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Series highlights: Matthew Tkachuk dominates the Lightning in his return to action

There were four playoff games in the NHL last night.

And some teams got into it.

Let’s take a look at what happened:

1: Matthew Tkachuk is too strong for the Lightning

The Panthers began the defense of their championship last night. And it went well, with the Florida outfit beating Tampa Bay 6-2.

The Panthers opened the scoring early in the game, but Jake Guentzel tied the score moments later:

It wasn’t long before we saw the two teams – who don’t like each other – start taking the piss.

There’s plenty of breaststroke throughout the match… and that promises to be the case for the rest of the series :

But the hero of this game was Matthew Tkachuk.

The Panthers’ star player’s last game was on February 20 (Canada vs. USA final at 4 Nations), and despite everything, he was dominant last night.

Tkachuk finished the game with two goals and an assist, and was the spark plug for his club throughout.

His three points gave the Panthers a 1-0 series lead:

What a matchup between the Leafs and Sens

The Leafs were really ready to take on the Senators last night.

After 10 minutes of play… it was already 2-0 in Toronto’s favor thanks to goals from Morgan Rielly and John Tavares.

But the Sens didn’t give up.

They managed to tie the game, and overtime was needed to determine a winner between the two clubs:

There’s a great rivalry between the two Ontario teams and we really saw it last night.

Especially on this sequence, where we can see Anthony Stolarz getting violent with his stick to “bother” Ridly Greig in front of the Leafs’ net.

Ah… and there was no penalty on the play:

Leafs fans didn’t have to wait long before celebrating the game-winning goal.

Just over three minutes into overtime, Max Domi gave his club the win with a fine shot from the slot.

The series moves to Ottawa and the Sens will have their work cut out for them as they trail 0-2 at the moment.

Kirill Kaprizov is really good

The Wild won last night by a score of 5-2, and they can thank Kirill Kaprizov.

Because the Russian was excellent in Game 2 of the series against the Golden Knights. He collected two goals and an assist in the victory:

The Wild had a nice 4-1 lead after 40 minutes of play.

At the start of the third period, the Golden Knights attempted a comeback… and Tomas Hertl threaded the needle.

But the damage had already been done. Kaprizov scored his second goal of the game in an empty net and the Wild tied the series 1-1 with a 5-2 victory.

Not all was rosy for Kaprizov in the game, who ate a couple of coconut punches during a late-game scrum.

I have a feeling that the next match will be interesting to watch:

Hurricanes look too strong for Devils

When a team plays without its best offensive player, it’s hard to get results.

Talk about the Devils… who face the Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs without the services of Jack Hughes.

New Jersey opened the scoring in yesterday’s game with a Jesper Bratt goal, but that was the Devils’ only moment of glory in the game.

Shayne Gostisbehere, Jordan Martinook and Seth Jarvis (empty net) scored three unanswered goals and the Hurricanes won 3-1 :

The Hurricanes now have a 2-0 lead in the series. The next two games will be played in New Jersey.

The Devils had better wake up… because they won’t be able to beat the Hurricanes by scoring just one goal per game.

The club has scored twice in as many games so far…

But even on the physical side, it looks like the Hurricanes are too strong for the Devils. Brent Burns made his mark on the ice last night:

Extension

– Wow.

– Top scorers of the night :

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Three games tonight, including the Habs :

(Credit: NHL.com)
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José Théodore: “If you tell me you’re taking Demidov out of the line-up tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised”

Ivan Demidov’s arrival in Montreal went off without a hitch. A goal and an assist sent the Bell Centre into a frenzy and raised expectations among Canadiens fans.

Except that the two games that followed his NHL debut didn’t go as planned. In the Tricolore’s final game of the season, Demidov played less than 11 minutes and collected no points.

In his first playoff game against the Capitals, he didn’t impress, finishing with a -2 differential.

That’s exactly what prompted former Canadiens goaltender José Théodore to reveal on 98.5 Sports on Tuesday that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the Canadiens’ rookie skip his turn in the next few days.

