MONTREAL - Young skaters Sergei Kostitsyn, Guillaume Latendresse and Ryan O'Byrne will sit out the Montreal Canadiens game on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Thrashers.
Kostitsyn and Latendresse are among a handful of Canadiens who have struggled to score goals of late. Kostitsyn has played in every game this season but has not scored in 12 straight games. Latendresse has only two goals this season.
Carbonneau benched Kostitsyn in the third period of a 3-2 win over Buffalo on Saturday night for taking needless penalties.
"I had a good talk with him," the coach said. "He just needs to realize where he is.
"Last year, he was a better player, maybe not better conditioned, but his attitude was a lot better. He just needs to get back to that."
Carbonneau was in an edgy mood after the team's light skate on Tuesday morning. He told reporters he was tired of always having to explain why players are left out of the lineup.
"That's personal - you don't need to know why they're not playing," he said.
The Canadiens carry 23 players, but only 20 can dress for a game. Winger Matt d'Agostini, who was called up on Friday from AHL Hamilton, will play a second straight game while forwards Alex Tanguay and Georges Laraque will return to the lineup from injuries.
