A Night out with the Kostitsyns

I had the privilege of attending last nights game with fellow co-founder/writer of Habs Express Mike L. We had the privilege of getting great tickets to the event at the Bell Centre. After celebrating the win over Jersey with 21, 273 people at the Bell Centre, I decided to head out with two of my buddies and party it up at Club Opera. Unfortunately, it was packed and so Opera decided to raise the age-limit to 21 and over. However, no club in Montreal can stop Romo-Sexy, so I got in, with style. I managed to become a VIP and receive benefits. Don't ask me how I pulled that off, but one of the rewards was to sit at a table with the two most popular Belorussians in Montreal. You guessed it, Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, the two Bratyas.

The two Bratyas, who had an amazing game capped off by Andrei's first star selection, were sitting with some girls, bouncers and I think their father. Their parents flew in to watch the game last night and so they decided to hit the night life of Montreal as well. Anyways, back to the Bratyas, Andrei and Sergei both wore suits, drank Vodka (like water as all Russians do), and got some girls. I decided to walk up to both of them and express my happiness. Sergei was more quiet but me and Andrei had a nice long conversation. Here's some questions I asked Andrei.
P. S The convo was in Russian.

Romo asked "Do you feel more comfortable now that your brother is playing with you every night?"

AK46 - "Yea, of course. He's my best friend and having him with me definitely makes me happy."

Romo - "Will the Canadiens win the cup this year?

AK46 - (While smiling said) "YES. We'll win it. You'll see."

It was very nice seeing Andrei's expression and confidence in winning the cup. Whatever Guy is doing in the locker room has got to be working because all the players seem to be excited and confidant on bringing the cup back to this city.

Definition - Bratyas is Russian for Brothers.

Our Impact Player

Make no mistake about it...Alex Kovalev is the engine pulling this Habs train to first place in the East.

Sure, the defence is massively improved over last year with the addition of Hamrlik, the return to form of Bouillon and the emergence of Gorges and O'Byrne.

Other forwards are contributing, with seven forty-point scorers for the first time since the team's last Cup Final appearance.

The goaltending has been solid for the most part, and there's a kind of rare cameraderie and got-your-back attitude in the room. Even Guy Carbonneau has improved, with a much more relaxed attitude and smarter coaching decisions.

But Kovalev...he's the glue holding the whole collage together. Saturday, after his four-point night against Buffalo, he sits at fifteenth place in NHL scoring. He's ahead of the Sedins, Dany Heatley, Scott Gomez and Olli Jokinen. Sidney Crosby too...but we can't count that when you consider Crosby's injury.

I don't remember the last time the Habs had a guy ranked that high in league scoring.Tomas Plekanec is feeding off the perfect cross-ice passes from Kovalev on the powerplay.

Speaking of which, the powerplay is still number one in the league while Kovalev leads the league in PP points.

The PK has also improved, since Carbonneau decided to make Kovalev a full-time penalty-killer. So now he's setting up shorthanded goals as well.

This season, I've seen Kovalev block shots, hustle back to cover his own zone and unselfishly dish the puck to his much younger linemates when he might have scored himself. His wristshot from the right circle has the accuracy of a night-vision scope.

Two nights ago, when the Sabres had scored their second goal and the defence was looking a little harried, Kovalev skated over to Carey Price and had a little chat with him during a stoppage in play. Things settled down after that and the Habs chugged on to a nice win. This is the definition of a guy who does it all, and when you consider where the Canadiens were predicted to finish this year, you have to look at Kovalev as a major reason why they're first in their division instead.

So...the question is: Has Kovalev done enough to become a Hart Trophy candidate? If you look at the definition of the award, which says the winner is the player who is most valuable to his team, you'd have to think he has a chance to get his name on the ballot.

Here's a guy who, at 35 years of age, is set to have one of his best offensive seasons, is a solid plus player, is wearing the A for his team and showing why he has it, is dominant on special teams and is making his teammates better players.

