Author: Dose

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The Canadiens unable to’ officiate their spot in playoffs

For the first time since 2016-2017, the Habs could qualify for the playoffs in front of a packed house.

Before, they had to beat the Senators in regular time.

Here are the lineups :

Like the last games, Montreal had a bad start.

But this time, the team did not give up one goal, but two goals.

First, Shane Pinto broke the ice.

And Dylan Cozens doubled the lead a few moments later.

After one period, Ottawa led 14-5 in shots on goal.

What’s new?

The second period was not much better…

In fact, the start of the period was not better. From the first seconds of the second engagement, the Sens gave themselves a three-goal lead.

But a few moments later, Christian Dvorak scored a big goal to bring his team back into the game.

But before the end of the period, Drake Batherson took advantage of a generous rebound to score the fourth goal of the game for his team.

The Habs did not say their last word, however.

In a seventh consecutive game, Nick Suzuki scored.

After 40 minutes of play, it was 4-2 Sens.

In the third period, the game tightened and that smiled on the Sens.

Final score: 5-2 Ottawa, who added a goal in an empty net.

Montreal may not have officially secured a playoff spot tonight, but the team will have the opportunity to do so as early as tomorrow, in Toronto.

Ottawa also ended a sequence of six wins of the Habs.

Overtime

– Here are the scenarios.

– Josh Anderson awakened the crowd of the Canadian Tire Centre.

– Poor Gally.

– Yeah of course.

– Wow.

– A furious fight.

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Ivan Demidov visited the Hall of Fame today

Ivan Demidov has been in Toronto since last night.

Today, he officially visited the Hall of Fame. Ah no, sorry, I’m 20 years ahead.

Today, he visited the Hall of Fame. That’s it. His partner posted photos on her Instagram account and Jean Trudel shared them on X.

For those who have visited the Hall of Fame in Toronto, you will recall that the legendary habs dressing room is not hard to miss.

Of course, the Russian’s girlfriend posted a photo of part of the dressing room.

They also visited the area near the end of the tour where you can find the individual trophies and, of course, the Stanley Cup. Let’s hope he didn’t touch it… Let’s remember that habs players are very superstitious and touching the Cup before winning it brings bad luck.

A few hours after the habs’ victory over the Golden Knights on June 24, 2021, I wrote a post about how Nick Suzuki’s father had forbidden his son from touching the prestigious trophy. This superstition is not a joke!

Demidov took advantage of his short stay in Toronto to visit the best museum for sports fans. Did he also visit the CN Tower? Two great tourist attractions for people who have never set foot in the Queen City.

Tomorrow, the one who will probably not speak to the media tomorrow, could jump onto the ice as part of the team’s optional practice. To be continued.

Overtime

– Good news for Minnesota.

– Too bad.

– Great performance.

– Sons of former players drafted.

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Ivan Demidov should not address the media tomorrow

The supporters of the Canadiens and some media had the chance to welcome Ivan Demidov at the airport, last night.

The Russian did not speak to anyone, but that was to be expected with the long flight, the time difference, etc.

Most likely, we will have to wait before hearing him in the media. According to Renaud Lavoie, the prospect should not speak to journalists tomorrow. In fact, he should not do so before Monday.

On Monday, along with Kent Hughes, Demidov should meet the media and speak for the first time since he is officially a member of the team.

I have properly conjugated my verbs in the conditional, as this is speculation made by the journalist. Renaud never speaks for the sake of speaking, but nothing is official for the moment.

The one who will wear the number 93 will probably not play tomorrow – although Marc Denis has opened the possibility for him to face the Leafs if Montreal qualifies tonight -, but he could take to the ice during the optional morning practice.

Lane Hutson, his favorite player so far, should be there as usual, too.

In any case, Lavoie does not believe in the possibility of seeing him in uniform tonight. We will probably have to wait until Monday, then. Let’s hope you have cleared your evening.

The game against Chicago will be very interesting.

Overtime

– It’s making one dream.

– The winner of the Hobey Baker is Isaac Howard.

– I imagine.

– Notice to interested parties.

– The G.O.A.T with GOATS.

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Jacob Fowler is named goalkeeper of the year in the NCAA

The Mike Richter Trophy is awarded annually to the top goaltender in the NCAA.

