. Johnson got his left foot down then barely dragged his right foot inbounds on a 7-yard touchdown catch and it was 7-all. Arizona regained the lead with its only touchdown drive of the first half. Recently signed tight end Jake Ballard had a 15-yard catch, his first reception since 2011, and Rob Housler got his first pro touchdown catch on a 12-yard screen pass to put the Cardinals up 14-7 with 13:57 left in the half. It was Palmers 200th career touchdown pass. But Keenum responded, going 5 for 6 for 55 yards in a nine-play, 80-yard TD drive. Keenum threw 2 yards to wide open tight end Ryan Griffin for the touchdown that tied it at 14-14 with 9:37 left in the half. Arizona was pinned deep in its own territory after the subsequent kickoff and Palmer tried to throw long to Housler. But D.J. Swearinger intercepted, setting up Randy Bullocks 48-yard field goal that gave Houston its first lead, 17-14, with 6:31 to go in the half. Arizona committed another turnover late in the second quarter. With less than a minute left in the half, Watt knocked the ball out of Palmers hands and recovered at the Cardinals 22. Houston couldnt move it from there, and Justin Bethel blocked Bullocks 40-yard field goal attempt. Bethel has two blocked field goals this season. Arizona tied it at 17 on Jay Feelys 35-yard field goal with 6:06 left in the third quarter. Palmers 26-yard pass to Housler gave Arizona a first-and-goal at the Houston 5 in the final seconds of the third quarter. Feelys 21-yarder put Arizona back on top 20-17 entering the fourth quarter. NOTES: The Texans were without running back Arian Foster and wont have him the rest of the season after he decided to undergo season-ending back surgery. During the game, Houston lost starting cornerback Kareem Jackson (ribs), Griffin (concussion) and backup cornerback Elbert Mack (hamstring). ... Arizona lost wide receiver Michael Floyd in the first half with a shoulder sprain. ' ' '