Wednesday Habs Links: Nathan Beaulieu has earned his spot

Montreal Canadiens

• Nathan Beaulieu has been impressive for the Habs, as he continues to shoulder second pairing minutes with Sergei Gonchar and has all but pushed Alexei Emelin further down the depth chart. [LaPresse - French]
• Jiri Sekac and Tomas Plekanec face off in a duel that seems to mix puck-handling skills with Dance Dance Revolution. The friendly ribbing between the competitive Czechs is well worth the watch. [YouTube]
• Despite being an aggressive forward, Brandon Prust boasts a positive penalty differential. This is more impressive considering the type of role he plays and how penalty differentials affect teams in general. [TSN]
• Montreal allows one of the "lowest percentage of goals per shot attempt," in large part due to Carey Price's strong performance this season. [TSN]
• Find out how Edmonton Oilers' owner Daryl Katz, the Erie Otters, and a tenantless Copps Coliseum almost left the Hamilton Bulldogs without an arena to play in. [Globe and Mail]
• Ex-Hab Tom Kostopoulos is making the most of his opportunity to play in the AHL and had this to say about his time in the NHL: [NHL]

  "One of the biggest things in this league is just talking about keeping everything in a level playing field, not getting too high or too low. Once you get to control that, the swings aren't too bad."

Around The League And Elsewhere

• Post-concussion symptoms have prevented Jarrod Maidens from suiting up for the Ottawa Senators. While his hockey dreams may have come to an end, he will set his sights on higher education and his future. [CBC]
• Teams looking to claim Mike Richards should proceed carefully, seeing as a threat of a cap-recapture penalty looms over his contract. [Sportsnet]
• The Buffalo Sabres have suspended defenseman Nikita Zadorov. The reason? Tardiness. [The Score]
• How accurately did coaches rank the best players and coaches in both conferences in Bob McKenzie's poll? Not very. Upon closer inspection (apart from picking goaltenders) all of the coaches fell victim to the eye test. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
• Being good but not good enough seems to be the predicament that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel finds himself in, as he continues to draw criticism despite being the best player on his team. [National Post]
• Despite having not one but two potential Norris Trophy winners in their lineup, the Calgary Flames' defense as a whole continues to struggle. [Matchsticks and Gasoline]
• We have a trade to announce: the Penguins and Blues struck a deal, sending Maxim Lapierre to Pittsburgh and Marcel Goc to St.Louis. [NHL]