Whatever you do, don't mention the word "underdog" to Montreal Canadiens winger Alex Kovalev. "God, I hate that word," Kovalev said Friday just before boarding a flight for Raleigh, N.C. "I don't feel we're a worse team than they are. If we play better than they do, then they become the underdogs."
You're right, let's see if he backs up his quote BUT he has impressed me at times this season with his heart and grittiness. Lately he's been much more physical like he's been in playoff mode for a couple of weeks. We need top performances from our top players to have a chance to beat the Canes.
If Kovy, Saks, Ribs, Markov, Huet, etc..play just "OK", we're not going to go very far.
I think he should give the new quote. "I would think Gerber is the underdog when I have the puck." What a mismatch they are. I think Gerber is going to have nightmares tonight about that Kovalev wrist shot.