Wednesday Habs Headlines: Lacklustre power play is missing creativity

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• A lack of creativity on the man advantage has stalled the Canadiens’ power play of late. The Habs will need to look to Kirk Muller to sprinkle a little magic to help the team’s PP unit if they hope to continue to produce. [TSN 690]
• Max Pacioretty visited the Terry Fox Elementary School in Laval, QC, to talk about the importance of working hard and overcoming adversity. [CBC]
• Canadiens owner Geoff Molson answers fans questions, including his thoughts on the 2016-17 edition of the Habs and his favorite hockey memory./

• Shea Weber started the season off with a bang, but his production has slowed of late. Almost midway into December, the veteran defenceman has been held off the scoresheet since late November. [TVA Sports]
• Mark Barberio and Sven Andrighetto were both reassigned to the St. John’s IceCaps on Tuesday. [EOTP]
• Andrei Markov expressed his doubts over the conclusions of the McLaren report on Russian state-sponsored doping programs that is said to implicate more than 1,000 athletes. [JdM]
• The Habs-Bruins hatred seemed to have died down in recent history, but Monday night’s game reignited the fire of one of the league’s most classic rivalries. [NHL]
• While nothing can compare to last year’s gem, the Canadiens are there once again to help you get into the Christmas spirit:/

Around the league and elsewhere

• With eSports on the rise, should the NHL be looking to head into unexplored territory? [Sportsnet]
• While Carey Price and Shea Weber are still leading the Atlantic Division, former Canadien P.K. Subban has surpassed Patrick Kane in the Central Division’s All-Star Captain vote. /

PK Subban has passed Patrick Kane in the All-Star captain voting. pic.twitter.com/pW1gD6GlOV

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) December 13, 2016

• Patrik Laine nabbed his first own-goal this past week, and Sportsnet takes a look back at some of the top own-goals in the last 30 odd years, including Habs GM Marc Bergevin literally tossing the puck into his own net. [Sportsnet]
• Not hockey-related, but definitely noteworthy. Penny Oleksiak won the 2016 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete at only 16 years of age./

Congratulations to Penny Oleksiak on being named Canada’s 2016 athlete of the year. #LouMarsh. pic.twitter.com/M0ST96UOft

— Team Canada PR (@TeamCanadaPR) December 13, 2016

• The San Jose Sharks’ top blue-liner, Brent Burns, may be a man with a crazy beard, but there’s a lot more that goes on beyond that famous facial hair that makes him the man and hockey player he is today. [Sportsnet]
• Check out this New Zealand goaltender take a penalty shot — and score! With his puck handling skills, I’d like to see Carey Price take a few shots for the Canadiens. [SB Nation]/