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Tuesday, February 11, 2003

By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

When the Penguins visit Madison Square Garden Friday night, they'll find out how difficult it is to neutralize Alexei Kovalev.

	Alexi Kovalev currently fourth in the NHL scoring race with 27 goals and 41 assists. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette)

It won't be much consolation that they are, in large part, responsible for turning Kovalev into one of the dominant offensive forces in the NHL, making him the latest in a series of gifted players who realized their potential after joining the Penguins.

"They've always liked talent, always liked [creativity], always loved those kinds of players," said Kovalev, traded to the New York Rangers in an eight-player deal yesterday. "This was the right kind of team for me to be on, because I came in and started playing my game.

"I saw what [other skilled players] were doing, and I felt that I could really play my game. It gave me so much confidence that I just started playing."

Kovalev, who ranks fourth in the NHL scoring race with 27 goals and 41 assists in 54 games, broke into the league with the Rangers, and won a Stanley Cup with them in 1994.

New York never really brought out the best in him, however.

"Somehow, I had trouble having success," Kovalev said. "Maybe I had trouble with the coaches."

That didn't happen with the Penguins, where Kovalev, like most skilled players, got the latitude to develop his game.

"With the type of environment we have, it enables people to do that," General Manager Craig Patrick said. "The environment we have enables people to show their skills better. We're not maybe as restrictive as other organizations, in terms of the defensive aspects of the game. We allow a lot of freedom, offensively."

During his time with the Penguins, Kovalev not only had an opportunity to take risks without fear of reprimands, but overcame his reluctance to shoot when he was presented with a scoring chance.

"I started playing a lot more, got more confidence from [increased] playing time and trust from the coaches," Kovalev said. "You know what you have to do, and you just go out there and have fun. I knew I was going to make mistakes, but I always had time to fix them and get better."

He did just that, improving his point production in three of his four years with the Penguins.

"His play is much more consistent than it was in the past," Patrick said. "He has a lot more confidence in scoring goals than he did when he arrived."

Kovalev scored a career-best 44 two seasons ago, but has a realistic shot at surpassing that total this season.

Kovalev clearly holds the Penguins in high regard -- "This is a great organization," he said. "This gave me an opportunity to be the player I wanted to be" -- but has an obvious affection for New York, too.

He kept his house in suburban Westchester, and spent his summers there.

"Because I started playing in New York, we decided that when my career was over, we were going to go back and live in New York," he said.

He's back in the old neighborhood now. And in three days, he'll be facing his old teammates on the ice, which Kovalev insists he isn't looking forward to it.

"It's not a good thing to play right away against the team you played for," said Kovalev, who did just that after the Penguins acquired him from New York in 1998.

"It's definitely tough. A lot of players will say it's just another game, but there's always feelings [for an old team]. You feel differently. You feel like you just played for them, and now you're playing against them."

Dave Molinari can be reached at 412-263-1144.