Cyberspace is all a-twitter over comments made by Alan Walsh, the agent for Habs’ goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

Walsh insists he was just having a little fun, when he took a poke at Carey Price’s record of late following Montreal’s 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night at the Bell Centre.

He did so when he sent out a tweet from his Twitter account over the internet, which made reference to Price’s less-than-flattering record of 10 wins in his last 42 starts.

The tweet created an instant stir in cyberspace, to the point that Walsh deleted the entire reference to Price from his Twitter account.  However, Walsh’s comments left a vapor trail in cyberspace that have created a goaltending controversy where there was none.  Not in my mind, at least.

The point is this: the Montreal Canadiens do NOT have a number 1 goaltender.  They have two goalies in Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak, who rank 1A and 1B.  It can be argued that Halak has played well enough to BE the number 1 goaltender.  But he’s not, that much is clear.  What’s not as clear, at this point in time, is this:

Who is 1A and who is 1B?

Let’s go back in time a bit, shall we?

It would appear to me that some Habs’ fans resent the treatment that Carey Price has received from this organization ever since the Canadiens drafted him 5th overall in 2005: a fast-track to the NHL that has left the same fans asking the question:

Why?

Why was Carey Price rushed through the system without the benefit of any significant seasoning at the American Hockey League level?  Why did the Canadiens trade veteran Cristobal Huet midway through the 2007-2008 season and hand the top goaltending job to someone just one year removed from the Western Hockey League?  Why did the Canadiens live or die with Carey Price in the playoffs last season (they died), while Halak languished on the bench during a four-game first-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins?

All good questions.

However, the reality, MY reality, is this:  Carey Price took the bull by the horns after the Canadiens traded Huet and he responded with a terrific half-season of play, full of promise.  Although he was not an all-star in the true sense of the word through the first half of last season, I had no problem with the fact that (Habs’) hockey fans voted Price in as the starting goaltender for last year’s all-star contest at the Bell Centre.

And please, don’t cry me a river that Price didn’t deserve the all-star nod.  The NHL set up the system whereby fans get to vote on the starting lineups, and that’s fine by me.  The fans pay the freight, they can vote on the starting lineups for the all-star game.  Maybe it doesn’t work for you, but it works for me.  If you want to complain about the all-star format, complain to Gary Bettman.

Which brings us to the second half of last season, when the wheels fell off.  Not only for Carey Price, but for the entire Montreal Canadiens team.  Sure, Carey Price struggled.  So did Jaroslav Halak.  You don’t remember when Price was injured and Marc Denis was called up from Hamilton? When Habs fans couldn’t figure out why coach Guy Carbonneau (remember him?) refused to give Denis a start at a time when Halak, too, was faltering?

Too many Habs’ fans romanticize Halak’s stint with the Canadiens.  Yes, he was very good at times late last season and indeed did help “propel” (I use that word very loosely) Montreal into post-season play.  But at times, he was very mediocre.  This season, he’s been very good at times, and did help the Habs out of a dreadful early slump en-route to a four-game winning streak.  However, it might surprise you to learn that Price has a marginally better save percentage than Halak so far this season (.894 vs. .893).

I realize I’m splitting hair by trotting out that particular statistic.  The same Habs’ fans who have drifted to the ABC camp (anyone but Carey) will simply point to the fact that Halak has a 5-2 record while Price has a record of 3-7.  Those numbers don’t lie.  However, what those numbers don’t tell you is that Price stole the three games that he won and was often deserted by his team mates in the seven games he lost.  Those numbers also don’t tell you that Halak gave up four goals in the game he won against Toronto, and another four goals in the game  he won against the Rangers.

Believe me, Carey Price doesn’t need me to prop up his sagging 3.30 goals-against average (compared to Halak’s 2.85).  It’s called perspective.  And I think a little is called for right about now, when it comes to the Canadiens’ goaltending situation.

Now.  Bring on the Calgary Flames tomorrow night.  We’ll talk again.

Habs and Bruins tonight from Boston on CJAD and on-line at CJAD.COM.  I take your calls and text messages on on the Post-Game Show when it’s over.  Let’s talk!!!

Circle your calendar:  February 2, 2010, when the Vancouver Canucks are in town to play the Montreal Canadiens.

