Really, what the heck is he doing there, he's been on the PK the last three games?
He's not much of a defensive asset
Playing the PK, you have to move your feets, hustling and play intensive... Carbo probably wants Kovalev more in the game, thats why he uses him on PK.
Well you want people who understand how space can be exploited, and Kovalev is one of the best in the league at that. I suspect that his understanding of how he gets open helps shut the opposing team down.
With the number of penalties, Carbo don't want Kovy to stay on the bench a lot of consecutive minutes so he use him a bit on the PK to let is body warm
Well you want people who understand how space can be exploited, and Kovalev is one of the best in the league at that. I suspect that his understanding of how he gets open helps shut the opposing team down.
Really, what the heck is he doing there, he's been on the PK the last three games?
He's not much of a defensive asset
Looks like you haven't followed Kovalev's career a lot, seeing in PK isn't new AT ALL except that last year Julien and Bob decided not the use him in PK anymore .
Kovalev can be good in PK since he is fast enough to go mess around with the puckholder and/or move backwards etc.
Kovalev is underrated defensively. One of his big strengths is that once he gets his stick on the puck in the defensive zone, he'll often gain control of it and protect it enough to neutralize the attack.
He can be accused of not backchecking, but on the PK this is not a factor (and, really, hasn't been much of one this season 5-on-5 either.)
He was on the PK with Koivu fairly often at the beginning of last season.
Kovalev is underrated defensively. One of his big strengths is that once he gets his stick on the puck in the defensive zone, he'll often gain control of it and protect it enough to neutralize the attack.
He can be accused of not backchecking, but on the PK this is not a factor (and, really, hasn't been much of one this season 5-on-5 either.)
He was on the PK with Koivu fairly often at the beginning of last season.
Yep exactly I can still remember, Talking about Kovalev...what are they waiting for to put Kovalev at the blue line in the PP? I mean he was very sucessful there with the pens/rangers
Yep exactly I can still remember, Talking about Kovalev...what are they waiting for to put Kovalev at the blue line in the PP? I mean he was very sucessful there with the pens/rangers
I presume you mean PK, and I agree. Having Kovalev up on the point is great because he can burn them if they make a mistake. Having Bonk up there (though he did score shorthanded last night) just isn't as threatening.
Talking about Kovalev...what are they waiting for to put Kovalev at the blue line in the PP? I mean he was very sucessful there with the pens/rangers
1- The Habs have a few good point D-Men (Souray, Markov)
2- Kovalev has been highly effective manning the boards
3- Kovalev has been used on the point on the PP, and remains an option if someone (usually Markov) is injured, but the opposing teams figured him out and started challenging him at the blueline and he'd shoot in their skates.
The Habs have a fairly effective PP as it is, there's little point in messing with it.
1- The Habs have a few good point D-Men (Souray, Markov)
2- Kovalev has been highly effective manning the boards
3- Kovalev has been used on the point on the PP, and remains an option if someone (usually Markov) is injured, but the opposing teams figured him out and started challenging him at the blueline and he'd shoot in their skates.
The Habs have a fairly effective PP as it is, there's little point in messing with it.
Exactly..Kovalev on the PP controls the boards, and was so good about it is that with one move he ends up in the slot by himself for a big shot. (for example:the game winner last night)
Kovalev is underrated defensively. One of his big strengths is that once he gets his stick on the puck in the defensive zone, he'll often gain control of it and protect it enough to neutralize the attack.
He can be accused of not backchecking, but on the PK this is not a factor (and, really, hasn't been much of one this season 5-on-5 either.)
He was on the PK with Koivu fairly often at the beginning of last season.
Being 'rated' as good defensively, implies backchecking. It's as simple as that.
There's a difference between being aggressive on the PK, ie. being able to read plays and create dangerous turnovers, than there is being good defensively, which is basically hustling your butt off and outworking your opponent.
Being 'rated' as good defensively, implies backchecking. It's as simple as that.
There's more to defense than rushing back after a turnover. It does no good to try to defend if you can't get the puck out of your zone. This is where Kovalev excels; if he gets the puck he'll usually control it then get it out, and I've seen that defuse many a dangerous-looking attack on the Habs since the start of last season. It's a crucial PK skill -- and I've lost track of the times I've rolled my eyes at a player with time and space getting rid of the puck too quickly on the PK and failing an easy clearout.
Ultimately it's a moot point so far this year because Kovalev has been backchecking...
