Canadiens Team Report

INSIDE SHOTS

The injuries continue to pile up for the Canadiens, who had to reach down to the farm to dress 20 players for Wednesday’s game in Pittsburgh.

Andrei Kostitsyn(notes) suffered a lower-body injury when he stopped a puck in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over Columbus and was on crutches when he arrived in Pittsburgh. The Canadiens called up David Desharnais(notes) but were concerned about the rookie getting delayed in the Thanksgiving air-travel rush. They solved the problem by hiring a limousine for the 4 1/2-hour trip.

The Canadiens have a salary cap hit of more than $30 million tied up in their injured players, but coach Jacques is hopeful there will be some help Saturday when the Canadiens are home against the Washington Capitals.

Benoit Pouliot(notes), acquired from Minnesota earlier this week in a trade for Guillaume Latendresse(notes), is recovering from a wrist injury but feels he’ll be ready for the weekend. The Canadiens are also hoping that center Scott Gomez(notes) (groin) and defenseman Jaroslav Spacek(notes) (lower body injury) will be ready to return after a few extra days’ rest.

The timing couldn’t have been worse for Kostitsyn. After a disappointing first quarter of the season, he found new life on the top line with Tomas Plekanec(notes) and Mike Cammalleri. Before his injury, he had a four-game points streak with a goal and four assists.

His spot on the top line was filled by his younger brother, Sergei, who was recalled from Hamilton earlier in the week. Sergei has some issues of his own. He twisted his ankle in the Columbus game Tuesday and was a game-time decision in Pittsburgh, but he did play.

Penguins 3, Canadiens 1:   The Canadiens tried to concentrate on defense and managed only 19 shots against Marc-Andre Fleury(notes). The Canadiens played better than they did last month when they lost, 6-1, in Pittsburgh but, with eight players out with injuries, the Canadiens’ best players wore down as the game progressed.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Coach Jacques Martin wants his players to go hard to the net in an attempt to draw more penalties. The Canadiens had only one power play and have only seven in their last four games.

• LW Max Pacioretty(notes) left the game in the third period after being hit by Michael Rupp(notes).

Quote To Note:   “We tried to keep the game 0-0 as long as possible. Even after we fell behind, we had a good chance on a 2-on-1 that would have tied it at 1-1 and that might have changed the complexion of the game.”—Canadiens coach Jacques Martin, who saw the 2-on-1 break fail when the puck jumped over Mike Cammalleri’s stick.

ROSTER REPORT

Goaltenders:   Jaroslav Halak(notes), Carey Price(notes).

Defensemen:   Roman Hamrlik(notes), Josh Gorges(notes), Ryan O’Byrne(notes) , Paul Mara(notes), Marc-Andre Bergeron(notes), Jay Leach(notes), Jaroslav Spacek.

First Line:   Mike Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec, Sergei Kostitsyn(notes).

Second Line:   Max Pacioretty, Glen Metropolit(notes), Travis Moen(notes).

Third Line:   Tom Pyatt(notes), Maxim Lapierre(notes), Ryan White(notes).

Fourth Line:   David Desharnais, Kyle Chipchura(notes), James T. Wyman.

Player Notes:  

• G Carey Price made his seventh consecutive start. He is 4-2-1 in those games.

• RW Sergei Kostitsyn was promoted to the first line after his older brother, Andrei, was scratched with a lower-body injury. He picked up an assist for the second consecutive since being recalled from Hamilton.

• LW Max Pacioretty scored the Canadiens’ only goal before leaving with a possible rib injury. He has a goal and two assists in his last two games.

Medical Watch:  

• LW Max Pacioretty left the Pittsburgh game in the third period after he was hit by Michael Rupp. His condition will be re-evaluated when the team returns to Montreal.

• RW Andrei Kostitsyn suffered a lower body injury when he was struck by a puck in the Nov. 24 game against Columbus. There was no immediate word on the severity of the injury.

• C Scott Gomez left the Washington game on Nov. 20 with a groin injury. The Canadiens said Gomez is day-to-day and they are hoping he will return Nov. 28 against Washington.

• D Jaroslav Spacek is out with a lower-body injury. Spacek was injured when he blocked a shot in Phoenix on Nov. 12 but continued to play until he was scratched for the Nov. 24 game against Columbus. He’s listed as day-to-day.

• RW Brian Gionta(notes) was a last-minute scratch for the Nov. 14 game in Nashville. Subsequent tests showed that he suffered a broken bone in his foot when he stopped a puck in the Nov. 3 game against Nashville. The Canadiens said he will be out indefinitely.

• D Andrei Markov(notes) was cut on the leg by G Carey Price’s skate in the Oct. 1 season opener in Toronto. He had surgery to replace damaged tendons and has started doing weight work and riding a stationary bike. He will be out of the lineup until February.

• RW Matt D’Agostini(notes) suffered a concussion when he was hit in the head by Chicago’s Andrew Ladd(notes) on Oct. 30. He is out indefinitely but has resumed skating on his own.

• D Hal Gill(notes) was placed on the injured list on Nov. 2 with a hairline fracture in his foot. Coach Jacques Martin said Gill had been playing with the injury for three weeks and doctors advised him to rest. He had been expected to return in late November but hasn’t resumed practicing with the team.

• C Benoit Pouliot, who was acquired from Minnesota in a trade on Nov. 23, has a wrist injury. He’s listed as day-to-day and the Canadiens are optimistic he will play Nov. 28 against Washington.