MONTREAL (CP) - The Bell Centre crowd has found a new favourite - 18-year-old winger Guillaume Latendresse.
Latendresse had two goals and an assist as young prospects shone in the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 NHL pre-season rout of the Tampa Bay lightning on Tuesday night.
The crowd of 18,323 chanted Guy, Guy, Guy - a honour once reserved for former stars Guy Carbonneau and Guy Lafleur - as Latendresse had a night to remember playing in front of family and friends from nearby Ste-Catherine, Que.
''I was surprised that they did that in my first game,'' he said. ''It was fun, but I had to keep my mind on what was going on on the ice.
''The veterans here have really helped me a lot. It's a big stage in my career I'm going through and I'm really happy the way it's gone so far.'' His linemates Marcel Hossa and Radek Bonk each had a goal and three assists. Steve Begin and Tomas Plekanec also scored for the Canadiens.
Jim Cambell scored early for Tampa Bay, the defending Stanley Cup champions who rested their top line of Martin St-Louis, Brad Richards and Fred Modin.
The line of Plekanec, Chris Higgins and Alexander Perezhogin also had a strong game. Coach Claude Julien said it will be tough to cut any of them if they continue to impress.
''The better they play, the more difficult it gets,'' said Julien. ''But it's a nice problem to have.''
The six-foot-two Latendresse, who drew cheers for his physical play as well as his offensive skill, was drafted in the second round in June and has been a standout in camp thus far.
However, he's most likely to be sent back to the junior Drumondville Voltigeurs.
''I'm ready if that happens,'' he said. ''I'm only 18. I can't be too disappointed if I get sent back. But even if I am, I'll know I gave it my best shot.''
The Canadiens dressed 10 veterans while Tampa Bay went with a mostly young lineup, but coach John Tortorella said his team was simply outplayed.
''I'm not making any excuses - we just didn't play well,'' he said. ''We weren't quick enough. But tomorrow's a well-deserved day off for the whole camp.''
He said the training camp roster will be cut to 28 players on Wednesday.
It was rough first game in a Tampa Bay uniform for veteran goaltender Sean Burke, who looked slow and rusty while he allowed six goals on 38 shots. He was acquired after Nikolai Khabibulin left as a free agent for Chicago.
''Burkie is a pro,'' said Tortorella. ''It's his first game. He hasn't faced a lot of shots in game situations. That's going to come now. He'll be fine.''
Added Burke: ''Two goals I wasn't happy about, but I saw a lot of pucks and that's what you need at this time of year.''
Latendresse made a good third for Bonk and Hossa, who also combine size and skill. Bonk used to play with Hossa's older brother Marian in Ottawa.
''They look alike on the ice,'' said Bonk. ''The game's so quick, you look at him and you think it's Marian.
''But they're different. Marian probably has a little better hands, but when you look at them quickly, there's no difference.''
It's a make or break year for Hossa, a 2000 first-round draft choice who has thus far failed to stick with the NHL club. He also had a goal in Montreal's opening exhibition game against Atlanta on Sunday.
''I worked hard this summer,'' said Hossa. ''This is my best shot to make the team. It's now or never. Right now, I'm very confident. I just have to be consistent.''
The Lightning fired 26 shots at Yann Danis and Jose Theodore.
While there were more penalties than in pre-lockout days, special teams didn't dominate as much as in many of the exhibition openers last weekend as the teams looked to be adjusting to a crackdown on restraining fouls.
There were 14 minor penalties called in the game - only five for hooking or holding.<
''It was a little bit better than the first game, but there were still a lot of penalties,'' said Bonk. ''It's going to take some time for the referees and the players to adjust.
''It was our second game and players are catching on, but it's a big difference and it will take a couple more games to do it.''
It wasn't a perfect night for the Bonk line, which was on the ice when Campbell jumped on a giveaway to go to the net and score on his own rebound 4:54 into the game.
Begin tied it at 11:52 on a feed from Plekanec and Hossa put Montreal ahead when he banged in Bonk's rebound at 16:09. Latendresse backhanded a rebound over Burke on a power play at 18:10.
Montreal was on another man advantage when Latendresse took a feed from Hossa and beat Burke from in close 8:41 into the second frame.
Bonk made it 5-1 at 1:14 of the third on a rush with Latendresse and Plekanec scored shorthanded at 4:27. Montreal improved to 2-0 in the pre-season while Tampa Bay dropped to 1-1.
Montreal also won a demonstration shootout 2-1, with Alex Kovalev and Perezhogin scoring while Pavel Kubina replied for Tampa Bay.