Translated from cyberpresse.ca

Guy Carbonneau was clear on one point Tuesday, before the game against the Atlanta Thrashers. Veterans like Steve Bégin and Mathieu Dandenault are delivering the goods lately because they don’t want to get out of the lineup. And the younger players aren’t doing anything to take them out, far from it. This explains in part why Sergei Kostitsyn and Guillaume Latendresse saw the game from the rafters. For a second (now third) consecutive game Mathieu Dandenault was used at the blue line with Francis Bouillon. Ryan O’Byrne was left aside again.

Dandenault played in only 16 of the 23 games of the team and most often than not, he’s playing musical chair with Tom Kostopoulos, Steve Bégin, Maxim Lapierre and Georges Laraque on the fourth line.

Mathieu Dandenault believed his days in Montreal were over last summer. The Sherbrokke player had one of his most frustrating seasons in career and with one year left to his contract, he already saw himself playing somewhere else.

Last year he played only 61 games switching between the blue line and right wing but most importantly he was a healthy scratch often, something he was experiencing for the first time. For a veteran with close to 1000 games (843) it was a big slap in the face.

“It wasn’t easy last summer. I thought I was going to play elsewhere. I didn’t ask for a trade, I just wanted to know what was happening with me. Against Philadelphia in playoffs I missed three games and we lost all three. I was convinced it was the end. But the organization explained that I was still part of the plans of the team and they wanted to keep me. I had a good camp and Mark Streit’s departure opened some doors for me. I suppose the team thought I was a better solution than a Hamilton call-up. My versatility is my big advantage.