MONTREAL - Maxim Lapierre keeps his teammates in stitches.
The laughing kind.
The Montreal Canadiens agitator had his mouth going in the Habs’ 5-1 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers and the ante seems to be going up heading into Game 4 Saturday.
Lapierre’s counterpart with the Flyers, Dan Carcillo, called Montreal forward Mike Cammalleri “embarrassing,” Friday after Cammalleri stuck his tongue out at him.
Lapierre was picking on any Flyer within earshot, apparently targeting rumours of the off-ice night life of several Flyers.
“You should quit drinking,” he said to a couple of Flyers, according to one player.
“He had his mouth running (Thursday) night,” said linemate Tom Pyatt, who, along with centre Dominic Moore, make up what has been a really effective third line for the Habs. “He had the guys laughing on the bench. Anyone who was close by, they were hearing it.”
Lapierre also got the job done on the ice with a couple of assists while Pyatt and Moore had a goal and an assist in the win. The Habs are now 6-1 in games in which at least one of the three score a goal.
“In the playoffs, everybody has got to play their role. Sometimes it’s just being stupid to get the attention on me,” said Lapierre. “It’s just a game and at the end, it’s just talking. Sometimes it works.”
“He’s kind of the comic relief. He has a lot energy and the perfect personality for the job he has,” said Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, who sits just a couple of stalls down from Lapierre in the Habs’ dressing room. “He’s non-stop and fun to watch when I’m not playing because I get to hear it.”
HEAR AND THERE: Cammalleri’s stall is a must-stop most days for the growing entourage of media following the Habs. He’s articulate and doesn’t seem to tire of answering the same questions from the new arrivals, including his decision to embrace playing in Montreal. It came up again Friday. “Playing in a market like this you can only try and use that maybe to get the best out of yourself as a player and really fully engage in your career that way. I’ve heard from a lot of guys that finished, they say when the lights go off, trust me they go off. Why not have them on when you’re playing?”...His popularity with the media isn’t overlooked by his teammates. “Actually when P.K. (Subban) joined the team, Scott Gomez announced that I’m now demoted, I’m now the second most arrogant guy on the team. I think that has to go with the talking. I’ve lost the title. And actually Bergy (M.A. Bergeron) might have slipped ahead of me, too, so I might be number three now.”
