Apr 07 2009
From Russia With Love
The Montreal Canadiens are surging lately, in a desperate effort to secure a play-off spot. Even after a loss last night to Ottawa, they still can clinch a playoff spot with a victory tonight against the Rangers. Although plenty of you will say that it might be because of new coach Bob Gainey, I beg to differ. I think that it’s a few players in the line-up that have made the difference.
Alex Kovalev has been on a tear. With 15 points in his last seven games, he is a main reason why the Canadiens are in a position to clinch a playoff spot tonight. His play has been inspired, and I feel that perhaps the coaching change had something to do with it. He is an undeniable talent and possess the skills required to carry any team in this league. I agree that at times, he’s been less then impressive but having said that, he’s been the best player on the team since his “incident” where he sat out for a game.
The other player that has been carrying this team relatively since the beginning of the season, Andrei Markov. Andrei Markov has to be considered as one of the front-runners for Norris Trophy winner (League’s best defenceman) and is a beautiful player to watch. He held the scoring lead for the Canadiens untill yesterday when he was overtaken by the previously mentioned Kovalev. He almost single handidly saved a struggling power-play by providing the effort it took to bring it out of the gutter. Still need proof? Look at the Canadiens preformance last night, the powerplay never really got together, could of have a lot to do with Markov’s absence. He’s a quiet player and seems to be able to keep his emotions in check. A great player to have on your team, and his 64 points are a main reason why the Canadiens are where they are. We need to hope he gets back to full health VERY soon.
This raises the question, why do we seem to hate on the Europeans on the Canadiens? I think that the French media are one of the biggest culprits. They seem to have a predisposed hate for those players who’s names end in an irregular constanent like V or U. They take pleasure in outlining their biggest efforts and rarely praise their success They must be able to see who is currently leading the team, and still find the way to beg for more Quebec-born players on the team. I do not intend to take anything away from those Quebec-born players playing on the team, because names like Tanguay and Lapierre are other important parts of the current play-off drive. That being said however, it’s time for us all to give credit where credit is due, and I think that these Russian players are well deserving of praise in a very up and down season we’ve all witnessed.