I guess the real litmus test is to think about where the team would be without Kovalev. The PP would certainly be less effective. Andrei Kostitsyn and Tomas Plekanec would likely not be sitting on the first line without Kovalev as a winger. The many, many games in which Kovalev has figured as the Habs' offensive force would be either much closer or be lost. The very fear he instills in opposing defenders wouldn't be there, nor the respect for the Habs' attack we're witnessing now.

I think Kovalev should be a Hart candidate. Whether he becomes one might depend on how far uphill that engine can drag the Little Team That Could.

Written by J.T.

*Also Check out this article on Kovalev from NHL.com*

First in the East!!!!

The Montreal Canadiens, who were projected to come anywhere between 9th and 13th place, have risen to first in the eastern conference. It is the first time they've held op spot in the East after the all-star break since 1993. Coincidence!?

The Canadiens beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on saturday claiming sole possession of first place in the East.

Mark Streit scored on the power play, 6 minutes into the second period, to give the habs a 1-0 lead. It was his second consecutive game with a goal.

Brian Gionta tied the game up for New Jersey, nearly 14 minutes into the second period, ending they're 131 minute goalless drought.

Andrei Kostitsyn scored the game winner on a power play goal, with 6 minutes left in the game.

Carey Price played a solid game, stopping 31 shots, including some very key saves on a Devils power play with 5 minutes left in the game.

New Logo!

Hey guys, Habs Express now has a new, real, logo. Special thanks to Cory Switzman, who designed the thing.

Next Up - Brodeur and the Devils

The Northeast division leading Canadiens, take on the conference leading Devils, Saturday night in Montreal. It is the third time this season the two clubs are meeting, and the first time in the Bell Center.

Carey Price will face off against Montreal native, Martin Brodeur, who is 34-13-5 (W-L-T) all-time against the Canadiens.

The Last time these two clubs met, the Canadiens came back from a two goal deficit in the third period, to win the game 4-3, thanks to a two goal effort by Brian Smolinski and a late goal from Christopher Higgins to win the game.

Numero Uno
The Devils sit atop the Eastern conference but for how long...The Canadiens have their eyes set on becoming number one and are now only 1 win and a Pittsburgh loss away from sole possession from the crown.

The Price Is Right
Carey Price gets his 4th consecutive start and his second since the Canadiens traded away Cristobal Huet. Price, who is 14-9-3, will aim for his 3rd straight win.

Montreal Snipers?
The Montreal Canadiens have scored 207 goals for 07/08 campaign. The team without a "Superstar" sits 2nd in the league behind Ottawa (211 goals). The Canadiens are the only team in the NHL with 7 players that have at least 40 points. The team has great chemistry and thus all four lines produce speed, precise passing, and goals.

Please don't bench me!
The 2007-2008 roster consists of 22 players and 2 goalies. This is an issue in the locker room because only 18 players and suits up to play. Therefore 4 players are scratches for every game. When looking at this from a coaches viewpoint, this is great. Because if 1 player doesn’t perform then there are 4 others who are eagerly waiting to take his spot. However from a players viewpoint, this is horrible. Every player wants to play. That is their job, that is their life, that is what they love. If a player is scratched then it might be several games before they return. Right now the chemistry on the team is great. Dandenault, Kostopoulos, Brisebois will continue sitting in the press box while Smolinski and Begin alternate.

TEAM COMPARISON

	2007-2008 Team Stats
80	Points:	79
37	Wins:	35
4	Shutouts:	3
21	Power Play Rank:	1
11	Penalty Kill Rank:	24
.783	Win % When Leading After 1:	.821
.923	Win % When Leading After 2:	.828
.294	Win % When Trailing After 1:	.211
.231	Win % When Trailing After 2:	.120

TEAM LEADERS

GOALS:	Z. Parise	25		A. Kovalev	29
ASSISTS:	Z. Parise	30		A. Kovalev	38
POINTS:	Z. Parise	55		A. Kovalev	67
+/-:	P. Martin	19		A. Kovalev	9
OT GOALS:	P. Elias	2		A. Kovalev	1