Canadiens winger Sergei Kostitsyn had 13 points in 16 games with the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs this season. (Gregory Smith/Associated Press)

It's time for Sergei Kostitsyn to walk the walk.

The left-winger took to the ice at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum on Oct 6 with the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs, repeatedly stating he had the ability to play in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens.

Once again, Kostitsyn has a chance to resume his career at the highest level after twice being suspended by Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey following a disappointing training camp.

The 22-year-old was recalled Monday from Hamilton after Gainey traded Guillaume Latendresse to Minnesota for fellow left-winger Benoit Pouliot, and is expected to make his season debut with Montreal on Tuesday against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Pouliot, who won't report to the Canadiens until Tuesday afternoon, is sidelined until at least this weekend with a reported wrist injury, thus opening the door for Kostitsyn.

The six-foot, 210-pound Russian earned his latest promotion by scoring four goals and 13 points in 16 games with Hamilton.

Another chance

Kostitsyn agreed to return to the Bulldogs after meeting with Gainey, who had suspended him for a second time this season on Oct. 21.

Kostitsyn has been on shaky ground with the Canadiens since he was associated with a minor thug in Montreal last spring. He was subsequently shipped to Hamilton to improve his work ethic.

He did little to impress new Montreal head coach Jacques Martin at training camp in September, arriving in bad shape after nursing an injury in the off-season and scoring once in three exhibition games.

Kostitsyn was late for practices and meetings, missed a team bus for a pre-season game in Quebec City and had a strip torn off him by Martin for not paying attention in practice.

He demanded to be traded after being sent down to the minors just before the end of camp. Kostitsyn held out for nearly a week and was suspended before agreeing to report.

He returns to meet the Blue Jackets, who were embarrassed 7-4 by the Rangers in New York on Monday night and have lost two in a row.

They last faced Montreal on Nov. 7, 2008, defeating the Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout on a night Kostitsyn forced overtime when he scored with 40.9 seconds left in regulation.

Montreal is coming off another shooting loss, this time at the hands of Detroit by a 3-2 score on Saturday to even its record at 11-11-1, good for 12th spot in the Eastern Conference.

The 12-7-3 Blue Jackets are eighth in the West but 28th among the NHL's 30 teams in goals-against average at 3.46.

Laraque serves suspension

Steve Mason, last year's rookie of the year, was pulled after allowing four goals in 26 minutes and saw his GAA rise to 3.59, a far cry from his 2.29 average in 61 games a year ago.

Columbus jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Rangers recorded three goals in less than six minutes in the first period and coughed up three more in a 71-second span in the second.

That's good news for the Canadiens, who have scored only eight goals in their last four games, but could have centre Scott Gomez in the lineup Tuesday.

He suffered a groin injury on Friday in Washington that kept him out of the lineup for Saturday's contest against Detroit and Monday's practice.

Canadiens tough guy Georges Laraque will sit the next five games after being suspended by the NHL on Monday for his knee-on-knee hit on Detroit defenceman Niklas Kronwall in Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss.