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The Canadiens' Sergei Kostitsyn, left, and his brother Andrei Kostitsyn watch drills during practice this past week. The brothers have been providing a big spark for Montreal during their playoff run so far. (REUTERS/Christinne Muschi)
MONTREAL — Long before Alex Kovalev and Tom Kostopoulos provided their late-game heroics for the Montreal Canadiens, the quiet brothers Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn cranked up the volume in their play to turn the game in the Habs' favour.
Down 2-0 in the second period, the Kostitsyns enjoyed some dynamite shifts. Their stellar play resulted in a penalty shot for Andrei and a skillful rush from Sergei that his older sibling finished off, scoring Montreal's first goal en route to an important come-from-behind 4-3 victory in overtime in the second-round series opener against the Philadelphia Flyers.
It was the fourth goal by the brother act in two games and seventh in eight games. To see the Kostitsyns succeed so mightily in their first foray into the Stanley Cup playoffs doesn't astonish their teammates.
"They are two of the most skilled players I've played with and they don't need much of a scoring chance to score," said Canadiens forward Maxim Lapierre, who has not only played with the Kostitsyns in Montreal but also in Hamilton with the Bulldogs of the AHL. "They don't even shy away from the physical part of the game."
The Belarussian brothers have taken different paths to the NHL, but both required seasoning in North America before they made an impact with the Canadiens.
Andrei, 23, is 25 months older than Sergei. The older Kostitsyn was a top talent in the 2003 NHL draft, eventually selected 10th overall by the Canadiens. But he caught the attention of scouts even before his draft year and played as a 17 year old for legendary coach Viktor Tikhonov with CSKA Moscow.
But his development was stunted because he was shuttled back and forth between the elite-level team and first division club. He also had a form of epilepsy that wasn't properly treated. When he arrived in Canada to play for the Canadiens' AHL affiliate in Hamilton, Montreal's team physician, David Mulder, worked with Andrei and eventually diagnosed the proper dosage of medication.
"He had a great year for us this season, but his best is yet to come," said Trevor Timmin, the Canadiens' director of player recruitment and development. "Same with Sergei, he's going to get better, too."
But Sergei's transition to the NHL was smoother, even though he was a seventh-round pick in 2005. While Andrei needed two seasons with the Bulldogs, Sergei required just 22 games in Hamilton before being called up for good.
He came to Canada early, spent two years with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and, in his second season, set a Knights club record with 91 assists playing on a line with Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner.
Sergei is the playmaker. Andrei is the sniper. They began the playoffs on different lines, but when Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau moved them to the same line two games ago, a smile brightened Andrei's face. The brothers are more comfortable together.
They practise plays together on the ice and discuss strategy on the bench. They sit together at team meals, on team buses and team planes. They are roommates on the road.
"You never see them apart," Lapierre said. "Andrei is the quieter one of the two. I think Sergei likes to cause a little trouble. He's the joker of the two. He laughs more."
He wasn't laughing when he didn't crack the Canadiens roster last fall and ducked out on reporters when he was cut. A few weeks later, French all-sports television station RDS sent a reporter to do a story on him in Hamilton. Sergei refused to do an interview. That was until Bulldogs veteran defenceman Joel Bouchard scolded him and informed him that was part of his job.
Sergei did the interview and a few weeks later he was summoned to the NHL. The pair became the 13th brother act to play together for the Canadiens in franchise history. Ironically, it was in Philadelphia on Dec. 13. Now the pair has given the Canadiens an upper hand in their series with the Flyers.
Lucky 13
The Kostitsyns are the 13th brother act to play for the Montreal Canadiens.
Georges and Pierre Vézina, 1911-12
Odie and Sprague Cleghorn, 1921-25
Billy and Robert Boucher, 1923-24
Aurele and René Joliat, 1924-25
Hector and Pit Lepine, 1925-26
Sylvio and Georges Mantha, 1928-36
Ken and Terry Reardon, 1941-42
Maurice and Henri Richard, 1955-60
Frank and Pete Mahovlich, 1970-74
Larry and Moe Robinson, 1979-80
Claude and Jocelyn Lemieux, 1988-90
Stephan and Patrick Lebeau, 1990-91
Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, 2007-08
