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Afternoon reading: On Pacioretty, Montreal’s sensitive sniper

Max Pacioretty

Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) pauses in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

AP

Just sitting in the Staples Center media room. All’s quiet here, so I thought I’d pass along some afternoon reading in the wake of Guy Lafleur’s pointed comments on Max Pacioretty.

This column by the Toronto Star’s Bruce Arthur is a good look into Pacioretty’s sensitive psyche.

“When I first got called up (in 2009) I scored on my first shot, first period, first game, and I thought life was the easiest thing in the world,” said Pacioretty. “I thought I was never going back to the minors. And you go two games without a point, three games without a point, four or five, and you feel like you’re the worst person ever, the worst player ever. And at that point of my career I wasn’t mentally strong enough to come out of that. You just feel like you’re never going to score again, and . . .

Also check out the Twitter feed of NHL.com’s Arpon Basu, who recently talked to Pacioretty about handling media and fan criticism in the hockey-mad market of Montreal.

“I can handle having a bad game and having people tell me that, and I can handle people critiquing my game and having an honest opinion,” said Pacioretty. “But, people mentioned I scored 39 goals, I think I was fourth in the league, and to take heat about scoring goals from no one that’s ever scored an NHL goal really bothers me at times.”

Obviously, some guys let criticism bother them more than others. Pacioretty is in the “bothers him a lot” category, which is why playing in Montreal has been so tough for him at times, and why he’s had to work on the mental side of the game.

To be fair, he’s only 25, and he did score four times in his last eight playoff games.