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Finally, it’s maybe Ivan Demidov who will steal the Calder from Lane Hutson

The Canadiens are still not qualified for the playoffs after last night’s game, which the team lost 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks. At least it ended after 60 minutes. #UnPoint

Time is starting to press as the season is coming to an end. And even if the chances of qualifying are still good, it does not change the fact that it adds stress to the city.

The Canadiens can qualify by getting at least one point tomorrow against the Hurricanes.

As for them, to qualify, the Columbus Blue Jackets will have to hope that the Habs do not get any ranking points tomorrow, but the Ohio team must also win their last two regular season games.

Result? The Habs can qualify for the playoffs as early as tonight if the Blue Jackets do not win in 60 minutes.

(Credit: Sportsnet)

But we agree that it would have been better to do it last night, when the poor Chicago Blackhawks were in town. But as we know, that did not happen.

The stress of learning to play important games is probably a factor. Playing such games is learned on the job.

But no matter how it happened (yes, I’m referring to the shootout), the Habs should have put themselves in a position to win the game and qualify in front of their fans.

As François Gagnon said, the fans did their job, they did. It’s the same for Samuel Montembeault, for Ivan Demidov… and that’s not bad for the players who really did their job.

 

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Because yes, it goes without saying that the distractions involving Ivan Demidov, they are off the ice – and out of the control of the Canadiens or even the player. It’s the circumstances that make it a distraction.

But on the ice? No problem. It must be because of his lucky vest – or not.

Impertinent observation of the day: Ivan Demidov showed up at the Bell Centre with the same suit he was wearing at the time of his draft.

To know if it’s a lucky suit or if he just has one suit!

[image or embed]

— Éric Martel (@eric-martel.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 5:35 PM

Yesterday, Demidov needed less than one period to get a great pass on Alex Newhook’s goal and to score his first goal in the NHL.

We saw how much talent he has.

But it’s more than that. Because even if he has things to correct, we saw that every time he had the puck, he created something on the ice. It was clear: he is the most talented player on the team.

It may be him, finally, who will steal the Calder from Lane Hutson. #OrNot

Of course, the Russian was well received by the fans and we did not feel the stress or the jet lag effect – especially not at the beginning of the game.

Without him (who was also the first star of the game), the Habs have one less point in the standings. Everyone agrees on that.

The Canadiens brought Demidov and the young player will burn a year of contract, but the goal is really to participate in the playoffs so that this year is not in vain. The chances are still good to see the Habs qualify (93%), but nothing is played.

The stress must start to rise in the locker room.

But okay. Ivan Demidov’s brilliance, which was eagerly awaited in the city, is not the only thing to remember from last night’s game for the Canadiens. Other players deserve to be talked about.

What do I remember from last night’s game?

1. Kaiden Guhle did not have his easiest game since his return to play. And the penalty he took when he hit an opponent who did not have the puck did not help either.

Guhle has been playing robustly since his return to play. But yesterday, he crossed the line, which happens sometimes in the heat of the moment.

But this situation, Martin St-Louis pointed it out after the game. After all, the Blackhawks took advantage of his penalty to score their first goal of the game, which opened the door to a comeback – against a Canadiens team that likes comebacks, but in their favor.

We’ll put it down to experience.

2. We were talking about leading and coming back. But when you have a two-goal lead against one of the worst teams in the NHL, you can’t really afford what happened yesterday. It takes a win.

But it didn’t happen.

3. 21 shots on goal in 65 minutes, that’s too few. Five shots in the third period, when it takes a goal to help, that’s too few. Patrik Laine shot four times at the net. Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov? Three times each.

But it takes help from all the trios in a playoff run.

4. RDS did a great job of filming Ivan Demidov throughout the game and making the result available on YouTube. We can easily see his 21 appearances on the ice.

Let’s note that he played for 16:56. That’s good, in my eyes.

overtime

This morning, at 11:30 am, the Canadiens will practice in Brossard. And even if the Habs could be qualified tonight if the Blue Jackets do not win in 60 minutes, as of this morning, the Habs are not officially in the playoffs.

The team must therefore practice accordingly.

If the Blue Jackets win in 60 minutes tonight, we’ll see the Habs’ A lineup tomorrow. But otherwise? The Jakub Dobes, Michael Pezzetta, Arber Xhekaj, and company could play to rest the veterans.

To be continued.

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Goal in shootout against the Habs: Elliotte Friedman explains what happened

During a hockey season, there are certain moments when questions arise about the rules.

And yesterday, when we saw the Blackhawks get a goal retroactively in a shootout, let’s say questions were raised. How did the NHL manage to give the goal?

Of course, no one is disputing the fact that it was a goal. It was such a goal that the puck never left the net and the referees had to go look for another one.

But what is being criticized is that Patrik Laine received another puck, shot it… and then, the NHL informed the referees on the ice that Frank Nazar had scored a goal against Samuel Montembeault.

And then, retroactively, the goal was awarded. The habs therefore found themselves in trouble without realizing it, and Martin St-Louis’ men ended up losing the game.

But what happened?

What we need to know is that informant Elliotte Friedman was in the Toronto review room last night. He wrote a short article on what really happened to lead to all this.

In the room, someone saw that there was a goal and notified the people around them. A review was therefore done on the spot, and clearly, the error of the referees present in Montreal was noted.

The problem? No one was able to warn the people in Montreal that the goal was good before seeing Patrik Laine start shooting, but the people in Toronto knew there was a goal when Laine moved forward.

This is different from regular time, since once the puck is on the ice, you can’t go back.

Also, note that if the Canadiens had managed to push the game after Cole Caufield, Patrik Laine, and Nick Suzuki, who finally ended the game by not scoring, it would have been Ivan Demidov who would have had the chance to go.

overtime

– On this subject :

– Why not replay Laine’s shot? It would have been fairer.

– Frank Nazar knew he had scored.

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Top-5 : The Kings crush the Oilers before their playoff matchup

Last night, the Canadiens were in action against the Blackhawks.

But five other games were also presented.

Here are the results and highlights:

1. The Kings crush the Oilers before their playoff matchup

In Edmonton, the Kings were visiting.

This was a prelude to the playoffs since the two teams will face each other again in the first round. With a win, Los Angeles could ensure they start the playoffs at home.

And that’s exactly what the team did. The Kings won 5-0. Combined shutout for the two Kings goalies David Rittich and Darcy Kuemper.

Kuemper started the game, but Rittich took over.

Not that Kuemper is injured, but the Kings decided to pull him out as a precaution.

On offense, Adrian Kempe led the charge with a goal and two assists, including the fifth goal for his team.

This doesn’t bode well (or does it) for the playoffs.

I don’t give much chance to the Oilers, anyway…

2. The Canucks win in overtime

In Vancouver, the Sharks, the worst team in the league, were visiting.

They took the Canucks to overtime, but the home team won 2-1.

In the win, Quinn Hughes scored his 409th career point.

In Canucks history, no defenseman has more points than him.

Nikita Tolopilo won his first game in his first NHL start.

He became the sixth goalie in Canucks history to achieve this feat.

3. The Panthers will finish third in their division

With a win, the Panthers had the opportunity to get closer to the Lightning and second place in the Atlantic.

But with a loss, Florida had to settle for third place in the Atlantic. Paul Maurice’s team lost 5-3 to the Rangers.

They will face either Tampa Bay or Toronto and start the series on the road. It’s impossible for the Panthers to finish lower than third in their division.

Against the Rangers, Sergei Bobrovsky allowed five goals on 25 shots. He still made key saves to keep his team in the game.

On the winning side, Matt Rempe, Juuso Parssinen, J.T. Miller, K’Andre Miller, and Chris Kreider led the charge with two points each.

The Blue Shirts will end their disappointing regular season on Thursday against Tampa Bay.

4. Patrick Kane plays his 1300th game

Last night’s game between the Stars and Red Wings didn’t have much importance for either team.

On one hand, the Stars finished second in their division, and on the other, Detroit has been eliminated since Saturday.

The Red Wings still played well and won 6-4. In the win, Patrick Kane had an assist in his 1300th NHL game.

Lukas Raymond and Moritz Seider took care of the offense.

Both young stars participated in three of their team’s goals.

The forward and defenseman each scored a goal and had two assists.

On the visiting side, Jamie Benn scored his 400th NHL goal.

He’s only 496 away from tying Alexander Ovechkin.

5. Utah crushes the Preds

Another game without much importance: Utah vs the Nashville Predators.

In the end, the better team won: Utah won 7-3.

There weren’t many stories in this game. The visitors’ first goal was scored by Michael Kesserling.

What a shot!

Meanwhile, Clayton Keller was on fire.

He finished the game with two goals and two assists. He now has 87 points, including 60 assists.

These are personal bests for him.

He also played his 600th game in the league.

Overtime

– Quinton Byfield left the game with an upper-body injury. According to Phillip Danault, the Oilers “had their B team trying to injure them”.

– Quinn Hutson made his debut.

– Another player making his debut.

– Obviously, it’s Keller who leads the charge.

(Credit: NHL.com )

– We’re all fans of the Flyers and the Golden Knights tonight.

(Credit: Google)
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“It’s crazy” : Ivan Demidov gives love to Montreal and the Habs fans

Ivan Demidov has finally played his first game in the NHL, which unfortunately ended in a defeat. The young forward however got his first assist… before adding his first goal a few minutes later.

All this in the first period, by the way, making him the first player in habs history to achieve this feat in his first career game.

That being said, we had not seen him speak to the media since his arrival, and it was tonight after the game that it happened.

What we retain from all this is that the young Russian is really touched by the love he receives. He said it himself: he loves the city and he loves the habs fans, who gave him a nice ovation during warm-ups.

No, the welcome he received in Toronto did not destabilize him.

Journalists also asked him what he thought of seeing so many microphones… and he said it was “too much”. It didn’t seem to bother him too much, though.

That being said, he admits he was a bit nervous when he jumped on the ice for the first time. He didn’t want to fall and make a fool of himself, haha.

As for his game, Demidov says he’s satisfied with his first two periods. He notes that it got complicated afterwards… and he thinks it might have something to do with the time difference.

He’s starting to get into the rhythm, but we can understand that it still affects him a bit.

That being said, Demidov confirmed that the plan was to send him to the shootout. If we had needed a fourth round, therefore, we can think that Demidov would have had his chance… but it didn’t happen, in the end.

He’ll have his chances in the future, though: I’m not even worried.

We’ve finally been able to hear a few words from the kid, who gave a lot of love to the fans. And after his performance tonight, I have the impression that it won’t be the last time he feels that love…

In Overtime

– Talking about the wolf.

– Indeed.

– Alex Ovechkin doesn’t seem to want to retire.

– Wow!

– Tom Willander agrees with the Canucks.

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Despite the brilliance of Ivan Demidov, the Habs are still not qualified for the playoffs

Tonight, the Blackhawks were at the Bell Centre to face the Habs. The stakes were high for Martin St-Louis’ men: a win against the (poor) Blackhawks secured a playoff spot for the Montreal team.

For the occasion, the Canadiens were counting on a new piece in their lineup: Ivan Demidov was playing his first game in the NHL, and he had received a monster ovation during the warm-up.

Here is the rest of the locals’ lineup:

On the Blackhawks side, the club didn’t exactly look like an All-Star team.

Here’s what it looked like for the visitors:

Of course, we were watching Demidov tonight… and the young man didn’t take long to make his mark on the game.

He only needed six minutes to get his first point in the NHL, a beautiful assist that benefited Alex Newhook.

And clearly, the kid wanted to put on a show in the first period. After his first point in his career, Demidov wanted to score his first goal…

And he did it just a few minutes later.

That being said, at the end of the first period, the Blackhawks took advantage of a powerplay… and they made the Habs pay.

Tyler Bertuzzi brought the two teams to within one goal of each other.

After 20 minutes, the score was 2-1 in favor of the Habs.

However, in the second period, we saw the Canadiens play in an amorphous way… and the Blackhawks took advantage again.

This time, it was Frank Nazar who scored.

After 40 minutes, the score was 2-2. And the momentum was on the side of the Blackhawks.

The Habs needed a big third period to secure their playoff spot… but they came out flat.

And the Blackhawks made the Habs pay once again: a blocked Ivan Demidov shot turned into a scoring chance for Lukas Reichel, who scored.

However, at the end of the game, the Canadiens took advantage of a powerplay… and the massive attack finally woke up.

Juraj Slafkovský saw a puck deflect off him to tie the game.

We needed overtime to decide between the two teams… but neither team was able to score in the five extra minutes.

Direction shootout.

Cole Caufield missed his chance, but Frank Nazar scored in a goal that initially didn’t count. It was revised a few minutes later.

Patrik Laine and Teuvo Teravainen both missed…

Nick Suzuki had to score to keep his team alive… but he couldn’t do it. The Blackhawks won.

Final score: 4-3 Chicago (TDB)

The Canadiens will play their last game of the regular season on Wednesday, when the Hurricanes will be in town.

Overtime

– Ivan Demidov, in his first NHL game, was the best player on the ice tonight. We can blame him for part of the Blackhawks’ third goal… but without his offensive brilliance, the Canadiens wouldn’t even have been in the game tonight. If Alex Newhook had just a bit more finish, Demidov could have had even more points tonight.

– On Slafkovský’s goal in the end of the third period, Lane Hutson finally beat Chris Chelios’ record for the most assists in a season for a rookie defenseman for the Canadiens. Well done.

– Nick Foligno played a whole game for the Blackhawks. The captain, who could have really taken it easy in a season already over in Chicago, made the Habs’ life extremely difficult tonight.

– Reminder: the Blue Jackets play against the Flyers tomorrow and against the Islanders on Thursday. As soon as the team loses (whether in regulation or overtime), the Canadiens get their playoff spot… but they still need to lose one. The Habs, on the other hand, only need one point on Wednesday against the Hurricanes to qualify.

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“He’s the best player on the ice” : Ivan Demidov attracts a lot of praise

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that Ivan Demidov is playing his first NHL game tonight at the Centre Bell.

A week ago, he wasn’t expected to leave SKA this season… and today, he received a standing ovation for his solo lap around the rink in Montreal.

And the kid didn’t waste any time stealing the show: he earned his first assist just six minutes into the game… just before adding his first career goal a few minutes later.

The art of making a good first impression.

And what’s noticeable is that Demidov is attracting a lot of praise. Even on the concourse at the Centre Bell, people can’t believe it.

That being said, we’ve seen other reactions to Demidov’s start to his career in the sports world.

Here are a few that caught our attention:

And even in the political sphere, Demidov’s debut is making waves.

Montreal mayor Valérie Plante is among those who like what they see tonight.

Demidov is the talk of the town, and so far, he’s delivering with a strong start to the game.

Now all that’s left is to hope the rest of the team will help him out.

Overtime

Notably, in the first period, Ivan Demidov became the first player in habs history to record his first goal and first assist in the first period of his first game.

Not bad, kid.

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Ivan Demidov scores his first career goal in the NHL

Ivan Demidov only needed six minutes to score his first point in the NHL. The young forward set the table for his team’s first goal with a clever play completed by Alex Newhook.

He is talented, the young man.

However, we were wondering when he would score his first goal… and we didn’t have to wait very long.

