Jan 02 MAXIM LAPIERRE NAMED MOLSON CUP PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR DECEMBER

MONTREAL (January 3, 2009) – Centreman Maxim Lapierre is the Molson Cup Player of the Month for December. The St-Leonard native wins the Molson Cup for the first time of his career.

Lapierre recorded 11 points in Molson Cup standings in December after being voted first star of the game once and getting two second-star selections. Lapierre ended the month ahead of teammates Matt D’Agostini and Andrei Kostitsyn each with a 10-point Molson Cup total in December.

Lapierre registered seven points (4 goals and 3 assists) in 13 games in December. During that span, he had a “Gordie Howe hat trick” (a goal, an assist and a major penalty) to help the Canadiens defeat the New York Rangers 6-2 on December 4.

Lapierre also enjoyed a three-goal performance for his first NHL hat trick, including the game-winning goal, leading the Canadiens to a 5-2 win over the Panthers on December 29 in Florida.

Lapierre will be presented with the Molson Cup during a pre-game ceremony prior to Sunday’s game against the Florida Panthers, at Bell Centre.

Molson Cup -  December Standings

                          1*    2*    3*    Points
M. Lapierre         1     2      0    11
M. D’Agostini      2     0      0    10
A. Kostitsyn         2     0     0    10
C. Price               1     1     1    9
S. Kostitsyn         1     1     0    8
G. Latendresse    1     0     2    7
J. Halak              1     0     1    6
A. Kovalev           1     0     1    6
S. Bégin               0    1     2    5
R. Lang                0    1     1    4
T. Plekanec          0    1     1    4

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