Latendresse in; Dandenault out
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Guillaume Latendresse will be in the lineup for the Montreal Canadiens tonight when they face the Philadelphia Flyers in game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal at 7 o'clock. Latendresse will play on a line with Tom Kostopoulos and Bryan Smolinski, while Steve Begin has been moved to a line with Maxim Lapierre and Mark Streit. Mathieu Dandenault will sit out. I think Guy Carbonneau made the right decision in removing Dandenault and inserting Latendresse, but I have a real problem with him breaking up the Kostopoulos-Smolinski-Begin line, considering they've been the most consistent line for Montreal throughout the playoffs. My only explanation for this is that Carbo felt that a line of Streit-Lapierre-Latendresse would have been too much of a defensive liability, but I don't think it would have outweighed the benefits of keeping the sandpaper line together. Don't be surprised if as the game progresses we see the Lapierre line stay on the bench, with Steve Begin rejoining his usual linemates if the going gets tough. Enjoy the game tonight. |
