About yesterday afternoon ...

He's the poster boy for the benefits of stress leave:

Kovy, Kovy, Kovy.

The Bell Centre pulsates to his everyshake and shimmy. A jumbo scoreboard image of him just sitting on the bench elicits the sharp intake of breath usually reserved for a particularly well=endowed damsel captured by the Babe Cam.

Kovy, Kovy, Kovy.

He risen Phoenix-like from the ashes to save the centennial season.

Kovy, KOVY! KOVEEEEEE!!!!!!

Everyone in Montreal loves him. And it would be churlish to point out his coach lives on Île Bizard.

In his post-game remarks, Guy Carbonneau described his rehabilitated star as "really smart"  and praised Kovalev's work on the penalty kill.

The PK, Carbo said, requires "someone with instinct, and he has that ... (Kovalev) can read the play before it happens and then react."

"When he wants to play hard and work," said the coach, who can't resist adding qualifiers, "he's a really good player and he can help this club win games."

Kovalev helped win this one. His one shot on goal went in, he added two assists and his three giveaways were offset by an equal number of takeaways.

Kovalev played like he cared. He hustled. He hit. His puck-hogging was in aid of clock-killing as the Canadiens played lead protection. He resisted the temptation to play to his adoring fans with excessively balletic moves.

That's one game. We'll learn a lot more about Kovalev this week, when the Canadiens play host to Vancouver on Tuesday before facing the Flyers in Philadelphia on Friday and heading home for a Saturday game against the scary Sharks.

A good week won't salvage February for the Canadiens. They are ending the month in a desperate scramble for a playoff spot..

Today's win moved the Canadiens into fifth place, but they're five points out of 10th.  The dash for the cash has begun, and every game is crucial, every point precious.

So it was nice to get a W today. And only a jaded, bitter, hopelessly negative journalist would point out that a thoroughjly lousy, one-line team got 47 shots on goal ... plus 19 that were blocked ... plus 12 misses.

That adds up to 78 chances for the Ottawa Senators, aka Spezza, Heatley, a broken-jawed Alfredsson and 15 shleps.

Jaroslav Halak did not display the demeanour of a winning goaltender after the game. He looked pissed-off, probably because he'd survived that barrage and repeated Ottawa efforts to cuff him around and wreck his concentration.

Jaro played a helluva game and deserves to start against Vancouver. But he needs more help. Give the Canucks 78 opportunities and it's not going to be pretty.

But Carbo was happy. He said his team has played better in their last three games – indisputable, since it's impossible to play worse than the Canadiens did on their western swing.

Tomas Plekanec is on the way to saving his season. He has four goals in his last three games, palys like his sparse hair is on fire and was 15-7 on faceoffs today.

Andrei Kostitsyn was blanked today but has two goals and three assists since his brother was shipped to Hamilton. As to the allegations of off-ice impropriety, someone e-mailed me to explain the brothers' confusion. In their native Belarus, gangsters are known as "government officials."

I wondered about Max Pacioretty being dropped to the third line today. I shouldn't have. Max-Pac skated miles and was a perfect complement to his Energizer Bunny linemates, Maxim Lapierre and Tom Kostopoulos (who had SEVEN of the Canadiens' 27 hits).

Liked the fourth line, too. Kyle Chipchura finally looked like an NHLer (but maybe that was the quality of the opposition), Mathieu Dandenault came within an assist of a Gordie Howe hat trick, and Gregory Stewart played a quietly efficient 7:51.

The Saku Koivu line is a work in progress. The Captain and Christopher Higgins are getting their mojo back, and Matt D'Agostini chipped in with four hits off aggressive forechecking.  Tanguay is expected back at the end of the week, however, which will move D'Ag off that line.

The D concerns me. Roman Hamrlik and Mike Komisarek looked shaky. And Francis Bouillon has a groin tear – ouch! – that will keep him out for at laest four weeks.

Memo to Carbo: However you plan your defence pairings, don't exact Markov minutes from the geezers, Schneider and Patrice Brisebois, in those back-to-back games against Philadelphia and San Jose.

The team gets a well-deserved day off on Sunday. They'll be recharging their batteries for a tough week ahead. 

At least one player is rested, ready ... and renascent.

Kovy, Kovy ... oh, you know the rest.