Kovalev was not sure if the Habs fans would cheer or boo him today in his return from his 2 game punishment. The fans reacted by cheering him on in the warm up and when he touched the puck.Kovalev responded to the punishment set by Bob Gainey by getting a goal and two assists as the Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3 this afternoon.It's nice when you come back and get that much support," said Kovalev. "I didn't know what the expect.But I'm a different person now. I have that hankering to play."The 35-year-old who led the Canadiens in scoring last season said this week he had been battling a flu. He also said he needed to be sat down 2 games,even if he didn't agree with it at the time."The most important thing was that I was able to get the bad thoughts out of my mind that have been building up all year," he said. "You try different things and nothing works and then you get confused, but in the last few days I've been able to clear my mind."Kovalev's goal was his 14th goal of the season.
Tomas Plekanec,scored his fifth goal in five games(his 15th of the season), Mathieu Schneider scored another powerplay goal( his 6th of the season), Patrice Brisebois(Scored his 5th goal of the season) and Mathieu Dandenault (his 2nd goal of the season) also scored for Montreal in its first game back after a dismal 1-4-1 road stretch."My first game here we scored three and I only touched the puck once, so I can't take credit for that," said the 39-year-old Schneider. "It's a good feeling because that was one area in which we were struggling before." Senators coach Clouston was not happy with the lose."They came out strong and got the momentum," said Clouston. "Obviously Kovalev's goal compounded the momentum they had, scoring after what he went through." As for Montreal's coach Guy Carbonneau was not surprise with Kovalev's effort."He's done it before," added Carbonneau. "That's the kind of player he is. When he wants to play hard and he works, he's a really good player."The Canadiens next game will be on Tuesday against the Vancover Canucks.
Written by Andrew Di Pardo
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