Jacob Fowler was a finalist for the honor last year, in his first season in the college circuit.

But it was rather goaltender Kyle McClellan who won the honor.

The Canadiens prospect had a better season in 24-25 and his numbers were exceptional. He was really dominant in front of his net at Boston College:

  • Record of 25-7-1
  • Seven shutouts (!)
  • Average of 1.63 goals allowed (!)
  • Savings rate of .940 (!)

These are really impressive statistics.

And it’s also for this reason that he was named goaltender of the year in the NCAA for the 24-25 season. He didn’t steal the trophy:

This is a nice honor for the one who signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens in the last few days.

Fowler may not have won the NCAA national championship, but he can at least say he’s ending his college career as the best goaltender in the circuit.

This is not trivial.

Recall that the American trained with the Rocket earlier this week and we should see him play his first professional game this weekend.

The Canadiens’ farm team is playing in Rochester tonight and Cayden Primeau will be in the Rocket’s net.

But the Rocket will also play a second game in as many days tomorrow… and it’s logical to believe that we could trust Fowler on the part of the team’s coaches:

Overtime

– I like it.

– Effectively.

– Well done.

– Reminder: Five games tonight in the NHL, including the one between the Habs and the Sens.

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Emil Heineman is not happy since he won’t play tonight

The Canadiens have a big test tonight.

After all, with a regular season win against the Senators, the Habs may qualify for the playoffs.

And for the occasion, Martin St-Louis will not make any changes to his lineup. This means that forward Emil Heineman will not play.

Is the Swede still injured, or does Martin St-Louis want to stick with his winning formula?

Heineman missed the team’s last two games… and the Canadiens were still able to get two important wins against the Preds and the Red Wings.

But anyway: according to what Tony Marinaro mentioned on the JiC show, Heineman is frustrated that he won’t be dressed tonight.

Marinaro doesn’t know if Heineman is mad because he is injured or because MSL won’t use him:

The frustration is understandable – especially if he is healthy now.

Because in fact, this is the most important game of the season, and this is the greatest game in the last few years for the Canadiens.

A win in 60 minutes which can ensure the team’s participation in the playoffs, this has not happened in a long while in Montreal. And it is certain that all the guys want to help the Canadiens get their ticket…

But at the same time – and Tony Marinaro is right to mention that Heineman is mad, it is not necessarily a bad thing.

This shows that he has the success of the team at heart, and he wants to be part of it.

And if he’s mad because he was left out, it’s going to be up to him to give it his all in his next audition and demonstrate that his coach made a “bad” decision.

The ball is in his court.

Overtime

As long as we are talking about the match: let us remind that it is Samuel Montembeault who will get the start against the Senators.

It is going well for Monty recently, who has won five starts in a row.

Will he be able to keep it going tonight against the Sens, who will have to do without Brady Tkachuk’s services?

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Deadline: A chance that Demidov didn’t have to wait 157 days to get his visa

Ivan Demidov has obtained his work visa and arrived in Canada yesterday evening.

The Canadiens prospect was « lucky » in a way, because he didn’t have to wait super long to get his visa.

At least, he is luckier than others…

He is luckier than others because right now, there is a processing delay for those who want to get their visa for working in Canada.

And we’re not talking about a delay of a few days only.

On the government website, we can see that there is an average delay… of 157 days.

It’s crazy anyway :

Delays and rules to obtain a work permit are not same between each country.

Athletes have often the right to a special treatment.

The process was quicker for Ivan Demidov and that’s for the better, because that’s going to allow him to play faster.

Waiting for his work permit, that could have been long… and that could have been frustrating.

Because all he wants, it’s to wear the habs jersey from Montreal as soon as possible.

It’s a bit like Alexander Nikishin, after all : the new hurricanes player signed his contract, but he must wait to make his debut in the nhl.

He might miss the game against ivan and Demidov and the habs next week because he didn’t get his working visa yet.

That being said, the hurricanes are probably wishing it goes as smoothly as with Demidov too.

They want see also what Nikishin have with the series… and all of that depends on the time that it will take for him to get his work permit.

Overtime

— It feels good to laugh that way sometimes!

