WInning the All-Star MVP: Will It Be Good or Bad for Alex Kovalev's Season?

Well Alex Kovalev silenced many critics when the fans chose him as a starter in last night's NHL All-Star Game.

Playing in front of his home crowd, Kovy's three-point night gave him the award and a new Honda Ridgeline.

Kovalev did appear a bit humbled in front of his home team crowd in Montreal upon receiving the award to a tremendous ovation.

Maybe it's the emotional spark he needs to make up for a sub-par season by last year's standards, where he racked up 84 points, leading the Canadiens in scoring.

This season, after 46 games, he has 33 points. This includes a 20-game, goal-less streak. He will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end.

I was curious to see what the difference winning the All-Star MVP has made on the balance of a player's season.

Here's what I found on recent All-Star MVPs based on split statistics from Yahoo! Sports.

2008 MVP Eric Staal: With 48 points in 52 games and a minus seven rating, Staal had 34 points in the last 30 games and was plus five.

2007 MVP Daniel Briere: Briere's point-per-game numbers had little change. He scored 57 points in the 49 games prior, and 38 in his last 32. His plus/minus did drop from plus 13 to plus four, while his shooting percentage increased from 12.7 percent to 15.2 percent.

There were no All-Star games in 2005 and 2006.

2004 MVP Joe Sakic: The ever-consistent Avalanche Captain was just that. 57 points and plus six in the first 53 games and 30 points in the remaining 28, going plus five.

2003 MVP Dany Heatley: The then Thrasher did show improvement with 40 points in his last 31 games, with a plus five. In his first 46 games, Heatley had 49 points but was  minus 13.

2002 MVP Eric Daze: One of the more notable MVPs whose numbers did drop. After achieving a plus 16 rating with 50 points in his first 56 games, Daze only scored 20 points in the remaining 26, going plus one. Daze is also no longer playing in the NHL.

2001 MVP Bill Guerin:  Guerin played 85 games (yes, 85) in 2000-01 after being traded from Edmonton (21 games) to Boston (64 games). He scored 48 points in his first 56 with a plus nine. In his remaining 29 games, he had 37 points with a minus two.

Suffice to say, none of the All-Star MVPs in recent memory have had any major turnarounds or declines in their point production.

Will the Canadiens winger break that trend for good or bad?

Checking into Kovalev's numbers from last season, he had 45 points in his first 49 games leading to the All-Star Game, and tallied 39 points in his remaining 33 games.

Career-wise, Kovalev's point-per-game average has a very minimal .02 difference before and after the All-Star Game.

Habs fans will be hoping for the best that Kovalev will carry this small personal victory through the remainder of the season with the Canadiens and well into the playoffs.

We'll start to see if it does beginning Tuesday night in Tampa.