Montreal Canadiens

Montreal is abuzz over the arrival of three youngsters who arrived from Hamilton with a unique approach to the game.

The Canadiens called up Ryan White, David Desharnais and Brock Trotter before the Feb. 6 game and Pittsburgh, and they have made a good impression in the two games they skated together as the team's fourth line.

Coach Jacques Martin has shown confidence in the youthful trio, giving them a regular shift as he rolled four lines against the Penguins on Saturday and the Boston Bruins a day later.

They have brought energy to the lineup and have introduced fans to what they call Hamilton coach Guy Boucher's "relentless" approach to the game. Boucher stresses pushing the puck forward at every opportunity and an aggressive forechecking style.

"He doesn't want players moving backward with the puck," said Mathieu Darche, the 32-year-old veteran who spent the first half of the season in Hamilton.

The youngsters haven't produced any points, but they have generated scoring chances and have been solid at both ends of the ice. The only blip in their first two games came against Boston when White attempted to block a shot by Adam McQuaid and deflected the puck into the Montreal goal.

The youngsters are guaranteed another start Wednesday when the Washington Capitals visit, and it's likely they will stay in Montreal for back-to-back games before the Olympic break and then head back to Hamilton.

They're getting an opportunity because Benoit Pouliot has a shoulder injury and Marc-Andre Bergeron is out with a lower-body injury. Both players are eligible to come off the injured reserve list, but the Canadiens are expected to rest them through the Olympic break to make sure they have fully recovered.

BRUINS 3, CANADIENS 0: Tuukka Rask stopped 36 shots for his third shutout of the season as the Bruins snapped a 10-game winless streak. The Canadiens outshot Boston 36-27 but bemoaned the fact that they didn't get many second chances. Two of the three Boston goals deflected off Montreal players.

—The Canadiens have a 3-1 edge over the Bruins in the season series, but Boston has taken four points from the four games because it lost twice in shootouts.

• The Canadiens' No. 2-ranked power play wasn't a factor Sunday because Montreal enjoyed only one man advantage. The Bruins didn't have any power plays.

Quote To Note:

"I wasn't expecting it—I think it hit a skate and popped out. The goalie was leaning the wrong way and the puck was rolling. I might have taken more time, but I got trigger-happy and I shot it and I missed."

—Canadiens forward Mathieu Darche on missing a power-play opportunity.

Goaltenders:

Jaroslav Halak, Carey Price.

Defensemen:

Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, Jaroslav Spacek, Ryan O'Byrne, Hal Gill, Roman Hamrlik.

First Line:

Sergei Kostitsyn, Tomas Plekanec, Mathieu Darche.

Second Line:

Travis Moen, Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta.

Third Line:

Ben Maxwell, Glen Metropolit, Maxim Lapierre.

Fourth Line:

Brock Trotter, Ryan White, David Desharnais.

Player Notes:

• G Carey Price is being mentioned in trade rumors. Price, 22, has played in only one of the Canadiens' last nine games, and there are reports that Edmonton and Tampa Bay are both interested in his services.

• C Tomas Plekanec, the Canadiens' leading scorer, had a game-high nine shots on goal but to no avail as Montreal got blanked.

• G Jaroslav Halak gave up three goals on 27 shots, but two of the goals deflected off his teammates. His record dropped to 17-9-2.

Medical Watch:

• LW Marc-Andre Bergeron (lower body) was placed on the injured reserve list on Feb. 5.

• RW Benoit Pouliot, who has been playing through a left shoulder injury, was placed on the injured reserve list on Feb. 5. He's not expected to return before the Olympic break.

• LW Michael Cammalleri suffered an injury to his right knee Jan. 30. He won't require surgery, but he will be out of the lineup until mid-March.

• D Paul Mara left the Jan. 22 game in New Jersey with an upper-body injury. There's no word on the nature or extent of the injury. He has resumed skating with the team but has not been cleared for contact.

• RW Andrei Kostitsyn left the Dec. 31 game in Florida with a knee injury. He underwent surgery on Jan. 8 and is out indefinitely.