— Unbelievable.

— He is really good.

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Beckett Sennecke, the habs’ choice if Demidov was no longer available?

The order of the first five picks in the last draft was as follows.

  1. Sharks
  2. Blackhawks
  3. Ducks
  4. Blue Jackets
  5. habs

It’s no secret: Kent Hughes and his associates had Ivan Demidov in their sights. The habs organization loved him… and they were able to select him with the 5th pick since Demidov was still available.

Did the Sharks, Hawks, Ducks, and Jackets make a mistake by deciding not to select Demidov? Maybe. We’ll have the answer to that question in a few years only.

But if Demidov had been picked in the top-4… Who would have been the choice of Kent Hughes and the habs?

Elliotte Friedman (32 Thoughts Podcast) has his opinion on that:

If Demidov had been taken, I really wonder if Beckett Sennecke was the habs’ choice. – Elliotte Friedman

Friedman says that because the Blackhawks wanted to draft a defenseman and because the Blue Jackets really wanted Cayden Lindstrom.

We knew that Macklin Celebrini was going to be picked 1st… But it’s especially the Ducks’ pick that changed the game for the habs.

And as Friedman said in his podcast: all the better for the habs, because they were drooling at the idea of having Ivan Demidov in their kitchen.

We must also remember that it’s because of Ivan Demidov that the habs didn’t trade for Trevor Zegras’ services.

There was an offer on the table that involved Logan Mailloux and the pick used to select Michael Hage (according to Marco Normandin’s info from the Habsolument Fan site) to get Trevor Zegras and a 2nd round pick from Anaheim, but the transaction never materialized.

Kent Hughes had the opportunity to draft a player with enormous potential in Ivan Demidov at 5th overall and that led him not to make the trade.

So, it’s safe to say that in the end, the habs could have ended up with Trevor Zegras and (potentially) Beckett Sennecke within the organization.

Sennecke had success this season in the OHL (36 goals and 86 points in 56 games), Zegras is no longer the player he used to be (12 goals and 31 points only in 54 games this season)… And on the other hand, Ivan Demidov dominated the KHL in his 18-year-old season.

Ultimately, we can believe that the habs had the upper hand in the end. It’s difficult to say because we haven’t seen Sennecke or Demidov play in the National League… but in terms of the potential of the two guys, Demidov seems to have a clear advantage over Sennecke.

In terms of talent, Demidov could give the habs more than Sennecke AND Zegras combined.

And with the reaction of the fans to Ivan Demidov’s arrival in Canada, I tend to believe that they are quite satisfied with the turn of events.

Overtime

– Allez, Monty!

– Wow.

– Nice photo!

– A walk in the park tonight. 6-2 habs.

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Gallagher on the arrival of Demidov: “It’s good to see the crowd’s reaction”

The name Ivan Demidov, does it ring a bell?

Without joking, the prospect of the Canadiens has finally arrived in Canada last night and let’s say it didn’t go unnoticed.

We sent someone to DLC to film his arrival in Toronto (like some other media, including the Sick Podcast) and our cameraman’s images have made the rounds on the web:

If some people think that the fans and the media on site have “behaved badly”, others have really appreciated the welcome he received.

And rightly so: it shows the love of the fans for him and allows him to feel appreciated even if he hasn’t played a single game for the Canadiens yet.

He clearly saw that in Montreal, people have hockey in their blood.

And for a guy who wants to thrive under the pressure of a big market, he got what he wanted last night.

But the players have also seen it in a good light.

For example? Juraj Slafkovsky described Ivan Demidov’s arrival as a Christmas present.

The journalist Dave Lévesque talked about it in an article published on the Journal de Montréal’s website.

But it’s especially Brendan Gallagher’s comments that show how excited the Habs players are about Demidov right now.

Gally – who claims he’s never seen anything like it before – talked about it today and said this… with a smile on his face:

I’ve never seen that […] It’s nice to see the crowd’s reaction.

I’m sure for him, it’s nice to see the reaction and emotion of the fans. – Brendan Gallagher

The Habs veteran understands the fans’ enthusiasm for the kid.

And he says it’s normal because they have the right to be excited:

The fans are excited, the organization is excited… and the players are too.

