Is the Golden Boy's spot safe?

I'm pretty sure Guillaume Latendresse is asking himself the same question, though I doubt he refers to himself as the Golden Boy.

I know no one wishes an injury on anyone, but this is nonetheless a yawning door that's opening for someone like Max Pacioretty to show that he can be more effective than Latendresse in that role.

Of course, that's assuming Latendresse even had a role, but the role he's supposed to play is a cross between a banger and a scorer. He played a lot better with Maxim Lapierre and Tom Kostopoulos, but the fact remains that the organization likely believed he would be a lot farther along in his development at this point when the decision was made to keep him in the NHL rather than send him to junior three years ago.

Now, Latendresse is up for a new contract this summer and even though he went on a stretch where he was playing pretty well, he hasn't come anywhere close to where his ceiling should be.

Pacioretty, meanwhile, has an opportunity over the next four to six weeks to show that he might in fact deserve Latendresse's minutes, and quite frankly I'm excited to see what he will do with it because he appears to be someone that could turn into a late-season bloomer for the Habs.

Playing with Lapierre will definitely help, because his energy is infectious and he is easily the team's most improved player. It will likely help Sergei Kostitsyn as well, because if he played with half the energy Lapierre shows every night he'd be a force.

If Pacioretty goes on a little run here and starts making plays like the one he made to set up Lapierre's goal Tuesday night, it could very well cement his spot in the lineup even when Latendresse is healthy, which would obviously be a disastrous turn of events for the Golden Boy as he goes looking for a new contract this summer.

Pacioretty has six points in in 14 games with 13:39 of ice time per game, which translates to almost exactly the same pace as Latendresse's 18 points in 43 games with 13:41 on the ice per contest. But something tells me that Pacioretty will improve as the going gets tougher this month while teams get desperate to make the playoffs, while Latendresse has had a tendency to wither in intense environments.

How Pacioretty reacts to the increased urgency in the games over the six weeks will likely have a huge impact on the role Latendresse will play upon his return.