That’s the day the Canadiens are hoping to have Andrei Markov back in their lineup.  Markov, who was injured in the very first game of the regular season against Toronto when he had his tendon sliced in a “friendly fire” incident in the Montreal crease, is back in the gym. 

Which is the good news.

The bad news is:  the Habs will have to do without their best player for another two months, or so.  It just so happens that the  Canadiens’ best player is a defenceman.  With Ryan O’Byrne and now Hal Gill on the shelf, the Habs are without three of their top-six blueliners.  And that was clearly evident in last night’s 5-4 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers at the Bell Centre.

With Gill the latest to be bitten by the injury bug, Matt Carle was called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs and made his NHL debut against Atlanta.  Although he had a couple of “oopsie” moments (one of them leading to an Atlanta power play goal, with Carle in the box), the young man performed admirably:  a plus-one in 12:55 of ice time.  Is he an upgrade over Yannick Weber and Shawn Belle, two other Bulldogs who were auditioned by the Habs earlier in the season?

Too early to tell.  But he’s getting his chance.

On the other hand, Marc-Andre Bergeron continues to be adventure out there when it comes to his defensive play.  Bergeron was one of five Habs caught out of position when Colby Armstrong found himself all alone in front of Carey Price with just under seven minutes left in last night’s game.  Armstrong beat Price for the winning goal, just 34 seconds after Tomas Plekane had tied it at four with a lovely piece of work: Plek streaking down the wing and waiting until the absolute last possible second before firing the puck past Ondrej Pavelec.

This much is clear:  Marc-Andre Bergeron isn’t much use to you out there, when he isn’t firing the puck from the point on the power play.

Despite twice fighting back from two-goal deficits, the Canadiens were unable to take the Thrashers to overtime, or a shootout, where the Canadiens have enjoyed most of their success this season.  Mike Cammalleri, who netted his 7th of the season in this one,  says the Habs simply gave up too many “grade A” scoring opportunities.  Jaro Spacek, who, along with Roman Hamrlik, will continue to be forced to play monster minutes as a result of the injuries along this blueline, says the Canadiens spent too much time focussing on the puck, and not enough time focussing on the bodies.

Like Colby Armstrong’s body, for example, with less than seven minutes to play in this hockey game.

As for Price, who hasn’t won a game in more than one month, it would be easy to hang him out to dry.  I won’t. But your goaltender isn’t supposed to fan on a knuckleball from the blueline at a time when your team his playing catchup hockey: as was the case last night, when Price’s glove hand betrayed him on a 60-footer from Mark Popovic: a goal which gave the Thrashers a 3-1 lead in the second period.

How ironic was it that, prior to last night’s game, Price was “honored” as the Molson Cup player of the month for October, as a result of his two victories at the start of the season, against Toronto and Buffalo. 

Seems like a very long time ago.  Price hasn’t won since.

The positives to come out of last night’s game?  Brian Gionta’s two goal performance to snap a six-game goal-scoring drought.  More of Mike Cammalleri’s inspired play.  The work ethic that continues to be exhibited by Tomas Plekanec, Montreal’s most consistent forward so far this season.  And a bit more of an inspired showing on the part of Andrei Kostitsyn who, at the very least, looked dangerous at times out there.  Even though he failed to find the back of the net.

But in the meantime, circle your calendar: February 2, 2010, when the Habs hope to have Andrei Markov back.  Montreal’s mission, until that time, is simple:  win enough hockey games with too many scorers who are having problems scoring, and too many defenders who are having problems defending, so that when players like Markov,  O’byrne and Hal Gill DO come back (yes, Hal Gill), the Canadiens are still in the thick of a playoff race.

For all the hand-wringing that accompanied the Montreal Canadiens through the first month of the regular season, the Habs find themselves a .500 hockey team after posting a 7-7 record through the month of October. 

The most glaring statistic to come out of October is the fact that the Habs have won a grand total of one game in regulation play:  the rest of their victories have come either in overtime or shootout.  That’s a recipe for disaster, but the Canadiens have managed to win all six overtime/shootout games they’ve been involved in.  The latest came on Saturday night, when the Toronto Maple Leafs threw a major-league scare in the Habs with two late goals to force the issue, before the Canadiens sealed the deal with a 5-4 shootout victory.

Much has been made over the fact that Bell Centre fans wasted no time in booing former Hab Mike Komisarek, and did so, long and hard, throughout the game.  Komisarek responded with a -3 performance.  It seems that some observers feel this denotes a lack of class on the part of Montreal hockey fans.  Puh-leeze.  You go out and spend $120 on a hockey ticket, you can do whatever you want as a fan (as long as it’s legal and within reason, of course.)  Who says Canadiens’ hockey fans have to show respect when it comes to opposing players?  Especially when it comes to opposing players who are ex-Habs? Gimme a break.

But I digress.

The other statistic that stands out through the first month of the regular season is this one:  Andrei Markov, one game played.

The fact that the Habs have managed to play .500 hockey with Markov on the sidelines is no small feat.  He is arguably this team’s best player: certainly the team’s number 1 defenceman.  They’ve been forced to play musical D-men as a result, with players like Yannick Weber and Shawn Belle in and out of the lineup.  However, in the recently acquired Marc-Andre Bergeron, the Canadiens have come up with someone who can at least begin to replace Markov as the quarterback on the power play, although, defensively, Bergeron continues to be an adventure out there.

In the meantime, Roman Hamrlik and Jaro Spacek are have been solid; while Paul Mara and Josh Gorges are quietly going about their business.  Nice to see Hal Gill contribute with a goal against the Leafs in what may have been his best effort in a Montreal uniform.  But clearly, this man does not poses a howitzer from the point. 

Up front, Mike Cammalleri, who had a terrific game against the Leafs, and the rejuvenated Tomas Plekanec, lead this team in scoring with 13 points apiece.  Plekanec’s solid start to this season is well documented.  Judging from their performance as Plek’s linemates Saturday night against Toronto, it would appear that Maxime Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse would like to spend more time more time with playing with Plekanec. 

Scott Gomez has been effective on most nights, but needs to bring more to the table, while Brian Gionta has cooled down after a quick start to the season.  The fact that Travis Moen has managed to chip in with four goals is a bonus.  As much as I loved what Tom Kostopoulos brought to this team, Moen has shown some real offensive upside as his replacement in the team’s grit department.

Andrei Kostitsyn?  The less said about him, the better.  Kostitsyn saw less than eight minutes of ice time as a fourth-liner against the Leafs.  After seeing action on the 2nd line and the 4th line, you would have to think his NEXT move will be to the press box.

With Matt D’Agostini out after having his bell rung the night before in Chicago,  Gregory Stewart finally got another chance to play.  In only his third game of the season, Stewart finally showed the feistiness we’ve expected of him, but have rarely seen.  Welcome back, Gregory.

Perhaps the biggest surprise to come out of the opening month of the season is the fact that the goaltending has been split right down the middle.  Both Jaro Halak and Carey Price have appeared in 8 games; each has made 7 starts.  It might be too early to call Halak this team’s number 1 goaltender.  However, as the Canadiens get set to play host to the Atlanta Thrashers tomorrow night, it’s clear that Halak, who was in goal Saturday against Toronto, has emerged as 1-A.

Can someone please tell me how Tomas Plekanec of the Montreal Canadiens has managed to rack up 11 points through the first dozen games this season, without having regular linemates to play with?

The reason why Plekanec hasn’t had regular linemates on this team’s second line is because no one on this club, except for Plekanec, deserves to be PLAYING on the second line.  Then again, there hasn’t been much happening on the THIRD line, either, in terms of offensive production.  Truth be told, it’s a FOURTH-line centre who has sparked a modicum of success this season in Glen Metropolit, with six points in six games.  But when you’ve got to count on a player like Glen Metropolit to kickstart your power play (another oxymoron on this Canadiens’ team this season) you know you’re in trouble.

That’s not to take anything away from Metro, who  has been a very handy addition to this club.  More than the 6-1 loss in Pittsburgh last night (featuring the aforementioned Tomas Plekanec as the only Habs’ goalgetter), what concerns me are the goalscoring totals associated with the younger players who were supposed to step up to the plate this season.

And haven’t.  Not through a dozen games, at least.

Let’s start with our good friend Andrei Kostitsyn.  One goal.  Remember when Habs’ GM Bob Gainey signed Andrei Kostitsyn to a three-year deal back in the summer of 2008?  How pleased Canadiens’ fans were to see Gainey put a long-term lock on this promising talent?  Seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it?  Kostitsyn sleep-walking through much of last season, and doing more of the same through the first 12 games of this season.  I miss the Andrei Kostitsyn who helped power the Plekanec-Kovalev line to lofty scoring heights two years ago.

Let me know when you find him.

Guillaume Latendresse.  One goal.  And please. If I see Guillaume Latendresse take a run at an opposing player and come up with nothing but air, just one more time, I think I’m gonna cry.  Remember how good Latendresse looked when he came back after an injury late in the season last year?  How he, along with Max Lapierre, grabbed this hockey team by the scruff of its neck and dragged it into the playoffs?  I miss that Guillaume Latendresse.

Let me know when you find him.

Maxime Lapierre.  See above.

Matt D’Agostini and Max Pacioretty.  One goal apiece.  Remember when D’Agostini and Pacioretty got a chance to play regularly last season when veterans like Saku Koivu and Alex Tanguay were out with injuries?  Remember how the Canadiens ended up playing some of their best hockey of the season, at the time, with those youngsters in the lineup? Remember the nifty scoring touch D’Agostini displayed when called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs?  The raw strength that the young Pacioretty exhibited fresh out of college — a true power forward in the making?

Remember???

I miss those guys.

Let me know when you find them.

Last night in Pittsburgh, the Canadiens proved, once again, that it’s very difficult to win a hockey game when you score only one goal.  Truth be told, it isn’t much easier to win a hockey game when you score TWO goals.  But for the sixth time the season, the  Habs were held to two goals, or less. On a night when Sidney Crosby scored three. And on a night when the Canadiens were a combined -20 as a team, with no Hab having a “plus” night.

You what they say: win as a team, lose as a team.

I know, I know.  I’m the guy who also keeps saying “your best players need to be your best players.”  And last night in Pittsburgh, the Penguins’ best players (and there are a lot of good ones on that club) were better than Montreal’s best players.  But goodness gracious.  Sometimes, just SOMETIMES, guys like Plekanec, Gionta, Gomez and Cammalleri need a little help from their friends.  Up front.

Maybe they’ll get it tomorrow night in Chicago against Cristobal Huet and the Hawks.

Maybe not.

Ten games into the 2009-2010 NHL season, the Montreal Canadiens are a .500 hockey club.

That, in itself, is nothing to write home about. However, when you consider the fact that the Habs were dealing with a five-game losing streak one week ago,  at a time when Canadiens fans were prepared to run GM Bob Gainey out of town, a record of 5-5 isn’t looking too bad at all.

It comes as absolutely no surprise to me that newcomers Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez are leading the way, offensively, for this club.  Try as he might to spread the scoring around,  head coach Jacques Martin will be hard-pressed to break up this threesome.  As a result of his four-point performance in Saturday’s 5-4 overtime win over the New York Rangers, Cammalleri leads the Habs in scoring, after 10 games, with 11 points, on five goals and six assists.

You might be surprised, however, to learn that (drum roll, please) Tomas Plekanec is second on this club in points, with nine: on two goals and seven assists.  This is clearly a pivotal season, in more ways than one, for Plekanec.  After a disastrous showing in 2008-2009 (then again, he wasn’t alone) Plekanec went into the off-season as a restricted free agent, and ended up signing a one-year contract with the Habs.  Determined to stick with this team, long-term, Plekanec has answered the bell this season, and could find himself rewarded with a multi-year deal with the Habs, when all is said and done.

Scott Gomez is next with seven points, followed by Brian Gionta with six.  The next highest-scoring member of this hockey team?  Well, it SHOULD be Andrei Kostitsyn. But it’s not.

How about Guillaume Latendresse?  Not even close, with just one goal through 10 games.

It’s Paul Mara, who has chipped in with five assists.  Which is fine.  However, it’s his -3 showing that has me somewhat concerned.  As for Andrei Kostitsyn, he has just one goal, to go along with three assists, and played maybe a grand total of, perhaps, one good game this season.

Matt D’Agostini and Max Pacioretty are still trying to prove that they’re ready for prime time, although both have looked better of late.

And how about Glen Metropoilt?  Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, picture Glen Metropolit on the power play when the Canadiens picked up the journeyman centre at the trade deadline last season?  The Toronto native has played some inspirational hockey with this club and is making the most of his minutes.  He was missed when he went down with an upper-body injury in the second game of the season, and the Canadiens are happy to have him back.

Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate head coach Jacques Martin for sticking with Kyle Chipchura.  It would have been easy to show Chipchura the bench when Metropolit returned to action.  Instead, Martin stuck with the former first-round draft pick, and the young man is finally rounding into form after sitting out training camp, recuperating from off-season shoulder surgery.  After Saturday’s win over the Rangers, Martin called the fourth line of Chipchura-Latendresse-D’Agostini his second-best line on the night.  Here’s hoping that Chipchura can continue to elevate his level of play.

Defensively, the team obviously misses Andrei Markov and Ryan O’Byrne, particularly when you consider O’Byrne’s solid play during the pre-season.  Jaroslav Spacek has been a very solid addition to this team’s blueline, but Hal Gill continues to be an adventure out there; as his -4 plus/minus totals would indicate.  Newcomer Marc-Andre Bergeron is proving to be a bargain-basement acquisition and is delivering with that big blast from the point, although he won’t win you a Norris Trophy based on his defensive work.

In goal, Jaroslav Halak has been the goaltender of record during this three-game winning streak.  However, you can’t keep Carey Price in the bench forever (although some might argue that point.)  As a result, I think it’s safe to say you can look for Price tonight at the Bell Centre when the New York Islanders come back to town; an opportunity for the Canadiens to climb above the .500 mark for the first time in almost three weeks.

Join me on CJAD radio and CJAD.COM as I take your phone calls and text messages on the post-game show from the Bell Centre in Montreal, when this one is over!

Did you really think this was going to be easy?

Did you really think that the Montreal Canadiens could go through the kind of wholesale changes this team went through during the off-season, and see immediate winning results on the ice?

Are you really ready to throw in the towel after a grand total of seven, count ‘em, seven games this season?

If you are, I have five words for you:  get out of my way.

I said it before and I’ll say it again.  Bob Gainey’s strategy during the off-season was a brilliant one:  trade for a front-line centre, in Scott Gomez, and build around that acquisition with some key free-agent signings in Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta.

Which he did.

Clear out the deadwood on defence (with apologies to Matheiu Dandenault, Patrice Brisebois and, especially, Francis Boullon) and try to solidify your blueline with veterans like Paul Mara, Hal Gill and Jaroslav Spacek.

Which he did.

I don’t care if you agree or disagree with the moves made by the Habs’ G.M.  That’s not the point.  In my opinion, the strategy was brilliant.  Will the results pay dividends?

The point is: we just don’t know.  After seven games, we just don’t know.  And if you are ready to waive the white flag after just seven games, well, go right ahead.  Just get out of my way, because there is more hockey to be played this season.

Don’tcha think???  I mean seriously!!! Did you not think it might take some time for these players to gel as a team?  Did you not think that there might be some growing pains during this process?  Did you not think that, no matter WHO Bob Gainey would have gone out and picked up during the off-season, that a little patience would be required ???

Or maybe you miss the good old days of last season.  Maybe you miss the hockey team that went out and got a good man fired in Guy Carbonneau. Maybe you miss the hockey team that barely made it to the post-season, only to be swept by the Boston Bruins in the first round.

But, hey. I’m not stupid.  I know what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking: Bob Gainey is behind everything that’s wrong with the Montreal Canadiens.  You’re thinking that, after more than five years on the job, Gainey should have more to show for his efforts than a hockey team filled with players who need name tags.  And you know what?  You may be right.  I’m not here to argue that point.

However, the last time I checked, Bob Gainey was still the general manager of this hockey team.  And you know what?  I’m willing to live with Gainey’s decisions and the changes he’s made.  Through seven games, you’re damn right I am.

That’s not to say that alarm bells haven’t already started to sound.  It would be nice if Mike Cammalleri had more  than one goal to his credit through seven games.  It would be nice to see  Scott Gomez pick it up a notch or two and begin earning his 7.5 million dollar salary.  It would also be nice if Hal Gill was less of an adventure out there along the blueline.

It would also be nice to see Andrei Markov in this lineup.  But he’s not. He’s hurt.  So is Ryan O’Byrne, after promising pre-season.

It would also be nice to see the Canadiens score on the kind of 5-on-3 power play that they enjoyed for almost a full two minutes Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre, in a game which the Habs lost 3-1.

But they didn’t.

It would have been nice to see Carey Price stop the second shot he faced against the Senators Saturday night, instead of giving up a goal to Chris Neil.

But he didn’t.

It would have also been nice to see Andrei Kotitsyn follow up his solid showing against the Colorado Avalanche in Thursday’s home opener against the Bell Centre, with another first-rate effort against Ottawa.

He didn’t.

But if you think I’m ready to write off the 2009-2010 season after a 2-5 start to this campaign, you’re barking up the wrong tree, my friend.  Maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to have a conversation in six weeks or so.  Then, maybe, we’ll talk.

In the meantime, get out of my way.  There’s more hockey to be played.

What kind of reaction do you think Alex Kovalev will get when he takes to the ice tonight at the Bell Centre for the first time as a member of the Ottawa Senators?

Let’s talk about it tonight at 6 p.m. Eastern when I take your phone calls and text messages on CJAD Radio’s “Sportsnight”, and online at CJAD.COM, as the Habs prepare to take on the Sens!

Look for Canadiens’ head coach Jacques Martin to formally put all of his eggs in one basket tomorrow night when Alex Kovalev and the Ottawa Senators come to town, if today’s skate is any indication.

Try as he might to share the scoring wealth, Martin loaded up his first line at practice today when he had Scott Gomez skating with Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta.  As we’ve seen on more than one occasion this season, the Coach has split up his “sometimes” top line, until the going gets tough.  And with four straight losses under their belts, the going has been getting plenty tough since the team opened the season with back-to-back wins.

Last night’s pattern was a familiar one as the Habs hosted the Colorado Avalanche in their home opener.  Gomez and Gionta started the night playing with Travis Moen, while Cammalleri kicked off the proceedings skating with Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn.  By the time the third period rolled around, the law firm of Gomez, Gionta and Cammalleri was back together again as a result of the club’s ongoing inability to put the puck in the net.

It was 2-1 Colorado after two, when Martin put the three newcomers back together again.  Interesting though that, this time, the move benefitted Plekanec and Kostitsyn the most.  With Max Pacioretty the third on that line, Plekanec converted a perfect pass from Kostitsyn to beat Craig Anderson midway through the third period to tie the game at 2-2, with Pacioretty getting the other assist.  However, the Avs won it on a goal by Ryan O’Reilly with less than seven minutes to play, picking up his own rebound and beating Carey Price.

We’ve seen a tremendous amount of line juggling by the Coach through the opening six games of the season as he continues to look for productive combinations up front.  After practice today, Martin called it a “process.”  In the past, he’s called it an “experiment.”  Either way, Martin is desperately trying to squeeze more production out of a hockey team that has scored but 14 goals in six games.

The fact that Kostitsyn and Plekanec combined to put the puck in the net last night was the good news.  Kostitsyn had his best game of the season against the Avalanche, which isn’t saying a whole lot, but it’s a step in the right direction.  The goal by Plekanec was his 2nd of the season, and Montreal’s 2nd-line centreman has given us every indication, so far, that he’s prepared to do the work he wasn’t prepared to do last season.

Now, let’s move on, shall we?

The fact Plekanec was the only forward who managed to beat Anderson last night, with defenceman Roman Hamrlik getting the other Montreal goal, was the bad news.  Truth be told, with all the talent Gomez, Gionta and Cammalleri possess, the three have combined for a grand total of four goals.  And Brian Gionta has three of them.  Scott Gomez has the other.  Which, if you do the math, leaves you with Mike Cammalleri still looking for his first of the season.  He’ll get that chance tomorrow night, and it looks like he’ll get that chance on a line with Gomez and Gionta against Kovalev and the Sens.

This will be Kovalev’s first trip to the Bell Centre since he left town as an unrestricted free agent to sign on the dotted line with the Ottawa Senators.  It’s well documented that Kovalev wanted to return to the Habs and suggested, during an off-season stop in Montreal for charity golf tournament, that he could see himself returning to the Habs and retiring as a member of the Canadiens. The comments did not sit well in Ottawa.  Kovalev hadn’t even played a single game in a Senators uniform, and he was already talking about the possibility of coming back to Montreal.

Well, Kovalev is indeed coming back to Montreal tomorrow night, after having scored his 2nd of the season in Ottawa’s 7-1 victory over Tampa Bay last night.  My guess is that number 27 will initially get a rousing welcome by hockey fans who both loved and despised the mercurial Russian during his five-year stay in this city.  But once he touches the puck, the boo birds will be out in full force.