The good news is that Montreal Canadiens' usually reticent Andrei Kostitsyn was talking and making sense Sunday.

But head coach Guy Carbonneau said Kostitsyn, who suffered a concussion when he was thrown into the boards by Phoenix Coyotes defenceman Kurt Sauer Saturday night, will not be in the lineup when the Canadiens play the Florida Panthers Monday night.

NHL guidelines require Kostitsyn to pass a baseline test before returning to the ice. Sauer wasn't penalized on the play and Carbonneau said he didn't expect the NHL to impose any supplementary discipline.

"From what I understand, they don't see the hit to the head," Carbonneau said. "I'm not saying they think it's a clean hit, but they don't see the impact. I look at it the other way. I've seen the replay 50 times and you see [Sauer] definitely push his arm forward. "

Sutter making his name: Brandon Sutter is carrying on the famous family name so far with the Carolina Hurricanes.

"It's been pretty crazy," the 19-year-old rookie, who nearly scored his first NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings, told the Raleigh News & Observer.

The Red Deer, Alta., native -- and son of former NHLer/current New Jersey Devils coach Brent Sutter -- assisted on veteran Dan LaCouture's game-winning goal in his NHL debut.

Sutter, the Canes' first-round draft choice in 2007, is the ninth family member to be drafted into the NHL.

"The one thing I noticed about him versus the other young guys is that he's not nervous at all," LaCouture told the newspaper. "In my first training camp, I was 20 and nervous as all heck. You're in the locker-room with men, guys who have kids.

"But Brandon wasn't nervous. He has a lot of poise."

"He seems years ahead, development-wise and in terms of his maturity," forward Wade Brookbank added. "He plays like he's been in the league for years.

"It may be a cliche, but as people say, it's in his genes."

Fresh start for Havlat: Martin Havlat is hoping things will be better now that the Chicago Blackhawks have a new coach in Joel Quenneville.

Havlat and former coach Denis Savard had difficulties getting along.

"We have a new coach and it's a new beginning," Havlat told the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago. "There may be a few different things, but not that many changes."

Avery not talking: Sean Avery is returning to New York, but mum's the word for the current Dallas Star.

"Thank you all for your inquiries and requests for interviews," the usually bombastic Avery said in a response to e-mails from reporters previewing Monday night's game against his old club, the New York Rangers. "In my effort to focus on the game at hand, I would prefer not to do a lot of interviews, so please accept this statement in lieu of full court press.

"I extremely enjoyed my time in N.Y. playing for the Rangers ... I wish the Rangers all the best and I hope that they have a great season. I have no animosity toward anyone in [the Rangers] organization for not bringing me back; that is sometimes how things work out."