Feb 18 Habs Proved to be Winners in Recent 4-3 Shootout Loss To Washington Capitals

For the first time in a very long time, I enjoyed a hockey game in which the Montreal Canadiens were involved for a full 60 minutes plus 5 overtime minutes even though they ended up losers in the end. Scratch that, although they lost this game in the shootout, the Canadiens may have won something more important: self respect and a team mentality.

Many were predicting that without Alex Kovalev in the line-up, Montreal had no firepower left to battle the mighty Washington Capitals, and don't take my adjective as sarcasm, the Capitals, with players like Ovechkin, Green, Semin and Backstrom ar e the real deal and should go very far in the playoffs. But instead, the Canadiens proved that one man does not a team make and this is the crux behind all that Bob Gainey and his coaching staff have been trying to instil in this team.

The team, surely not unaffected by the recent shake-up Gainey had made, sending Sergei Kostitsyn and Ryan O'Byrne to the AHL as well as acquiring Mathieu Schneider and of course the much publicised ordered rest of Alex Kovalev, had no choice but to react, one way or the other.

How did they do? They scored the game's first goal, something they have been having trouble doing with any consistency, Carey Price made some very key saves in a first period whirlwind that not only saw Washington take the eventual lead, but included an Alexander Ovechkin highlight reel goal. Price, had kept his team in the game, something he was unable to do during the Canadiens recent woes. All of Kovalev's former line-mates, Higgins, Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn got a goal and they were all scored on the Canadiens' power-play opportunities, something else that was stalled for quite some time now. Did I mention that Habs leading scorer Andrei Markov, who amassed a total of 3 points in his last 8 games, ended the contest with 3 points on the night?

Speaking of the power-play, didn't you like what you saw with Schneider on the point, making those crisp, precise passes onto his teammate's sticks, allowing the Habs to keep the puck active, something else they have not been able to do lately?

Another thing the Canadiens did, that we have all not seen in a while, was not give up when the opposing team took over the lead. there were no slumping shoulders, there were no nervous plays causing an overabundant amount of turnovers, and had it not been for that one missed face-off that resulted in a tipped shot that beat Carey price with minutes left in the 3rd period, the Canadiens would have also stolen 2 points in Washington last night against a team that did not let up for the full 65 minutes of play.

I will say this, however: Not having Kovalev, or someone like Kovalev in the shoot-out was surely an element that was lacking last night. Now, since his sitting out, there have been no fence sitters as groups have been split into either Gainey or Kovalev sympathizers, but only those two know exactly what has been said and only those two know if Kovalev sitting at home is better for the team or not. All we can do is speculate who deserved what, or who shouldn't have done what, but one thing is for sure, so far, like it or not, the team has reacted in a convincing manner that would tend to prove Gainey's point.

I'm not saying that we don't need Kovalev, on the contrary, I'm still waiting for him to join the team since October. The problem is that once you take off the kovalev coloured glasses, he is not and has not been performing at the level he is expected to and if this is propagating to the many younger players, then you might have en epidemic on your hands. I think Bob, after one or two heart to hearts with his star forward, was finally forced to nip this situation in the bud. I'm sure it was not a decision he wanted to take, but he took it none the less, because Bob Gainey has always been about a "team first" mentality as opposed to individualistic play. I'm also sure that if even I was getting frustrated watching Kovalev try to out-deke 3 forwards and 2 defenseman from behind his own blue line instead of trying to find a teammate or an open wing, Bob and the rest of the team might have also caught that nuance as well.

And finally, a few parting statements in conclusion:

-If the Canadiens bring that same intense, forechecking/backchecking, solid game into Pittsburgh tonight, they will win handily against a team that is also going through some turmoil of their own.

-The Canadiens do still need either Kovalev (version 2007/08) or a reasonable facsimile in order to help in the scoring department

Regardless of the Kovalev situation, presently, the addition of Schneider, the eventual return of Alex Tanguay and Guillaume Latendresse as well as the (perhaps) temporary subtraction of Sergei Kostitsyn and subsequent promotion of Gritty Gregory Stewart, makes this team better. Now they have to believe it. 

Tags: Alex Kovalev \ Alexander Ovechkin \ Andrei Kostitsyn \ Andrei Markvov \ Chris Higgins \ Montreal Canadiens \ Sergei Kostitsyn \ Washington Capitals