If Martin St-Louis decides to leave Demidov out on Wednesday night, Theodore wouldn’t be surprised, and he’d consider it normal.

In his opinion, Demidov is the kind of player who can easily be left out. He’s just arrived with the team, so he’s a player who hasn’t yet created chemistry with his teammates.

Martin St-Louis doesn’t know him well enough yet, and it’s not in the playoffs that you want to start experimenting.

Les amateurs de sports host Mario Langlois did, however, point to one excuse for Demidov’s performance: his trio mates. We all know that Patrik Laine isn’t very good at five-on-five, and that’s probably something that slows Demidov down.

The problem remains, however, that now is not the time to mix your trios. The Suzuki and Dvorak trios are doing just fine, and Demidov isn’t the kind of player who can play on a fourth trio with Jake Evans and company.

But you have to wonder whether the players the Habs are currently leaving out can really contribute more on the ice than Demidov. Oliver Kapanen is doing a good job, but I think Demidov is clearly superior.

And as for Michael Pezzetta… it would be better to keep him in the stands.

It’s also fair to say that leaving Demidov out could enrage many Canadiens fans. Many people are currently frustrated at seeing Arber Xhekaj left out. Adding fuel to the fire by removing Demidov from the lineup would be crazy.

Despite all this, we should expect Demidov to remain in the lineup for the next game.

In Brief

– People already want to shuffle the lineup after only one playoff game.

– Maybe Dobson will want to stay now that Lamoriello is gone.

– Just a thought.

– Laine is not appreciated right now!

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Texting while driving: Jean-Charles Lajoie apologizes

It’s a bit risky being filmed 24/7. Jean-Charles Lajoie learned that the hard way over the long Easter weekend .

A rather embarrassing excerpt began making the rounds on social networks on Monday evening.

It shows Jean-Charles Lajoie, who streams in his ” winnebagohabsgo” for the playoffs, committing a cocktail of driving infractions. After turning on the van , JiC doesn’t let go of his cell phone or his eyes. We see him texting, at length, both on drive and in the red light.

Daphnée Malboeuf, in the passenger seat, first whispers to him to stop texting while driving.

Daphnée: “Don’t text while driving!”

JiC: “…”

Daphne: “Oyoyoye… You’re not supposed to, texting while driving, SACRAMENT!”

JiC: “…”

Daphne: “It’s green! Drop the texting while driving! It’s illegal!”

JiC: “Hey, I’m stopped at a red light!

Daphne: “Ah, because that’s legal…”

JiC: “Well yes, texting at a red light, everyone does that!”

Daphne: “Everyone does it, but it’s not legal!

JiC: “It’s not legal? I’m stopping it!”

The problem is that the red light is no excuse, as the vehicle is initially in motion.

All in all, Jean-Charles has apologized on social networks in the last few minutes.

He did so live on his YouTube channel at around 9:15pm on Tuesday evening.

“I made a mistake and for all those who were offended, I sincerely apologize. (Daphnée) heats up. It’s simple: I don’t heat anymore! – Jean-Charles Lajoie

We hope this situation doesn’t recur in the future, and remind you that texting at red lights is also texting while driving!

Extension

Beware of hypocrites! The aim here is not to excuse any behavior at all, but rather to highlight the fact that it is relatively normalized, albeit statistically dangerous.

Here are some statistics on phone use while driving in Canada:

– 47% of drivers admit to using their phone in some way while driving, and 33% use it at red lights

– Among 18-24 year-olds, 50% of drivers check their messages while driving, and 18% admit to having watched a video while driving

– 15% of Quebecers text while driving, the highest rate in Canada

The risk of an accident is multiplied by 23 when a road user is distracted by his or her phone.

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Individual honours predictions: The Athletic ignores the Canadiens

The Athletic decided to poll its employees who cover the NHL to find out which player or coach would be most deserving of each of the end-of-season individual honours.

They presented the results for the Hart, Norris, Vézina, Selke, Calder and Jack Adams trophies. Only one Canadian player made it into the rankings: Lane Hutson, who takes first place for the Calder Trophy.

Other than that, it’s a blank slate for the Habs. See for yourself.

Hutson may be at the top for the Calder, but he’s not even in the top-9 for the Norris Trophy, according to The Athletic staff.

He’s a rookie defenseman, so he may be flying under the radar. That’s understandable.

The problem is with the Selke Trophy (awarded to the NHL’s best defensive forward). Nick Suzuki, who has had a stellar season, doesn’t even deserve a place in the top-14.

It’s really crazy to see him ranked behind guys like Mark Stone or Jason Robertson.

But worst of all are the votes for the Jack Adams Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s Coach of the Year. Martin St-Louis did not make the list, which includes 18 coaches.

Lindy Ruff makes the list with the Sabres, who finished FAR from the playoffs! Andrew Brunette also makes the list as the Predators have been awful.

Worst of all, Derek Lalonde is here, but he’s been fired!

It’s funny, because NHL.com journalists recently put St-Louis in third place for the Jack Adams.

We know it’s just a poll from The Athletic, but the Habs’ efforts this season should be rewarded.

In gusto

– Dubé wouldn’t be surprised to see Xhekaj make a return to the lineup.

– Ouch.

– The Devils are in trouble.

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Welcome to Montreal, Mathew Barzal, Noah Dobson and Bo Horvat

The Habs are looking for a center, so you know the drill: all potentially available players will be photoshopped with a Montreal jersey on their back, until Kent Hughes makes his move.

You might as well laugh, right about now. Welcome to Montreal, Mathew Barzal and/or Bo Horvat.

That said, there’s nothing more normal than the exercise – especially when a GM who stubbornly insisted on staying in the mix/no man’s land is fired and good players could be shopped around by the new boss .

Excluding the fact that he speaks French, Barzal is automatically an interesting candidate by virtue of the fact that he’s a 27-year-old center and his contract isn’t outrageous, at $9.1M per year until 2031.

However, I see two impediments to a possible barter involving Barzal and the CH.

On the one hand, will the Habs be willing to sacrifice important pieces of their future for a player who has missed a total of 126 games in his last six seasons, and has only played 30 games this season? On the other hand, will the Islanders’ new GM consider Barzal’s value to be less than his peak, following a decent start to the season of 20 points in 30 games and a season-ending injury?

In the end, Barzal still has 462 points in 530 NHL games. He’s one of the league’s elite, and aside from 2024-2025, he’s averaged 71 games a year since the start of his career.

To stay in center ice, Bo Horvat would be another option to consider – cheaper in terms of market value, but almost as much in terms of dollars ($8.5M/year until 2031). Horvat is a bigger, more responsible center, weighing in at around thirty pounds, but he packs quite a bit less offensive punch… when left to his own devices. 54 games in 46 games with Elias Pettersson, sound familiar? In any case, he’s got the makings of a guy who brings a lot more than just stats to the table.

What would be the price to pay? It’s hard to say. But the CH could probably afford one or the other, and Kent Hughes is ready to move.

Ivan Demidov needs a center, and he’s in a hurry.

Extension

It was one of the topics of February:

Could a hostile offer be made to Noah Dobson this summer?
Noah Dobson changes agent before deadline!
Islanders store Noah Dobson!

Will the new staff want to part with a 25-year-old defenseman who scored 70 points last year, and whose best years are ahead of him?

I doubt it… But welcome to Montreal, Noah Dobson!

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Stop with Xhekaj: the Habs were no match… and lost in overtime

I understand that the topic of the day is Arber Xhekaj.

The Habs got their asses kicked yesterday. The check totals of the Capitals (44) and the Habs (33) don’t even begin to show the extent of Washington’s physical superiority. Their hits were bigger and drained a lot more momentum, especially in the first two periods. 100%, I’m clearly not going to dwell on that.

So it’s only natural to turn to Martin St-Louis’ hardest-hitting card , which has a reputation for getting the crowd on its feet and waking up his teammates. Totally normal.

But let’s not let all this third-pair debate distract us from one thing. One thing is crystal clear to me: the Habs were no match for the Capitals.

