While it’s still just preseason and a lot of the probable NHLers won’t be in the Montreal lineup, the Canadiens team the Boston Bruins will face tonight at Bell Centre will still be attempting to change its style of play from the last couple years.

That became apparent at practice the other day, as Pat Hickey of Montreal Gazette reported, when head coach Jacques Martin could be heard criticizing Sergei Kostitsyn’s position. After the practice, Martin explained what he was looking for from the winger.

“What I’m referring to is that we want to play a puck- possession game,” Martin explained to Hickey. “To do that, you have to have good support for the puck, you have to be close to the puck carrier instead of being stretched.

“A good example was today in practice, and we got the puck in our zone and Sergei is at the far blue line looking for the long pass. Well, that’s not in our system. I want him to be in the same zone where the puck is.”

So the Habs are trying to rein in their offensive game, but their big offseason additions were all speedsters like Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez. Things are already getting interesting in Montreal.

Elsewhere in the division:

•Tomorrow night in Ottawa the Bruins are scheduled to face goaltender Pascal Leclaire for the full 60 minutes, but Filip Kuba will not play for the Senators.

•Ottawa rookie Peter Regin might get to skate with Mike Fisher and Alex Kovalev.

•Toronto head coach Ron Wilson is still deciding on Nazem Kadri’s fate.

•Former Bruins goaltender Joey MacDonald made his case for making the Maple Leafs roster.

•Forward Jochen Hecht is trying to turn around his career in Buffalo.