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Top-5 : The Blues’ winning streak stops at 12

Quiet night in the NHL as only five games were on the schedule.

The Canadiens did not play: Martin St-Louis’ men will face the Red Wings tonight at the Bell Centre.

That being said, let’s see what happened elsewhere in the league:

1: Blues’ winning streak ends at 12

Okay. We started to believe that the Blues were really unbeatable… but that’s not the case.

Connor Hellebuyck only had to make 14 saves on 15 shots to sign his 44th (!) win of the season.

The Blues were never really threatening in the game and the Jets took advantage of it.

The game ended with a score of 3-1, as the Jets scored in an empty net.

For the Jets, it’s a 53rd win this season.

And for the Blues… it’s a first loss since March 13.

2: Eastern Conference standings remain unchanged

We were watching the Rangers last night, who hosted the Lightning at home.

Colleague Félix Forget just published a post after the game… to say that the Rangers got washed.

In the end, it means that the standings in the East have not changed.

The Canadiens still have a nice lead and if they win tonight against the Wings, they will really put themselves in a good position for the playoffs:

(Credit: NHL.com)

3: When Byfield and Kuemper put on a show

Quinton Byfield is a good hockey player.

Want proof?

Watch the MAGNIFICENT goal he scored last night. This can’t be learned, skills like that:

Wow!

But Byfield wasn’t the only one who wanted to put on a show against the Kraken.

If the Kings won 2-1… they also have to thank Darcy Kuemper, who made one of the saves of the year in the NHL:

The Kings’ win means the team is assured of participating in the playoffs this season.

The Kings had a slightly slower start… but everything has been rolling smoothly for several weeks now.

4: Big win for the Flames

We transport ourselves to the third period of the game between the Flames and the Sharks.

The Flames absolutely had to win… and they were trailing 1-0.

But the Flames understood the message: they knew they had to come out of there with a win.

They scored three goals in the third period to make it happen and won 3-2:

The Flames are now just four small points behind the Wild… and they also have a game in hand over the Minnesota team.

The Wild has four games left to play, while the Flames have five.

Will they be able to get their ticket to the playoffs?

One thing is for sure, it will take wins from now until the end of the season…

5: Young Ducks take care of the Oilers

There is a nice future in Anaheim.

The Ducks have several talented young players and last night, we saw why Cutter Gauthier is one of the good rookies this season in the NHL.

The former Flyers player scored two goals (his 16th and 17th) to reach the 40-point plateau in 24-25:

Cutter Gauthier was good, but Mason McTavish too.

The Ducks won 3-2 against the Oilers and it’s also thanks to the great left-handed center player, who scored a beautiful goal with his magic hands:

The Ducks won’t make the playoffs, but there are really encouraging signs there.

They will be dangerous before long. It remains to be seen when they will be able to turn the last corner of their reconstruction…

Overtime

– With reason.

– A real one!

– It’s heating up.

– Great save.

– The best scorers of the evening:

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Tonight, we’re keeping a close eye on the Islanders and the Blue Jackets:

(Credit: Google)
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What Ivan Demidov has accomplished in the KHL this season is without precedent

Yesterday afternoon, Ivan Demidov’s season came to an end in the KHL. The SKA was eliminated… and even though some had hoped to see the Habs be able to bring him back to finish the year, we’re more likely to see him finish the year in the VHL.

He would have the opportunity to play with his brother… and on June 1st, he will be able to come to Montreal, as he will be released from his contractual obligations in Russia.

That being said, even though it’s been a frustrating year for Demidov in terms of his playing time being managed all wrong, he still amassed 49 points in 65 games. For a rookie who turned 19 in December and was facing adults, that’s very far from being bad.

He finished the season as the top scorer on his team, after all.

And that impresses a lot Craig Button, who spoke about Demidov on the Recrutes Draftcast, and who had this to say about the young player:

What Ivan Demidov accomplished in the KHL this season is unprecedented. – Craig Button

Button explains his point like this: Demidov wasn’t just a good rookie in the KHL, he was actually one of the league’s best players. And that’s not common for players of his age in the KHL.

