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Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty absolutely loves playing on a line with Alexander Radulov. The captain just wishes the Russian would stop shoving his fingers down his throat during their goal celebrations.

“His whole thing now is he’s trying to put his glove in my face,” Pacioretty explained after scoring three goals in a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night at the Bell Centre. “I don’t know why.

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“It started in New Jersey (after Pacioretty scored a goal in a 3-1 win over the Devils on Jan. 20) where he did it and I had to get mouthwash on the bench because I think he put a couple of his fingers down my throat,” the captain added. “It’s disgusting! He said to me: ‘I just washed my glove.’ I said: ‘I don’t care.’ He knew how mad I was and he keeps doing it, so you guys can tell him to stop doing that. I’ll have to use mouthwash every game now.”

Pacioretty was smiling when he told the story.

The captain has a lot to smile about these days with his team sitting comfortably in first place in the Atlantic Division and, with 24 goals, he was tied for second in the NHL after Tuesday’s games, four behind Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby.