TOP STORY
The ceremonial opening face-off at the All-Star game was the last fond memory for Alexei Kovalev and Canadiens GM Bob Gainey this season (also pictured: legend Jean Beliveau and Sharks C Joe Thornton)
(Photo & Story Credit: AP)
Canadiens All-Star Alexei Kovalev is getting a few days off to rest his body and mind. Montreal general manager Bob Gainey said he suggested to Kovalev that he skip a two-game road trip to try to help the right wing snap out of a slump. The move comes a day after the struggling Canadiens acquired veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider in a trade from Atlanta. Kovalev did not accompany the team for games Wednesday night in Washington and Thursday night in Pittsburgh. His status for a home game Saturday afternoon against Ottawa and even beyond that is also uncertain.
"Alex's preference was to stay with the team and play, but I could see in his eyes that he agreed with it," said Gainey, adding that the 35-year-old was not suspended and would still be paid." Asked when Kovalev would be back, Gainey said: "That's not a question I can answer definitely now. I'd rather let a couple of days go by than to make a hasty decision right now. "We'll talk in the next 48 hours."
Montreal also sent 21-year-old left wing Sergei Kostitsyn, who has eight goals and 23 points, to AHL Hamilton and called up physical forward Gregory Stewart. That move was made at the request of coach Guy Carbonneau and his staff. The Canadiens have lost 10 of their last 13 games, and Kovalev has only one goal and five assists in that span. They are tied for fifth in Eastern Conference playoff race, but only five points out of ninth, which would leave them out of the playoffs. The slide has been enough to get goalie Carey Price to ditch the red pads he started wearing when the Canadiens troubles began. He's gone back to his old white ones.
Kovalev was not at the late afternoon practice Tuesday, but Schneider skated for the first time with his teammates before boarding a plane for Washington. Kovalev led the club in scoring with 84 points last season, but he is tied for second with only 13 goals and 26 assists in 57 games this season. He has also looked listless on the ice, rarely showing the energy that made him the team's most popular player with the fans. "The team doesn't need him the way he's playing now," said Gainey. "To score goals and help other people score, you have to do a lot of different things. To stay on task, to do the mundane, small, detail, mandatory things to keep the team afloat is a harder thing for some players than for others."
There was surprise around the Canadiens dressing room at the Kovalev move. "It's probably a minor, temporary thing, but the message is clear to the players -- we have to step up and move forward," defenseman Mike Komisarek said. Carbonneau said he hopes Kovalev uses the time with his family to get his mind together and "hopefully he'll come back and play better. "It was Bob's decision and he doesn't take decisions lightly. I trust his instincts."
I am a HUGE fan of this move. Often coaches or GM's won't treat their top players with the same "medicine" (for lack of a better term and that's not a steroid reference) because they are high profile names. With everything that's going wrong in Montreal, this will send a message to the team that EVERYONE is accountable, from the top all the way down. The Canadiens need to make some roster changes, but there is still enough time left in the season for a maneuver like this to reset the team and make a late push. For Gainey's sake, it better not make things worse at the Bell Centre.
(Photo & Story Credit: AP)
Canadiens All-Star Alexei Kovalev is getting a few days off to rest his body and mind. Montreal general manager Bob Gainey said he suggested to Kovalev that he skip a two-game road trip to try to help the right wing snap out of a slump. The move comes a day after the struggling Canadiens acquired veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider in a trade from Atlanta. Kovalev did not accompany the team for games Wednesday night in Washington and Thursday night in Pittsburgh. His status for a home game Saturday afternoon against Ottawa and even beyond that is also uncertain.
"Alex's preference was to stay with the team and play, but I could see in his eyes that he agreed with it," said Gainey, adding that the 35-year-old was not suspended and would still be paid." Asked when Kovalev would be back, Gainey said: "That's not a question I can answer definitely now. I'd rather let a couple of days go by than to make a hasty decision right now. "We'll talk in the next 48 hours."
Montreal also sent 21-year-old left wing Sergei Kostitsyn, who has eight goals and 23 points, to AHL Hamilton and called up physical forward Gregory Stewart. That move was made at the request of coach Guy Carbonneau and his staff. The Canadiens have lost 10 of their last 13 games, and Kovalev has only one goal and five assists in that span. They are tied for fifth in Eastern Conference playoff race, but only five points out of ninth, which would leave them out of the playoffs. The slide has been enough to get goalie Carey Price to ditch the red pads he started wearing when the Canadiens troubles began. He's gone back to his old white ones.
Kovalev was not at the late afternoon practice Tuesday, but Schneider skated for the first time with his teammates before boarding a plane for Washington. Kovalev led the club in scoring with 84 points last season, but he is tied for second with only 13 goals and 26 assists in 57 games this season. He has also looked listless on the ice, rarely showing the energy that made him the team's most popular player with the fans. "The team doesn't need him the way he's playing now," said Gainey. "To score goals and help other people score, you have to do a lot of different things. To stay on task, to do the mundane, small, detail, mandatory things to keep the team afloat is a harder thing for some players than for others."
There was surprise around the Canadiens dressing room at the Kovalev move. "It's probably a minor, temporary thing, but the message is clear to the players -- we have to step up and move forward," defenseman Mike Komisarek said. Carbonneau said he hopes Kovalev uses the time with his family to get his mind together and "hopefully he'll come back and play better. "It was Bob's decision and he doesn't take decisions lightly. I trust his instincts."
I am a HUGE fan of this move. Often coaches or GM's won't treat their top players with the same "medicine" (for lack of a better term and that's not a steroid reference) because they are high profile names. With everything that's going wrong in Montreal, this will send a message to the team that EVERYONE is accountable, from the top all the way down. The Canadiens need to make some roster changes, but there is still enough time left in the season for a maneuver like this to reset the team and make a late push. For Gainey's sake, it better not make things worse at the Bell Centre.
ACTION FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE...
-The Boston Bruins (40-10-8) are the first team to reach the 40 win mark in the NHL this year with a 5-1 win over Carolina (28-25-5) last night. The Bruins held a 2-1 lead heading in to the 3rd period before David Krejci (SHG), Chuck Kobasew (PPG) and Patrice Bergeron (SHG - EN) pulled ahead late. Tim Thomas made 31 saves for his 25th win of the season.
-The Buffalo Sabres (30-22-6) continued their playoff push with their 30th win of the season by taking care of division rival Toronto (21-26-10) last night 4-1. Drew Stafford scored twice on the power play and G Ryan Miller made 27 saves in the win. The Sabres have won five straight and nine of their last 11 at Toronto.
-Jonathan Toews scored twice, Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists and the Blackhawks (32-15-8) withstood #1 overall pick Steve Stamkos' first career hat trick to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning (19-27-11) 5-3. The Lightning let a 3-1 2nd period lead slip away to the Blackhawks, who improved to 17-11-3 on the road with 37 points, fourth-best in the league. Nikolai Khabibulin did not make the trip to Tampa after aggravating a groin injury at Monday's practice. The former Lightning goalie, who helped Tampa Bay win the 2004 Stanley Cup, has yet to play his former team since signing a four-year, $27 million deal with the Blackhawks.
-The New Jersey Devils (37-18-3) seven game road winning streak came to an end last night as Tomas Vokoun made 36 saves for his 5th shutout of the season to lead the Panthers (29-20-8) to a 4-0 win. Richard Zednik and Stephen Weiss each had a goal and an assist and Michael Frolik and David Booth each had two assists. The Panthers have won six of their last seven home games.
-Canucks center Ryan Kesler would score twice, defenseman Kevin Bieksa would force overtime with :51 remaining, and Pavol Demitra scored the winner in the shootout for the 4-3 Vancouver (28-21-8) win over Calgary (33-18-6). Flames G Miikka Kiprusoff made 40 saves in the loss while Roberto Luongo made 38 saves in the win to improve Vancouver to 6-1 in their last seven games. Canucks forward Kyle Wellwood's high-sticking penalty in the first period ended a string of 159 games without a penalty for the Vancouver forward. It had been three seasons since Wellwood was last in the penalty box, a minor penalty he took on Apr. 11, 2006 versus Florida.
-Avalanche winger Wojtek Wolski ended a 15 game goal drought at the perfect time by scoring the OT winner on his own rebound in Colorado's (27-30-1) 3-2 win over Ottawa (22-25-9). Ryan Shannon scored twice for Ottawa (once on the power play) while Ian Laperriere and Ryan Smith scored for Colorado. Senators D Jason Smith played in his 1,000th career game.
-Sharks forward Patrick Marleau scored twice in the 2nd period (once shorthanded)and earned his 600th career point to lead San Jose (38-8-9) past the Edmonton Oilers (29-24-4) 4-2. The win snapped a three game winless streak for San Jose. There were18 combined penalties in the 2nd period. harks All-Star D Dan Boyle returned after missing Sunday's game at New Jersey with the flu.
OTHER HEADLINES
-The Carolina Hurricanes paid tribute to the last original member of their franchise Tuesday night. The Hurricanes honoured Glen Wesley by retiring his jersey number and hoisting his No. 2 banner to the rafters before their game against the Boston Bruins. "Just a lot of emotion, a lot of things that I am able to reflect at, and it's still actually surreal," Wesley told reporters during the second intermission. "It's starting to sink in." The banner-raising capped a moving 31-minute pre-game ceremony in which Wesley skated onto the ice in full uniform one final time and took a victory lap around the rink with his two sons. "The skinny redhead from Red Deer," as he called himself during a 10-minute speech, retired last June and moved into the Hurricanes' front office as director of development for defencemen. He spent 13 of his 20 seasons with the Hurricanes' franchise, and was the only player to play for them in each of their first 10 seasons since moving from Hartford to North Carolina in 1997.
-Dallas Stars forward Brad Richards' injury will not need surgery but he will be out for longer than expected. On Tuesday a specialist determined the forward will not need to go under the knife but will be in a cast for five weeks and out of the line-up for six to eight weeks. The team placed Richards on injured reserve Tuesday. Richards broke his right wrist in a 3-2 shootout victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. He has 16 goals and 32 assists over his 55 games this season.
-The Colorado Avalanche remain confident that captain Joe Sakic will return to the ice this season after he recovers from a back operation and three broken fingers. Sakic mangled his left hand in a snow blower accident in December and while he was sidelined he underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk that had been bothering him all season. "We're still optimistic and hopeful that he'll be able to return at some point this year," coach Tony Granato said Tuesday after the morning skate. "He's been around a lot, he's upbeat and still gung-ho about giving it a run to get back." Sakic almost retired after a trying 2007-08 season in which he missed 38 games following hernia surgery. But he decided to return for a 20th season on the eve of training camp. It's been another injury-riddled season for Sakic, who also missed a game with a tooth infection. "If there's one guy you know who will do everything he can to make sure he gets back, it's Joe," Granato said.
-Sources tell TSN the Phoenix Coyotes received an offer to buy the financially troubled team on Tuesday. Details on the offer are few, however, according to the source, the offer is considered to be positive in the sense that it opens up dialogue and further negotiations. It is believed that the city of Glendale, which operates Jobing.Com arena, has agreed to significant concessions which has contributed to rallying this interest. At least two other serious parties are said to also be in the mix to purchase the Coyotes. (Thanks to Darren Dreger for the report)
-The Columbus Blue Jackets placed left-winger Fredrik Modin on injured reserve with a lower-body injury Tuesday. The move is retroactive to Saturday when Modin was injured in the Blue Jackets' 5-1 win at Carolina. He was evaluated by team physicians when the club returned to Columbus and is expected to miss at least a week. Modin also spent time on the injured list in October and November with a groin injury. The 34-year-old has nine goals and 16 assists in 49 games this season. In 813 career NHL games, he has 220 goals and 221 assists with the Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs.
RUMOR MILL
-While we've heard the Vinny Lecavalier to Montreal rumors numerous times (and those talks are still going on), the NY Rangers are throwing their hat in to the ring in the Lecavalier lottery. Marc Staal would be the main person going back and they would have to move another high priced contract to make room for Vinny's.
-Another biggie here...the Penguins are hot in pursuit of Thrashers winger Ilya Kovalchuk. That is old news. A week ago, Jordan Staal was the big name going back. Think again. If Pittsburgh can get Kovalchuk to extend his deal, Evgeni Malkin could be the big name heading back to Atlanta. If that happened, that would be one of the biggest trades in NHL history.
-The Flames and Sabres are talking, with the main possibilities being Tim Connolly heading to Calgary with Adrian Aucoin heading to Buffalo. Other players would be involved in both sides.
-The Boston Bruins (40-10-8) are the first team to reach the 40 win mark in the NHL this year with a 5-1 win over Carolina (28-25-5) last night. The Bruins held a 2-1 lead heading in to the 3rd period before David Krejci (SHG), Chuck Kobasew (PPG) and Patrice Bergeron (SHG - EN) pulled ahead late. Tim Thomas made 31 saves for his 25th win of the season.
-The Buffalo Sabres (30-22-6) continued their playoff push with their 30th win of the season by taking care of division rival Toronto (21-26-10) last night 4-1. Drew Stafford scored twice on the power play and G Ryan Miller made 27 saves in the win. The Sabres have won five straight and nine of their last 11 at Toronto.
-Jonathan Toews scored twice, Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists and the Blackhawks (32-15-8) withstood #1 overall pick Steve Stamkos' first career hat trick to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning (19-27-11) 5-3. The Lightning let a 3-1 2nd period lead slip away to the Blackhawks, who improved to 17-11-3 on the road with 37 points, fourth-best in the league. Nikolai Khabibulin did not make the trip to Tampa after aggravating a groin injury at Monday's practice. The former Lightning goalie, who helped Tampa Bay win the 2004 Stanley Cup, has yet to play his former team since signing a four-year, $27 million deal with the Blackhawks.
-The New Jersey Devils (37-18-3) seven game road winning streak came to an end last night as Tomas Vokoun made 36 saves for his 5th shutout of the season to lead the Panthers (29-20-8) to a 4-0 win. Richard Zednik and Stephen Weiss each had a goal and an assist and Michael Frolik and David Booth each had two assists. The Panthers have won six of their last seven home games.
-Canucks center Ryan Kesler would score twice, defenseman Kevin Bieksa would force overtime with :51 remaining, and Pavol Demitra scored the winner in the shootout for the 4-3 Vancouver (28-21-8) win over Calgary (33-18-6). Flames G Miikka Kiprusoff made 40 saves in the loss while Roberto Luongo made 38 saves in the win to improve Vancouver to 6-1 in their last seven games. Canucks forward Kyle Wellwood's high-sticking penalty in the first period ended a string of 159 games without a penalty for the Vancouver forward. It had been three seasons since Wellwood was last in the penalty box, a minor penalty he took on Apr. 11, 2006 versus Florida.
-Avalanche winger Wojtek Wolski ended a 15 game goal drought at the perfect time by scoring the OT winner on his own rebound in Colorado's (27-30-1) 3-2 win over Ottawa (22-25-9). Ryan Shannon scored twice for Ottawa (once on the power play) while Ian Laperriere and Ryan Smith scored for Colorado. Senators D Jason Smith played in his 1,000th career game.
-Sharks forward Patrick Marleau scored twice in the 2nd period (once shorthanded)and earned his 600th career point to lead San Jose (38-8-9) past the Edmonton Oilers (29-24-4) 4-2. The win snapped a three game winless streak for San Jose. There were18 combined penalties in the 2nd period. harks All-Star D Dan Boyle returned after missing Sunday's game at New Jersey with the flu.
OTHER HEADLINES
-The Carolina Hurricanes paid tribute to the last original member of their franchise Tuesday night. The Hurricanes honoured Glen Wesley by retiring his jersey number and hoisting his No. 2 banner to the rafters before their game against the Boston Bruins. "Just a lot of emotion, a lot of things that I am able to reflect at, and it's still actually surreal," Wesley told reporters during the second intermission. "It's starting to sink in." The banner-raising capped a moving 31-minute pre-game ceremony in which Wesley skated onto the ice in full uniform one final time and took a victory lap around the rink with his two sons. "The skinny redhead from Red Deer," as he called himself during a 10-minute speech, retired last June and moved into the Hurricanes' front office as director of development for defencemen. He spent 13 of his 20 seasons with the Hurricanes' franchise, and was the only player to play for them in each of their first 10 seasons since moving from Hartford to North Carolina in 1997.
-Dallas Stars forward Brad Richards' injury will not need surgery but he will be out for longer than expected. On Tuesday a specialist determined the forward will not need to go under the knife but will be in a cast for five weeks and out of the line-up for six to eight weeks. The team placed Richards on injured reserve Tuesday. Richards broke his right wrist in a 3-2 shootout victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. He has 16 goals and 32 assists over his 55 games this season.
-The Colorado Avalanche remain confident that captain Joe Sakic will return to the ice this season after he recovers from a back operation and three broken fingers. Sakic mangled his left hand in a snow blower accident in December and while he was sidelined he underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk that had been bothering him all season. "We're still optimistic and hopeful that he'll be able to return at some point this year," coach Tony Granato said Tuesday after the morning skate. "He's been around a lot, he's upbeat and still gung-ho about giving it a run to get back." Sakic almost retired after a trying 2007-08 season in which he missed 38 games following hernia surgery. But he decided to return for a 20th season on the eve of training camp. It's been another injury-riddled season for Sakic, who also missed a game with a tooth infection. "If there's one guy you know who will do everything he can to make sure he gets back, it's Joe," Granato said.
-Sources tell TSN the Phoenix Coyotes received an offer to buy the financially troubled team on Tuesday. Details on the offer are few, however, according to the source, the offer is considered to be positive in the sense that it opens up dialogue and further negotiations. It is believed that the city of Glendale, which operates Jobing.Com arena, has agreed to significant concessions which has contributed to rallying this interest. At least two other serious parties are said to also be in the mix to purchase the Coyotes. (Thanks to Darren Dreger for the report)
-The Columbus Blue Jackets placed left-winger Fredrik Modin on injured reserve with a lower-body injury Tuesday. The move is retroactive to Saturday when Modin was injured in the Blue Jackets' 5-1 win at Carolina. He was evaluated by team physicians when the club returned to Columbus and is expected to miss at least a week. Modin also spent time on the injured list in October and November with a groin injury. The 34-year-old has nine goals and 16 assists in 49 games this season. In 813 career NHL games, he has 220 goals and 221 assists with the Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs.
RUMOR MILL
-While we've heard the Vinny Lecavalier to Montreal rumors numerous times (and those talks are still going on), the NY Rangers are throwing their hat in to the ring in the Lecavalier lottery. Marc Staal would be the main person going back and they would have to move another high priced contract to make room for Vinny's.
-Another biggie here...the Penguins are hot in pursuit of Thrashers winger Ilya Kovalchuk. That is old news. A week ago, Jordan Staal was the big name going back. Think again. If Pittsburgh can get Kovalchuk to extend his deal, Evgeni Malkin could be the big name heading back to Atlanta. If that happened, that would be one of the biggest trades in NHL history.
-The Flames and Sabres are talking, with the main possibilities being Tim Connolly heading to Calgary with Adrian Aucoin heading to Buffalo. Other players would be involved in both sides.
TONIGHTS ACTION:
NY Islanders @ NY Rangers - 7PM
St. Louis @ Columbus - 7PM
Nashville @ Detroit - 7:30PM
%Montreal @ Washington - 7:30PM
Los Angeles @ Anaheim - 10PM
% = Game of the Night
^All Times are Eastern
*My weekly power rankings comes out Mondays
~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out tomorrow
TO EMAIL FTS, EMAIL FROMTHESLOT@GMAIL.COM
NY Islanders @ NY Rangers - 7PM
St. Louis @ Columbus - 7PM
Nashville @ Detroit - 7:30PM
%Montreal @ Washington - 7:30PM
Los Angeles @ Anaheim - 10PM
% = Game of the Night
^All Times are Eastern
*My weekly power rankings comes out Mondays
~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out tomorrow
TO EMAIL FTS, EMAIL FROMTHESLOT@GMAIL.COM
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