Here's something we don't see every day!

by Kevin van Steendelaar on Sep 29, 2010 11:54 PM EDT

Yes I know it's the Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, but how often did we see Alex Kovalev drop the gloves for the Habs??? Just once, so this is a rarity.

Wednesday night Kovalev took on the Leafs Francois Beauchemin. Why we may never know, but as the Ottawa Sun's Don Brenna said, "Kovalev showed something a lot of people say he lacks. He showed some passion. He showed he cares."

"I just tried to use my head to hurt him," Kovalev said after the game.

Kovalev has had just three fights prior in his career. His only one as a Habs came March 25/06 against Darcy Tucker (see video below), and were preceded by skirmishes on December 30/98 against Florida's Alex Hicks and on February 26/94 against the Stars' Dave Gagner.

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Forget the fight.

That elbowing brought a tear to my eye. There are so many people who just don’t understand Kovalev. The man is all about putting on a show. Winning, scoring, whatever, yes, but (apparently unknown to him alone) Kovy sees everything through the prism of showmanship.

And he is a beautiful, splendid showman. That’s why people loved him so much in Montréal. That’s why I miss him. I mean, I don’t miss his contribution as a player, but as a fan, I loved him.

Seriously, the guy takes the pucks, sees that Tucker is still on, goes out of his way, up to the blue, then comes the opening, not to the net but to Tucker and he just zeroes in.

Dirty sonovabitch never expected it.

Other than that, Kovy can’t fight his way out of a paper bag. And the NHL’s online video quality is getting up there. If they can switch to 60fps (they never will, alas), I can at long last dump my cable subscription.

by Olivier on Sep 30, 2010 12:55 AM EDT reply actions

+1

For me, that was the highlight of the Kovalev era.

by Chris Boyle on Sep 30, 2010 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Dirty sonovabitch never expected it.

That’s the most irony-filled statement I’ve read all month.

I am Mikhail Grabovski's smirking revenge.

by kidkawartha on Sep 30, 2010 9:09 AM EDT up reply actions

I’ll admit that I have found it easy to dislike Kovalev through the years… but planning to injure an opponent’s hands with your face is an act of bravery with few parallels.

Nice going Alex.

Let the Wookie win.

by Kenjamin on Sep 30, 2010 7:34 AM EDT reply actions

That Video

Made me entirely way to nostalgic. I remember exactly where I was for that game, and that hit as well. What a beautiful hit. Most passion Kovalev showed that I can remember, too.

by Elie on Sep 30, 2010 9:32 AM EDT reply actions