Andrei Kostitsyn absent from Canadiens morning skate, game-time decision for Game 2

Canadiens winger Andrei Kostitsyn was not on the ice for the Canadiens’ morning skate on Saturday. Kostitsyn was slow back to the bench on Thursday after blocking a Zdeno Chara slapshot in the first period, but would return to play the rest of the game.

After the skate, Montreal coach Jacques Martin deemed both Kostitsyn and Jeff Halpern, the latter of whom did not play Thursday due to a lower-body injury, game-time decisions for Game 2 on Saturday night.

The 26-year-old Kostitsyn played 12:08 in the Canadiens’ 2-0 win Thursday, skating on a line with Michael Cammalleri and Tomas Plekanec.