The guys can’t wait to welcome Demidov to the locker room because they know how much talent he has to help the team in the future.

They want to play with him and clearly, they liked the fact that Demidov was able to receive a warm welcome from the fan base of the team yesterday – even if he arrived in Toronto and not Montreal.

And it’s by seeing a photo like this that I think Brendan Gallagher is probably right in saying it was nice for Demidov to see the support he received last night…

In all this, there is one thing that is certain.

Ivan Demidov understood that the Canadiens fans were waiting for him with bated breath.

He saw what it was like to be a member of the Habs for a few minutes… and knowing he likes pressure, I tend to believe he really can’t wait to make his new fans happy on the ice.

It promises, in any case.

Overtime

– Gabriel Landeskog will play tonight in the American League.

– Logical.

– The Flames are patient with Zayne Parekh.

– I like that.

– Today’s activities on the waivers.

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Ivan Demidov : Martin St-Louis repeats “he hasn’t thought about that yet”

Ivan Demidov is currently in Toronto. The Canadiens are in Ottawa.

We know he won’t play tonight (it was never in the plans) and it would be very surprising to see him take his first steps in the National League in Toronto on Saturday.

It should go well on Monday, against the Hawks.

But since he’s the topic of the hour, it was normal to see Martin St-Louis being questioned about it this afternoon, a few hours before the game against the Sens. Not questioning him after what happened yesterday would have been special, let’s say.

The job of a coach, in front of the media, is to keep the focus on the short term (so what he can control) and to take pressure off his players when possible.

And since Demidov hasn’t spoken to the media yet, the coach’s plan (in my eyes, at least) seemed clear: don’t say too much about #93 and keep the focus on tonight’s game, where the Habs could qualify for the playoffs.

So when he was asked twice about the subject, he replied back to back that he wasn’t there yet and hadn’t thought about it.

I haven’t thought about it yet. I’m trying to clinch a spot in the playoffs. – Martin St-Louis

We can think that he probably thought about it a bit, but we understand what he means: the plan is to win tonight’s game and Demidov won’t play tonight.

But when we listen to the video (around the three-minute mark), we can see that the second time he says he hasn’t thought about it, he has a tone of a guy who didn’t want to talk about it.

It was, however, the job of the reporters present to ask him more than once about the topic of the hour. And if the coach doesn’t want to answer, it’s his decision and his right to do so.

Also note that he said his team was “hard to play against” on the ice.

in Overtime

– Note.

– Talking about Ivan Demidov.

– Interesting.

– Indeed.

– Eh boy.

– Big season for the duo.

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Ivan Demidov may not get to face his former captain on Wednesday

Ivan Demidov doesn’t need to come and save the Canadiens.

In fact, all the team will ask of him is to play to the height of his talent to help the team, which has managed to have a very beautiful season without him.

This is the vision of Brendan Gallagher, at least.

But despite everything, attention has been focused on him for a few days. After all, we wonder how he will react now that he is in a new environment, without his old benchmarks.

We know the habs will take care of him, but still.

I imagine he would have liked to have a benchmark next Wednesday when facing his old captain with SKA, Alexander Nikishin. The latter recently signed with the Hurricanes.

Everywhere, the addition of the Hurricanes is praised. He will help the club in the series, him.

But there’s a chance Demidov won’t be able to face Alexander Nikishin. Why? Because the former SKA captain doesn’t have a work visa for Canada yet.

If the Hurricanes don’t get his visa on time, maybe next week, he could play a game in the AHL. The club wants him to play at least one game before the series… and we prefer the AHL to nothing at all, at worst.

Tomorrow, the Canes will face the Rangers, but the Russian defenseman won’t be ready to play. And afterwards, Carolina will finish its season in Canada, either in Toronto (April 13), Montreal (April 16), or Ottawa (April 17) before the series.

We’ll see if the 23-year-old will be there. It’s not impossible that he’ll make his NHL debut at the Bell Centre.

Overtime

– News from CF Montreal.

– Haha!

– It was crazier than yesterday, that.

– Messi in Miami to stay?

– To note.

– To watch.

– Maple Leafs: just five healthy defensemen tomorrow against the habs.