And Xhekaj wouldn’t change things that much.

Through the collective rose-colored glasses shopping surrounding Ivan Demidov’s arrival, many observers have made a very (too) easy and very unsupported shortcut, namely that “the Capitals are going to have a downer after experiencing the high of Ovi’s record”.

Guys, have you missed the last, what, 174 days? You know, the ones in which Washington won 51 games and had the second-best record in the league…

But above all, have you considered that the Capitals are… really big, really fat, really strong? We’re talking about an imposing, playoff-bound team that ranks second in average height and sixth in average weight in the NHL.

The Canadiens, on the other hand, rank in the middle of the pack for weight, but second-to-last for height. And there are no players of the stature of Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson in the Capitals’ first two units.

I’m not saying that the physical aspect is the whole equation, but one fact remains: it’s not necessarily the CH’s identity. In Montreal, we finish the checks, but we’re not mean.

A lack of personnel, perhaps, but above all a decision by the coaching staff. We already knew that Xhekaj wasn’t the favorite. With Martin St-Louis’ six favorite defensemen, the Sheriff has skipped his turn in nine of the Canadiens’ last ten games.

In a nutshell. Are you surprised that Montreal got its ass kicked by Washington? You shouldn’t be…

And yet… The Habs took the best team in the East to overtime last night.

If St-Louis and his assistants decided that their best way to win was without #72, it’s because they believe in this recipe. Let’s face it, spanking everything in your path isn’t the only strategy that works in the playoffs. The proof? I repeat: the Habs took the best team in the East to overtime last night, without Xhekaj, and thanks to a late-game domination of the Caps.

The devil’s advocate would tell you that changing the lineup of a club that forced overtime against a superior club wouldn’t be the best of ideas.

Let’s calm down a bit, and reassess after game #2.

In a gust

– Always good stories.

– Lane Hutosn can indeed be better, although he hasn’t been bad.

– David Reinbacher in the Rocket lineup, unless…

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Series: Even without playing much, Demidov will gain important experience

As was the case against the Hurricanes last Wednesday, Ivan Demidov didn’t play much last night against the Capitals.

Circumstances were different: the CH needed a goal last night to get back into the game, and Martin St-Louis didn’t want to use #93 extensively.

And today, Demidov’s use is the talk of the town.

But let’s not forget that Demidov is still acclimatizing to his new environment.

He’s never played in the playoffs in a North American league, and it’s different than in Russia. The intensity of the games isn’t the same, and neither is the quality of the play.

There’s more action in the NHL than in the KHL, and the game is much tighter – especially in the playoffs.

On the other hand, Simon Boisvert explains it well in the latest episode of Processus: even if Demidov doesn’t play much, being with the Habs right now is important.

He’s gaining experience in preparation for the next few years, and when the Habs are ready to take the long road to the playoffs, Demidov won’t be arriving as a tourist.

He’ll have had a taste of the big games, and that’s a good thing.

All is not lost:

Sure, everyone would love to see Demidov get some quality playing time.

He was so good in his first game (16:56) that we all want to see him perform at the level of his talent…

That said, I’d much rather see Demidov gain playoff experience with the Habs (even if he gets average playing time) than see him play in the VHL or MHL in Russia right now.

And he wasn‘t necessarily supposed to join the CH organization to finish the season.

But he’s here now, and that’s what’s important: Demidov has the opportunity to learn what it’s like to play in the NHL playoffs.

He’s seeing the guys go, he’s seeing how the intensity is, and he’s going to grow with the experience he’s gained in the playoffs this season.

Still, all is not lost.

In a gust

– Interesting.

– Beautiful video.

– Will he play tonight?

– Interested parties:

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Georges Laraque: “Xhekaj, it’s over in Montreal”

The Canadiens knew they’d be up against a physical team against the Capitals. The Habs knew they’d be up against the Capitals’ big players.

The Habs knew they’d have to find a way to protect themselves because Capitals players hit.

But even so, the Habs weren’t prepared well enough for the first of the playoffs.

I say this because we should have seen Arber Xhekaj in the lineup last night.

The Sheriff would have come in handy because yesterday, the Habs players were intimidated on the ice – especially in the first 30 minutes of the game.

But even with the result, Xhekaj might not play tomorrow in the second game of the series. Martin St-Louis hasn’t closed the door on using Xhekaj, but the defenseman didn’t train as a regular this morning.

And when you hear Martin St-Louis say that Xhekaj can’t change Tom Wilson’s style of play, you can really believe that #72 will be left out again tomorrow night.

Georges Laraque, who has played the game, comes to a conclusion when he sees the treatment being offered to Arber Xhekaj right now.

And it’s not complicated:

Just the fact that we didn’t decide to put him in for game #1… Xhekaj, it’s over in Montreal! – Georges Laraque

Last season, we heard a thousand and one rumours about Arber Xhekaj.

We saw his name included in some trade rumors… and every time it happened, the same comment kept coming up.

“Kent Hughes won’t trade Arber Xhekaj because the Habs really believe in his potential”.

But even if the Habs believe in him, there’s no point in leaving him out when he could help the team on the ice.

At 24, Xhekaj needs to play to progress and reach his potential. He’s not going to become a regular defenseman in the National League by watching games from the catwalk, and it’s clear that right now, the main man involved must not be happy with the way he’s being used.

Because if you’re going to have him in the organization and not play him, you might as well trade him to take advantage of his value and give him an opportunity to make his mark elsewhere.

And I agree with Georges Laraque when he says that it feels like the end for the Sheriff in Montreal. If the CH doesn’t want to take advantage of his qualities – especially at a time of the season like this – it’s not for nothing.

Especially since Jayden Struble is far from perfect…

In gossip

– Yikes. But if Xhekaj doesn’t play tomorrow either…

– Wow!

– Of note:

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It’s over for Lou Lamoriello with the Islanders

Big news in the NHL.

After watching the team endure a disappointing season, the Islanders organization has made a big decision: it’s over for Lou Lamoriello.

He held the positions of president and general manager.

Effective immediately, Operating Partner John Collins – part of the Islanders’ investor group – will lead a search to find the team’s next General Manager.

But in all this, you also have to wonder what it means for Patrick Roy.

He’s not untouchable either, after all. And with the club’s performance this season…

More details to come…

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Training: Arber Xhekaj didn’t train like a regular

The Habs were back on the ice today in Washington after last night’s loss to the Capitals.

And right off the bat, Brendan Gallagher didn’t take part in the team’s practice.

Renaud Lavoie reported the news on Twitter.

Gally took a beating last night.

He was hit in the face with a stick in the first period… a gesture which, let’s not forget, was not punished by the officials.

When you look at the sequence, it’s clear that the Capitals player should have been chased off:

Here’s hoping the veteran Canadien doesn’t suffer a more serious injury today.

That said, seeing him take a day off isn’t a bad thing since he’s played all 82 of the team’s games this season. And the CH will need him if it wants to beat the Capitals in the first round.

To be continued.

But there’s another thing we’ve been keeping an eye on at training: defensive pairings.

Because we know that yesterday, the Habs took a physical beating against the Capitals. And we also know thatwith Arber Xhekaj in the line-up, it might have made a difference…

But for those wondering, no, Xhekaj didn’t return to the CH line-up at training.

All the defensive duos remained the same… as did the attacking trios.

The only “change”: Oliver Kapanen has taken Brendan Gallagher’s (absent) place in the rotations.

We can therefore expect to see Xhekaj and Kapanen left out tomorrow if Gally can play…

Xhekaj played on March 28 against the Hurricanes and on April 6 against the Predators.

But since then, we haven’t seen him.

He’s played just five games in the last month (since March 22), and it feels like he’ll have to work really hard to get back into Martin St-Louis’ line-up.

Yes, even though right now, the CH could use a player like him in the lineup.

And that says a lot about St-Louis’ intentions towards him…

In brief

– Good point.

– Good for the Sens.

– Montreal CF training news.