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Slapshots

Credit and blame

Mike Ribeiro was the Canadiens' leading scorer with 65 points during the regular season. So when the center was benched by coach Claude Julien for almost all of the third period of Game 1, it raised some eyebrows.

Ribeiro took it in stride.

"Claude knows me," he said. "He knows what I need to pick me up and get me going. Every decision he makes is for the team. What I can do is show up (today) and play a better game."

Ribeiro was outworked by Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier in a battle for the puck in Montreal's zone which led to Ruslan Fedotenko's series-opening goal 2:52 into the second.

"Great stick work," Ribeiro said of Lecavalier. "I lifted my head to see where to put the puck and lost the puck at the same time. It's not a goal you want to give to those teams. A mistake that we made, but I don't think I was the only one making mistakes."

Julien agreed.

"It's not necessarily pointing fingers," he said of Ribeiro's benching. "He's a young player. But at the same time he's a player that gave the team a lot this year. ... In the last two or three games he hasn't been the Mike we know. Whether it's in the playoffs or not, you have to push your players to be better and Mike realizes that."

Lightning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and Canadiens wing Alex Kovalev have known each other since they were 15 and playing in the former Soviet Union.

"We used to be the first guys on the ice and last guys off the ice," Kovalev said. "The guy went a long way to be where he is right now and you have to appreciate it. That is why the series is going to be tougher because of him."

Khabibulin called Kovalev "a complete player" with "probably some of the best hands in the league and a great shot."

Someone joked that Khabibulin's familiarity with Kovalev should make it difficult for him to score.

"But he knows me too," Khabibulin said.

"The things I know I'm not going to tell you," Kovalev said. "I'm going to tell the guys here. We're going to talk about it."

The Canadiens acknowledged his four shutouts and the four goals he has allowed in six games, but added they made it easy on him in Game 1.

"He's been hot and he's seeing the puck well right now, but that's the challenge," Montreal captain Saku Koivu said. "He's a little bit tougher goalie but there is always a way to score some goals. It's something you have to find."

Kovalev said the strategy is easy: get pucks on net and traffic in front.

"We did a lot of good things but they came at the wrong time," he said. "We did everything all the way around. When we got guys in front of the net we never got the puck to the net. When the puck gets to the net there is nobody there. Hopefully we'll get better timing and make sure when the guys are shooting from the point we get guys in front and see what happens."

Lightning chief operating officer Sean Henry said Tampa Bay's box office phone lines have taken numerous calls from Montreal fans who want nothing more than to cheer for their team. Henry said a phone would ring, an operator would answer and hear, "Go Habs" or "sweep Habs sweep" and the line would go dead.

"Maybe others got a little more colorful," said Henry, adding none of the calls were threatening. "Thursday and Wednesday, I'd say one out of four calls were from Canadiens fans. ... I've never hear of anything like this in sports."

Canadiens spokesman Donald Beauchamp reported no problems at the Montreal ticket offices.

When Julien pulled goalie Jose Theodore midway through the third in Game 1, he was sending a message. Not to Theodore, but the rest of the Canadiens.

"He said, "Go relax on the bench,"' Theodore said. "He really didn't say anything, but that was more of a message for the team and hopefully, it meant something to the players."

Plus, Julien figured, pulling Theodore was smart.

"It's a seven-game series and it was 4-0 with 10 minutes left and the way Tampa was playing, you realize your chances are slim," Julien said. "It's important to give him a rest."

Julien also wanted to get backup Mathieu Garon his first postseason experience in case Theodore goes down.

"You never know," Julien said, "injuries happen in this game."

Funny how one little assist can change someone's game. It happened to Lecavalier in Game 1. After his hard work along the boards on Fedotenko's goal, Lecavalier, who had been scoreless in the playoffs, said he began seeing the ice better. The result: a three-point game.

"I didn't have any points and you start worrying a little too much," he said. "After the first point, it seems like you get a little looser. And after I got the first goal, everything loosens up in your mind.

"You go on the ice and you get more patient. Instead of shooting right away on a stupid angle, maybe you take a step to the left so you know where you're shooting. You just get your confidence and you get going."

Game 5 Saturday at the St. Pete Times Forum, if necessary, is at 7:30 p.m.