Button insists that Demidov already plays like a player who has the assets to be successful in the NHL… and even though we can think that there will be an adaptation phase when he arrives in America, we can see in the kid’s game that he is a special talent.

Usually, in Russia, players of this age don’t play big minutes on good teams. In 2023-24, for example, Matvei Michkov was in the same situation as Demidov… and the SKA sent him on loan to another team rather than letting him shine in their colors.

Unfortunately, we shouldn’t expect to see Demidov come and give a boost to the Habs in the playoffs this season… but if we have to take away one thing from this sometimes laborious season, it’s that the young player did something exceptional for a player of his age in the KHL.

And if the Habs, who will almost certainly be a playoff team this year, add a player like that to their lineup next year, it won’t hurt…

Overtime

– It’s 2/3 of his goals, that.

– Wow.

– Indeed. I was talking about it earlier tonight.

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Rangers’ defeat: the race for the playoffs is now annoying in the NHL

Tonight, the Canadiens’ fans were watching what was happening at Madison Square Garden, as the Rangers hosted the Lightning.

To keep their playoff hopes alive, the Rangers really needed to win.

That being said, the Rangers didn’t have the energy of desperation in the first period, and the Lightning took advantage of it…

Three times rather than once.

Nikita Kucherov, Yanni Gourde, and Brayden Point all scored… and after 20 minutes, the Lightning had a 3-0 lead. And, by doing so, it felt more like playoffs in Montreal than ever.

In the second period, the Rangers bombarded the Lightning’s net (18 shots against only five for Tampa Bay)… but they were only able to score one goal.

Mika Zibanejad was the only scorer of the period.

That being said, the story of the match was the brilliant performance of Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning’s goalkeeper was on fire… and he made 39 saves to help the Lightning win.

Brayden Point added a fourth goal in the late third period with a powerplay goal… and Brandon Hagel completed the scoring in an empty net. The Lightning won 5-1.

Note that Alexis Lafreniere received a 10-minute misconduct penalty in the first period. He apparently made a comment to a referee that did not please the latter… and he was punished.

Yes, there is frustration among the Rangers right now… and the loss tonight, which pretty much nails the team’s coffin, won’t help.

Overtime

With the Lightning’s win, the Canadiens maintain a six-point lead over their closest pursuers in the playoff race in the East. The Red Wings have a game in hand over the Habs… but unlike the Rangers, they don’t have the tiebreaker over the Habs.

At this point, it would take a real catastrophe for the Habs not to make the playoffs. If they win against the Red Wings in regulation time tomorrow, it won’t be official… but it will be really close.

The question now is which Habs team will show up in the playoffs. We know the team is functioning in sequences this season (they’ve added four wins since the publication of this graph)… and we hope it’s this Habs team that we’ll see in the playoffs (assuming they avoid catastrophe in the next 10 days, of course).

The playoff race in the East is becoming quickly uneventful… and with the same scenario happening in the West (the Blues have won 12 straight games), it won’t be as exciting a finish to the schedule as last year in the Bettman circuit.

Look for yourselves: we already have a good idea of the 16 teams that will be there.

(Credit: Screenshot/NHL.com)
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Record of Alex Ovechkin: Jakub Dobes honored by Budweiser company

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know that Alex Ovechkin became the top scorer in NHL history yesterday. He scored his 895th career goal yesterday afternoon, surpassing Wayne Gretzky as the all-time leader.

This is a record that was thought to be untouchable… and yet.

Yesterday, the Capitals published a graphic showing all the goalies who have allowed at least one goal to Ovechkin during his career. Have fun checking the list: there are some big names on it.

That being said, even if Ovechkin has fooled many goalies in his career, there are some he hasn’t fooled when facing them. And to highlight the feat of these goalies, Budweiser sent a Budweiser Zero (I don’t think I need to explain that one) to all the goalies who faced at least one shot from Ovechkin without giving up a goal.

