forward a lane to the inside of the ice, bodied him off the puck and sent the play rushing toward the other end of the rink.
It’s also a big part of the reason Joel Armia — who stands six-foot-four, 213 pounds — played 21 shifts and 19:29 in the game. Ditto for six-foot-three, 222-pounder Ilya Kovalchuk, who was the most-used forward for either team — even if this was the second half of a back-to-back, and even if he’s 36 years old.“It’s huge,” said Canadiens defenceman Ben Chiarot. “You need to have size in this league. Guys like — you see how effective he is, especially down low. Kovalchuk is the same thing.
The thing is, The Canadiens are eight points out of a playoff spot despite having played two more games than both the teams currently locking down the positions they’re trying to get into, and Kovalchuk’s trade stock is rising with every passing game. An assist on Sunday, which brought his point total to 10 in 12 games since signing a two-way, $700,000 contract with Montreal, only helped that cause.
“They all care, they want to win, they want to be better. And all the young guys like Suzuki … and and Fleury — they sent them down, but they’re all ready to play. This team has a bright future, and if I can be part of it, that would be really good.” Kovalchuk added he can’t wait for them to be at the team’s skills competition next Sunday, for them to be down in Montreal’s locker room and for them to have a chance to meet the teammates who have welcomed him so openly.
CanadiensMTL EricEngels I would think their chances of getting into the playoffs would be the deciding factor.
EricEngels CanadiensMTL 🙄
CanadiensMTL EricEngels So what does that say about the Habs drafting Caufield. You will need to surround him with bigger forwards for him to be able to get open. That means some smaller forwards will need to be moved.
EricEngels CanadiensMTL Yeah everyone is terrified of us... 🤨
EricEngels CanadiensMTL Only way you don’t trade Kovalchuk is if you have a contract signed before the deadline. Not getting a draft and not having him resigned is an outcome that would be simply unacceptable.
EricEngels CanadiensMTL 🙄
EricEngels CanadiensMTL The Habs have had the smallest top 9 in the NHL for 25 years.