Thursday Habs Headlines: Max Pacioretty has been quiet, but that won’t last

Montreal Canadiens News and Notes

• Max Pacioretty is the focal point of the Habs’ offence, and it can be a challenge when teams have a chance to shut him down in the playoffs. [La Presse]
• While Pacioretty has yet to find his scoring touch in these playoffs, his teammates have complete faith in his play: [Canadiens]
• Meanwhile, Shea Weber has wasted little time finding his top form in the first-round of the playoffs. [SN]
• Steve Ott is doing his best to get under the skin of the Rangers players this series, and it seems to be working. [Montreal Gazette]
• The Canadiens will play two pre-season games at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City next season. [RDS]
• A young fan asked Make-A-Wish Quebec to set up a meeting with Carey Price. [Canadiens]
• The St. John’s Ice Caps will take on the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL Playoffs - check out a preview of that series from a Crunch perspective. [Raw Charge]

Around the League and Elsewhere

• Claude Giroux and Matt Duchene are among those heading to the IIHF World Championship as Hockey Canada announced the first 18 members of its roster. [Hockey Canada]
• Edmonton Oilers’ forward Leon Draisaitl was fined for his spear on Chris Tierney, but has avoided a suspension. [TSN]
• The finalists have been announced for the Selke Trophy. [SN]
• The initial roster from Team USA is missing quite a few top names that were available, which seems to be a common issue for the nation. [ESPN]
• Jack Eichel denied a report that proposed he would not re-sign with the Buffalo Sabres if Dan Bylsma was retained as the team’s head coach. [Puck Daddy]