And among those who received the gift, there’s… Jakub Dobes, who stopped the only shot he faced from Ovechkin.

We also notice another legend from the habs on the list, as Mike Condon (who has 18 saves against Ovechkin in his career) is among those who have been honored. Only Vitek Vanecek has made more saves against Ovechkin without ever giving up a goal than Condon.

Obviously, in Dobes’ case, it’s not exactly a huge sample size… but it’s still the case that he can boast of being one of the rare goalies who have faced Ovechkin without giving up a goal.

And with the habs seemingly on their way to facing the Capitals in the playoffs, it’s worth wondering if Martin St-Louis will use Ovechkin’s “bogeyman” in goal to try to neutralize the Russian, hehe.

Overtime

– Incredible.

– Rapper Lil Wayne congratulates Alex Ovechkin on his record.

– Will a team give a chance to the six-foot-eight goalie?

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The Habs would probably not be in the playoffs without Lane Hutson – Raymond Bourque

The Montreal Canadiens are in a good position to make the playoffs, against all expectations.

Cole Caufield’s 36 goals, Nick Suzuki’s 84 points, and Lane Hutson’s incredible rookie season are all key factors in the Habs’ success.

In my last post, I discussed Suzuki and Hutson’s efficiency based on their “Average Game Score”. Both players have been in the same category as McDavid and Draisaitl for the month of March.

Although we haven’t seen a season with more than one point per game since Alex Kovalev in 2007-08, Hutson’s season is, in my opinion, just as exceptional, if not more so.

We can agree that without the captain, the Habs wouldn’t be in a position to make the playoffs, but Raymond thinks the same about Hutson.

“I don’t think the Habs make the playoffs without Hutson. The difference he makes with the team this year is incredible.” – Raymond Bourque

What he says is very logical. Especially if we look at his Average Game Score.

Hutson doesn’t just produce points, he’s also relatively good defensively and changes the pace of the game as soon as he touches the puck. He’s by far the most exciting player on the Habs since P.K. Subban, and I’d even say since Kovalev.

Bourque also added that he’s never seen anyone move with the puck like Hutson. He was even worried about him, but he quickly changed his mind when he saw how incredible he is.

Bourque is also convinced that #48 will win the Calder this year.

It’s not very often that we see a defenseman win the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year.

Moritz Seider was the last one, and before him, there was Cale Makar and Aaron Ekblad. Ekblad, like Seider, didn’t collect as many points as Hutson with five games left to play (39 points for Ekblad and 50 points for Seider).

The Habs’ small defenseman is currently ranked 4th among the top-scoring defensemen and 2nd among defensemen in assists, behind Makar.

For a rookie, it’s simply incredible.

If he continues on his current pace in the last five games of the season, he could very well receive some votes for the Norris Trophy (best defenseman). He could even be nominated.

If Hutson were to be nominated for the Norris, in addition to winning the Calder, he would be the third defenseman in history to achieve this feat.

The only two to have done it? Cale Makar in 2020 and Bobby Orr in… 1967.

Makar had 50 points in 57 games in his rookie season (0.88 points per game), while Orr had 41 points in 61 games (0.67 points per game). With 64 points in 77 games, Hutson is producing at a rate of 0.83, which is simply astonishing.

Even if he’s not nominated for the Norris, the chances of him receiving votes for this trophy are good, and that in itself is extraordinary.

The Habs have a rare gem in their organization with Hutson.

Overtime

– 92 points in the standings would be an ideal goal for the Habs.

– Good point.

– Sad news in the hockey world.

– Still as incredible, this Brayden Point.

– Alexis Lafrenière was ejected from the game against the Lightning.

– Worth reading.

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When Hutson and Suzuki invite themselves into the same category as McDavid and Draisaitl

I’m not telling you anything new by saying that Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson are each having an incredible season.

In terms of basic statistics (points, differential, etc.), it’s easy to determine how useful a player is to their team on the surface.

But a player’s overall usefulness is much more complex than the points they accumulate over the course of a season.

