Koivu in a league of his own

CHRIS STEVENSON -- Ottawa Sun

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MONTREAL -- He said he wants to be treated just like one of the guys and Saku Koivu says the words and he can hope all he wants, but that is never going to be the case.

Not now.

Not after what he's been through and what he is doing now, making each game in these playoffs another chapter in a story that doesn't get old.

The captain of the Montreal Canadiens sat there again Wednesday in his stall in the dressing room, buried in a semicircle of inquisitors, two or three deep, each day bringing a new reporter from a new city to tell Koivu's remarkable story.

"I'm surprised myself," he said.

Outside the room, Canadiens team physician Dr. David Mulder can, like just about everybody else, only shake his head.

"I'm not worrying about him now," said Mulder.

He recited the percentages again, how only 50 percent of the people diagnosed with the type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma found in Koivu's abdomen last September survive five years.

How, because of Koivu's strength and stamina as an elite athlete, they could boost the strength of his chemotherapy treatments far beyond those administered to the average patient.

How the cancer cells were eradicated and how Koivu's readiness to begin his comeback was measured by his bloodtests, how his red cell count slowly climbed from a low of 87 towards the normal level of 150, the goal he had to reach to begin playing again.

How his platelets, which control blood clotting, couldn't even be measured. He couldn't do anything for a month there because even a bruise could have left him bleeding internally.

Now Koivu, his blond hair coming in nicely and a scruffy beard on his face, sits in his locker and politely answers the questions, most of which he has heard many times before. Some, not so often.

What's his weight?

"Actually, I have to lose a couple of pounds," he said sheepishly. He's 185 and his playing weight has been around 182.

It's not just that he has been able to come back and play hockey this year after fears for his life just eight months ago.

The idea of him playing again back then was not even a consideration. He has not only come back, but he has come back as the player he was.

Skilled. Fearless. Involved.

"Surprised? That's hard to say," said Canadiens coach Michel Therrien. "But only because we have such high expectations (for Koivu). He wanted to come back, but he didn't just want to come back. He wanted to contribute to the team. He's playing well. He's the Saku we know so well."

He has four goals in the playoffs heading into Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes, two in this series.

What has really distinguished Koivu's play is the ferocity with which he has attacked the physical part of the game.

His hit on 'Canes forward Josef Vasicek early in Game 2 was a wakeup call for his teammates. Koivu threw his shoulder into the big centre behind the Montreal net and caught him right in the face.

Koivu then went on to score the Canadiens' first goal in what turned out to be a 4-1 win. He scored the first goal again in Game 3 here Tuesday night, won 2-1 in overtime.

"I don't know if (that hit) was a turning point. I know we didn't play a good first game. We were flat. We had no emotion," said Koivu on Wednesday. "We had to get back to the style we played against Boston, strong, more physical. We were losing battles and didn't get to loose pucks.

"That hit, I was just in the right spot at the right time."

Funny how that often happens to the good ones.

"After we played the first game, we had a meeting and one of the things he said was he was not satisfied with the way we played," said Therrien. "He said we needed more of a commitment to play with energy and be more physical.

"Then he jumped on the ice and set the tone. When you're captain it's nice to talk in the dressing room, but you've got to do it on the ice."

It is a story he has told a few times now, but there was a hint how closely the emotions still run to the surface in its telling. Koivu looked to get a little choked up when asked to recount how he got from there to here.

"Three months ago, I didn't expect to play. Now I'm playing in the playoffs and I've played every game so far," he said. "It's a dream. When I wake up, I wonder how I can feel so good. I love feeling this way and I'm going to enjoy it. I deserve it."

Yes, he does.

He's gotten what he wants, but one thing will escape him.

He's never going to be just one of the boys.

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