About last night ...

Write this down as the rarest of Boone predictions, i.e. one that may actually come to pass:

Short of an unlikely scenario in which he leads your Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup, number 27 won't be back next year.

This is not me being my usual overwrought, hysterical self 26 games into the season. I sincerely believe that Alex Kovalev's style of play is killing his coach and serving as a bad example to his younger teammates.

Carbo did not call out Kovy by name during the press conference.

He didn't have to.

We all knew whom the coach was criticizing when he was asked about bad penalties and said as far as he was concerned, the only good penalties are the ones that prevent goals-against.

Kovalev's penalty came in the offensive zone with 28 seconds remaining in a 1-1 tie. New Jersey had been penalized five minutes previous and, as Carbo noted, you knew the refs would even their calls up, given the opportunity.

Kovalev gave them the opportunity. His infraction came at the end on yet another end-of-shift solo flight into the Devils' zone. Kovy lost the puck, and his frustration lost the game.

It wasn't his first selfish play. And God knows it won't be his last.

But given the game situation, what was a veteran of 1,099 games thinking?

Kovalev is still the most skillful player on the Canadiens. On many nights, he's the most skillful player on the ice. 

In the pre-game introductions, he still gets very warm applause. His flamboyant style is tailor-made for a Montreal crowd that likes their hockey played with élan, flair and a lot of hair.

Notwithstanding that Jacques Lemaire started his coaching career here, Devils hockey would not fly at the Bell Centre.

We like Kovy hockey – when the team is winning. And when he's scoring.

The last time Alex Kovalev scored, John McCain was still campaigning for president.

It was Nov. 1 on Long Island. In their 10th game of the season, the Canadiens erased a 4-1 Islanders lead to win 5-4. Kovalev scored the first and last goals of the game.

Since then, nothing – for Kovy or McCain (although on Nov. 16, Kovalev, not McCain, scored in a shootout to beat St. Louis).

Kovalev has five goals this season. Zach Parise, who got the overtime winner while Kovy was in the penalty box, has 15. So do Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa.

Phil Kessel has 16 goals. Jeff Carter and Tomas Vanek have 19.

At this point in a long season, 151 NHL players have more goals than Alex Kovalev.

Christopher Higgins isn't one of them. 

Higgins has scored in three games this season, including a hat trick against Ottawa on Nov. 11.

Lest we forget, Higgins had 27 goals last season. Kovalev had 35.

Higgins' slump is more ominous than Kovalev's. He's 25 years old, a Canadiens draft choice developed in the team's system.

You can't fault Higgins' work ethic. He skates all night. He battles along the boards. He goes into the corners and usually comes out with the puck.

But to this point, Higgins can't score. And it's his contract season.Apart from the problems of these two – and partially because of them,particularly in the case of Kovalev – the power play continues to suck.

Canadiens were 0-for-5 with the man advantage last night. They'ce scored five goals in their last 60 man advantages.

It got so bad Carbonneau tried Georges Laraque on the PP. The 19-second experiment produced nothing.

And the worst of it is yet to come. With very little fear of the Canadiens' PP, teams that play on the edge – like Philadelphia and Boston – will take even greater liberties.

Why not throw an elbow to take Tomas Plekanec or Andrei Kostitsyn off his game? The worst that can happen is two minutes of watching Kovalev at the half-boards as he tries to decide whether to pass through a forest of legs, take a shot that will be blocked or throw it back to the Player Who Is Not Mark Streit at the point.

OK, after all this pissing and moaning about two players, maybe it's time for some Sunday morning positivity.

No less an authority than my mentor, Red Fisher, says the Canadiens are "starting to look like a team likely to finish on top of their conference."

The Canadiens dominated the game for the first 30 minutes. They got a point.

The Saku Kovu line was great again. Matt D'Agostini looks like he'll be here for a while. And the Captain, who assisted on the kid's goal and is playing like he wants a new contract, moved past Mats Naslund into 11th place on the all-time Canadiens point list.

Tomas Plekanec continues to skate miles and battle for pucks in all three zones. But while I love Tom Kostopoulos and like the hustle and grit he brings to the line, there are times when I think Pleks and puck-passer par excellence Alex Tanguay need a winger who can finish.

Robert Lang continues to play well, albeit with two linemates mired in slumps.

And the fourth-liners keep plugging away – although if there were no rink boards at the St. Antoine end of the Bell Centre, Maxim Lapierre and Steve Bégin would be at the new practice facility in Brossard before Georges Laraque got to the Victoria Bridge.

Can't fault the D. There were some Breeze moments, but Josh Gorges was superb.

The season hung in the balance when Andrei Markov went down. Luckily, a puck in the kisser won't keep him out for too long. And Mike Komisarek has started skating.

Carey Price was bad on the first New Jersey goal, and there were moments when he didn't seem to know where the puck was. But he made 29 saves, many of which were difficult.

Price is the franchise, people. I'm already fretting about what it will take to re-sign him next season.

The Canadiens usually have Sundays off but wil practice today for the entertainment of fans who won tickets through a Metro grocery chain promotion.

Tomorrow they open their new, state-of-the-art training facility in Brossard.

Tuesday night, it's state-of-the-art Jarome Iginla and the Calgary Flames.

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