Tuesday Habs Headlines: Jeff Petry on pace for career year

Montreal Canadiens News and Notes

• Jeff Petry is on pace for a career-best season, and everyone is pleasantly surprised, even Petry himself. [La Presse]
• The Habs are about to spend a lot of time away from Montreal, and are bracing for bumps along the road. [NBC Sports]
• The Canadiens are still sitting atop the Atlantic division, but they need to start worrying about their grasp on the throne. [TVA Sports]
• Current St. John’s IceCaps star Nikita Scherbak is sending some love to his two Canadiens family members at this year’s tournament. /

Good luck to my two buddies in opening night tonight! @sergachev31 @noahjuulsen at WJC2017 🇷🇺🇨🇦@CanadiensMTL

— nikita scherbak (@nikscherbak) December 26, 2016

• Scherbak is learning the value of patience, and he’s getting help from fellow Russian Alexander Radulov. [Canadiens]
• Radulov is turning out to be a success in Montreal, despite not fitting the city’s idea of a typical star. [SI.com]
• Michael McCarron and Noah Juulsen sit down for the latest installment of The CHat. [Canadiens YouTube]/

Around the League and Elsewhere

• Calendars make the switch to 2017 in just a few days, it’s time to look back at the best hockey moments of 2016. [NHL]
• 2016 was certainly a great year for the NHL’s youngest stars. [The Score]
• Patrik Laine and Auston Matthews will be compared to one another for years to come - why not get started, looking at their rookie seasons thus far. [NHL]
• Bob McKenzie thinks Matthews will inevitably be the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. [TSN 1050]
• Patrick Marleau is among the NHL’s elite scorers of all-time, but what’s next for the veteran? [FanRag Sports]
• Vincent Lecavalier is enjoying his young retirement so far, and has no regrets. [JdM]
• Taylor Hall has fond memories of the World Juniors. [The Player’s Tribune]
• Olli Jokinen is part of a group of former NHL players focused on growing hockey in Southern Florida. [NHL]
• Canada lost its first game at the Spengler Cup, and Canadiens fans will recognize the goaltender on the winning side. [RDS]
• The Greater Toronto Hockey League is a proven training ground for NHL talent. [NHL]
• Ray Ferraro was asked to address a hockey team going through a rough patch, and he spoke some interesting hard truths about youth hockey. [New Westminster Royals]
• If you haven’t discovered Fatima Al Ali yet, take a cue from Peter Bondra and pay attention to the girl from the desert who’s at home on the ice. [JdM]/