Barely a few minutes after his first point, Demidov found himself alone in front of the Blackhawks’ net…

And he didn’t miss his chance.

More details to come…

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Ivan Demidov only needed six minutes to get his first point

Ivan Demidov made his NHL debut tonight… and it’s at the Centre Bell that it happened.

He got a huge ovation during his solo lap around the ice.

Now, we were eager to see what the kid would look like on the ice… and he didn’t wait long to make his presence felt.

In fact, Demidov only needed six minutes to get his first point in the NHL.

He did everything to set the table for Alex Newhook.

We knew the young talented player, and clearly, he didn’t wait long to prove it tonight. It may be the poor defense of the Blackhawks, but it’s still a great play.

Note that in his first presence, we saw Demidov hand out a few shoulder hits… but in the end, he didn’t wait long to do what he does best: create things offensively.

A great moment at the Centre Bell, that… and I have the impression that it won’t be the last time he’ll get the crowd on their feet.

Overtime

After his goal, Demidov got a huge ovation from the crowd… and we could feel him being impressed by all of it.

Such a dose of love for an assist… we really don’t see that everywhere.

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Ivan Demidov : a huge ovation at the Bell Centre for his solo lap

It’s tonight that Ivan Demidov makes his debut in the NHL. For the occasion, the young player is in front of his fans at the Bell Centre… and he has a lot of fans.

The stands were filled… even before the start of the warm-up period.

Of course, since Demidov is playing his first game in the NHL, he had a solo lap on the ice… and what we notice is that the kid received a huge ovation.

We saw it last Thursday in Toronto: the Habs fans already love the young player. Seeing him being welcomed like that at the airport and seeing fans show up in Brossard when the team is on break just to see Demidov skate… it’s crazy.

Crazy in a good way.

We know: the Bell Centre is a special place. It’s the NHL arena with the most incredible atmosphere… and with the most promising prospect in a long time making his debut, it didn’t take much to get the crowd excited.

Ah yes, and add to all that the fact that the team could clinch its playoff spot with a win tonight. People are excited, and with good reason.

More details to come…

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Marc Denis: If Xhekaj doesn’t play, it’s because the others ahead of him are more effective

Since March 28, the Canadiens have played nine games.

And from the bunch… Arber Xhekaj has participated in only one of those games.

The Canadiens’ defenseman is often sitting out lately – especially since Kaiden Guhle’s injury. And it’s not because the Sheriff is not being kind…

Marc Denis perfectly summed up the situation this afternoon on On Jase (RDS): if Xhekaj is not playing right now, it’s because he is not always reliable on the ice.

Jayden Struble is (really) better than him at 5 on 5 and while the Habs are trying to get their ticket to the playoffs, the team can’t afford to have a guy who is struggling on the ice.

Xhekaj doesn’t always make the right decisions, he’s not efficient in zone exits… and that’s mainly why he’s not playing lately.

The explanations from the Habs’ game analyst on RDS are logical:

I really have the feeling that Xhekaj could play on Wednesday if – and only if – the Canadiens get their ticket to the playoffs tonight by beating the Hawks.

But… just because he plays on Wednesday doesn’t mean he’ll play in the playoffs.

Again: the Canadiens need to use the best players they have right now, and Xhekaj is not one of them for the moment.

Struble is efficient, Savard is more efficient than Xhekaj even if he has slowed down… and the other Habs defensemen (Matheson, Hutson, Guhle, and Carrier) are untouchable right now.

We know Xhekaj can bring a physical presence to the Canadiens’ lineup… but his physicality is not that important if he makes mistakes in the defensive zone – which happens often.

That being said, the rest of the story will be interesting in Xhekaj’s case. The more it goes, the more it seems like he’s having trouble cementing his place in the lineup, and at some point, maybe he’ll force Kent Hughes to make a decision.

Could he be included in a big trade this summer to go get a quality forward?

I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens…

Overtime

– Game face.

– To follow…

– I like the style.

– He’s having a great season.