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Takes compatriot Perezhogin under wing. While veteran Russian hasn't been filling net, his role in Habs' strong start has been vital


Alex Kovalev might not be filling the net, but the crafty Russian right-winger is proving his value to the Canadiens in other vital ways.

Through seven games, Kovalev has one goal and eight assists, including three in Wednesday's 4-3 victory over Boston, to lead the club in scoring.

He's been a vocal leader in the dressing room, a steadying influence on flashy rookie and linemate Alexander Perezhogin, and he's lifting Canadiens fans out of their seats in a way not seen since the era of Guy Lafleur.

And the 32-year-old veteran of 12 NHL seasons might just be getting warmed up.

Kovalev, Perezhogin and their centreman, captain Saku Koivu, combined for six points in the Canadiens' first home-ice victory this season, a come-from-behind effort against the Bruins.

Yesterday, the team did some off-ice training at the Bell Centre gym. Their next game is at home Saturday against the New York Islanders.

"Are we expecting Alex to score 40 goals?" head coach Claude Julien asked. "I don't think so. If he does, that's great. All we want from him is a solid performance every night.

"His skill level is so high that, no matter what, he makes things happen. He makes other players around him look good, and Perezhogin and Koivu are benefiting from that right now.

"There's a lot of attention being put on him (by the opposition), and when it is, it makes room for others."

The line has been an accidental delight for the Canadiens, Perezhogin moving to the left of Koivu and Kovalev when winger Richard Zednik went down with a groin injury in Boston during the club's first game this season.

Perezhogin, 22, has been a seamless replacement. He and Koivu have each scored three times and added three assists.

In Perezhogin, Kovalev sees a little of himself as the 19-year-old who broke into the NHL with the New York Rangers in 1992 - 950 games and 326 goals ago.

Then a virtually unilingual Russian, Kovalev recalls being afraid to venture outside in New York, in case someone spoke to him and he was unable to reply.

He lived by himself in Moscow for five years as a teenager, playing for Moscow Dynamo at age 16 and was "afraid to jump in the subway because I didn't know where I was going to end up."

It's for these reasons, and because he didn't have a friendly hand to guide him, that he has taken Perezhogin under his wing.

"I went through this, and I don't want Alexander to take too much time to adjust to certain things," Kovalev said yesterday.

"He's adjusting to hockey much quicker than I did. Instead of doing what I did - beating three guys five times - he's taking the puck to the net.

"I've been in his position before - a young player, looking up to older guys. Imagine playing with Mark (Messier), Wayne (Gretzky) or Mario (Lemieux)," he said, recalling his own years with the Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

"You're always trying to pass them the puck instead of taking a shot. But Saku and I have been telling Alexander: 'Just play your game, it's easier for us to adjust to you.' So he's shooting more, not passing all the time. He's doing all the right things."

Kovalev jokes that, as a mentor, he's a bargain. He's billing by meals - "Alexander's choice: four or five Pizza Huts or McDonald's, or one trip to a good restaurant."

Kovalev quickly made fans in Montreal when he arrived from the Rangers in March 2004 for Josef Balej and a draft pick, scoring once in 12 games then six times in 11 playoff games.

His popularity blossomed last summer when he signed a four-year contract as an unrestricted free agent. Kovalev chose to stay in Montreal because he's comfortable here and enjoys the city's love of hockey.

He's not the sniper he once was, having scored a career-high 44 goals and 95 points with Pittsburgh in 2000-01.

And while his ice-time average of 20:48 per game leads Canadiens forwards, he is not the animal for action he was in New York. Kovalev still recalls playing one very long shift for coach Mike Keenan and being punished for it, left on the ice for the final seven minutes of the second period and sent out for the first five minutes of the third.

"I kept coming to the bench and (Keenan) kept sending me back," Kovalev said, laughing. "I got so pissed off, I scored a goal, then nearly got another."

But Kovalev has lost none of his instinct with the puck, and he continues to work to improve his game in other ways. He is perhaps a stronger, more complete player than ever.

"I'm never satisfied with my game, even if I score a hat trick," he said. "For me, it's better not to be happy. You should always think you can take your game to the next level."

Kovalev says he could have scored three goals Wednesday, yet wasn't displeased with his three assists. He also is electrifying Canadiens fans, who know something will happen every time he touches the puck.

"Sometimes, you take a shot from the blue line and try to score, or you're confident enough to go through one or two guys," Kovalev said. "I want to get to the level that I'm so confident, it would be impossible to stop what I do.

"It's hard to be consistent for 82 games, but there are a lot of things you can do to be better. I've been working on that every day, every year, and I'd like to see that from the team and our line."

dstubbs@thegazette.canwest.com

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2005