Carbo calls on Kostopoulos for spark

[Habsfan84]

Changing lines is no big deal, Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau said on the eve of tonight's game against the Buffalo Sabres.
"I don't see it as a problem or a big, big deal," he said of the decision to take Michael Ryder off the top line and replace him with fourth-liner Tom Kostopoulos tonight (7:30 p.m., RDS, CJAD Radio-800).
"It happened last year and it will happen again this year. It would be fun for me to go through 82 games with the same lines and the same duos on defence, but we know it isn't going to happen." Carbonneau said he hoped Ryder, who is mired in a slump, will benefit from getting away from the comfort level he enjoyed playing with Saku Koivu and Christopher Higgins.

"I think playing with different people he doesn't know, maybe he'll trust his instincts and shoot a little more," said Carbonneau, who demoted Ryder to the third line with Steve Bégin and Bryan Smolinski.

The coach said Ryder's slump might have have affected his linemates, who have gone four games without a goal.
"If you look at their stats, probably. They're good friends and they were constantly talking about how to get out of it and - it's an old story - the more you try, the deeper you go," Carbonneau said.
The new line has seen some action as a late-game shutdown unit and Higgins noted that he and Koivu haven't been playing their best hockey in recent games, and hoped that Kostopoulos brings some energy to the line.
"We've been going through one of those times when the puck isn't bouncing, you're gripping your stick and maybe we weren't as focused as we are when things are going well," said Higgins, who noted that it might take Kostopoulos a few shifts to adjust to his new linemates.
There won't be as many expectations on the newcomer to score goals, but he'll be asked to do some of the heavy lifting along the boards.
The changes come as the Canadiens are playing well as a team. Tonight marks the end of a four-game road swing. The Canadiens have won two of the first three games and are an impressive 6-2-1 on the road. The team stands fourth in the Eastern Conference standings and only three teams in the league have more points than the Habs.
Tonight's game is the first in a back-to-back sequence for the Canadiens, who return to the Bell Centre tomorrow to play the Boston Bruins (7 p.m., RDS, CJAD Radio-800).
Back-to-back games were a problem for the Canadiens last season - they won only 10 of 30 games in 15 back-to-back situations, but won back-to-back road games in Carolina and Pittsburgh last month for their first sweep since March 2006.
They get a break tonight because they'll be coming off a quiet night in Buffalo, while the Sabres were in action last night in Ottawa, where they lost 3-2 to the Senators.
The Sabres have lost six of seven games awaiting tonight's game and goalie Cristobal Huet said he hoped the Sabres don't break out tonight.
"We have to be careful, but we also have to focus on the way we play," said Huet, who will get the start tonight.
"We weren't very happy with the way we played in Toronto, so it's going to be up to us to play a better game." Carey Price gets the start tomorrow night against Boston. It will be only the second start on home ice for the rookie, who has a 4-1-1 record this season.