Pat Hickey. 

MONTREAL - Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Kovalev said there was no rift between him and former coach Guy Carbonneau, although the Russian sniper was baffled by some of the coach's moves.

"There were times when I didn't understand what he was doing," Kovalev said prior to the team's departure for Ottawa.

"We would be on the power play and... there would be guys on the third and fourth lines out there," Kovalev said.

Carbonneau was fired on March 9 and replaced behind the bench by general manager Bob Gainey.

Kovalev said he was never sure what Carbonneau was trying to accomplish. He did not know whether the coach was unhappy with the players on the top line or whether he was trying to provide a spark. Kovalev said he was also baffled by what he perceived as favouritism toward some of the team's younger players, but he admitted that his view was coloured by his own experience.

"I remember when I was 19 years old and I was bouncing back and forth between the NHL and the minors," Kovalev said.

But Kovalev backed up Carbonneau's claim that the players didn't quit on him.

"There were times when we didn't play our best, when things weren't working, but that doesn't mean we weren't trying," Kovalev said. "Just because things weren't working doesn't mean that players didn't like the coach."

The Canadiens have not set the world on fire since Gainey took Carbonneau's place behind the bench -- Montreal is 1-1-2 under Gainey -- but Kovalev hopes that the team is ready to turn things around as they attempt to hold on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Canadiens have a 4-0 record against the Senators this season and Ottawa is a distant 11 points out of a playoff spot. But this game is hardly a gimme because the Senators have come to life with six wins in their last seven games.