Andrei Kostitsyn is caught in a classic Catch-22.

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Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak is expected to start tonight.

Photograph by : CHRISTINNE MUSCHI, REUTERS

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The talented but underachieving forward says it's difficult to put points on the board if he's only playing seven minutes a game.

But Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin says Kostitsyn will be on the fourth line tonight against the Atlanta Thrashers (7:30 p.m., RDS, CJAD Radio-800) because he wasn't playing up to expectations when he was being used as a top-six forward.

"I'm playing on the last line," Kostitsyn said yesterday when asked about his meagre production this season - one goal and three assists in 14 games. "I'm playing seven minutes a game and I don't have a chance to score goals and make good plays."

Kostitsyn was limited to 7:32 of ice time in Saturday's 5-4 shootout win over the Maple Leafs, but Martin said the 2003 first-round draft pick has had chances to show what he can do and has come up short.

As recently as Friday in Chicago, Kostitsyn was on the top line with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta and played 16:26. He had three shots on goal in that game but didn't score and finished at minus-2. He's averaging 14 minutes a game for the season.

"I'd like to see him play with more intensity," Martin said. "I'd like to see him make better hockey decisions."

There have been numerous suggestions that Kostitsyn has to shoot more. He has only 22 shots on net, but he bristled at the notion that this was part of his problem.

"Do you want me to shoot from the red line?" Kostitsyn asked. "I see a play (through) my vision. If I'm gonna make a good play, I make a good play. If (I see) a shot, I shoot."

Kostitsyn had a career-high 26 goals and 27 assists two seasons ago and scored 23 goals last season. When asked about the difference, he noted: "Last year, I played 16, 17 minutes a game. I played every shift in a game, Now, it's a couple of shifts in a game and, if there's a penalty, I'm sitting on the bench for five or six minutes."

While Kostitsyn said he didn't know he was struggling, he did say it wasn't related to the team's decision to send his younger brother, Sergei, back to Hamilton and his suspensions for balking at the demotion. He said he and Sergei each have their own careers.

Kostitsyn has played himself off the power play and that's one area where the Canadiens could use some help. Two years ago, he had 12 power-play goals. Last year, he had six goals and nine assists with the extra man.

In the words of Mike Cammalleri, the Canadiens' special teams "haven't been very special" this season, and Martin devoted a chunk of yesterday's workout to fine-tuning the power play.

The Canadiens rank 25th in the league with a success rate of 15.1 per cent. The penalty-killing unit ranks 24th at 75.8 per cent.

Martin noted the statistics are slightly skewed, because Montreal scored two goals Saturday seconds after a power play expired. He brushed off a suggestion that Montreal was having trouble setting up the power play.

"Our biggest problem is that we need more of a net presence," he said, meaning that he wants to see more of Guillaume Latendresse and others sacrificing their bodies in front of the net. Martin will wait until this morning to announce his goaltender for tonight, but expect to see Jaroslav Halak.