Advanced statistics can be great for this, but knowing everything is not necessarily simple.

In basketball, for example, there’s the PER, which is a statistic that demonstrates a player’s usefulness to their team using several advanced statistics.

It’s a simple number that encompasses everything you could use to determine a player’s overall productivity.

A PER below 10 is not very good, a PER between 10 and 15 is good, while a PER of 20 or more demonstrates that a player is among the elite. And then there are the Nikola Jokićs of the world whose PER is always above 30, which is rarely seen in the NBA.

A few years ago, Dom Luszczyszyn from The Athletic created the “Game Score” and the “Average Game Score” so that there would be similar data to PER in hockey. And it works pretty much the same way.

To learn more about the Game Score, you can click on this link.

Recently, the Twitter page HockeyStatCards posted a tweet showing the top five Average Game Scores for the month of March only.

Not surprisingly, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are at the top with an average of 2.25 and 2.17 respectively, but the next two players are at least surprising.

Nick Suzuki (1.97) and Lane Hutson (1.77) are third and fourth in this data.

In short, what this means is that Suzuki and Hutson are the third and fourth most effective players for their team for the month of March in the entire NHL.

It’s amazing when you think about it.

It shows that Suzuki and Hutson are not just filling the scoresheet, but they are extremely useful to the Habs for all sorts of reasons.

By the way, if you go to the HockeyStatCards site, you can see the best single-game performances for each team based on the Game Score.

Based on this data, we can see that it’s Mike Matheson who had the biggest impact for the Habs in a specific game, the one on November 11th.

The second-best overall performance is Lane Hutson’s from March 30th, his three-assist game against the Florida Panthers.

(Credit: HockeyStatCards)

Another interesting fact, we see Kaiden Guhle’s name appear several times in this category.

Another proof that it’s not just about points to be useful to your team.

In short, the data that is the Game Score is very interesting, especially for fans of advanced statistics. It encompasses several stats to group them under a single piece of data.

In Overtime

– According to Raymond Bourque, the Habs would not be in the playoffs if it weren’t for Lane Hutson’s incredible season.

– If Hutson receives votes for the Norris in addition to winning the Calder, aside from Cale Makar’s rookie season in 2020, you would have to go back to Bobby Orr’s rookie season to see a player accomplish that.

– A very emotional short film, for those interested.

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Get ready Slaf: you will probably have to dye your hair blond soon…

The Canadiens are well established in the standings in the East at the moment.

With their 85 points, the Habs are ahead of the Rangers and the Red Wings by six points, the Islanders by seven points… and the Blue Jackets by eight points.

All these teams have a game in hand over the Canadiens, however:

(Credit: LNH.com)

The Habs – unless there is a major reversal of the situation – are therefore likely to be able to participate in the playoffs this season.

This is a surprise since at the beginning – and halfway through the season -, nobody really believed in these chances. And for good reason.

That being said, maybe Juraj Slafkovsky will regret telling Anthony Martineau that he would dye his hair blond if his team got a playoff spot.

He’d better get ready, Slaf… because he’ll probably have to go to the hairdresser soon. Hehe:

Seeing Slaf with blond hair would be really funny.

And I imagine his teammates would easily find a way to tease him too.

But at the same time, it could be really cool. We often see young players in junior hockey dye their hair blond for the playoffs and it always gives a pretty funny result.

This will make headlines, at least. And if Slaf keeps his word, it’s sure that the first photo where we’ll see him with his new “haircut” will make the rounds on the web too.

Remains to be seen if the Canadiens will be able to get their ticket to the spring dance.

But again, with the current situation in the standings in the East, it is really possible to believe that the chances are good.

In Overtime

– I love it.

– Meh…

– Alright. Good for the Jays!

– This promises to be good.

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For $45, those who attended Ovechkin’s game yesterday can get a physical ticket

Alex Ovechkin is officially the best scorer in the history of the NHL.

The #8 of the Capitals beat Wayne Gretzky’s record yesterday, when his team faced the Islanders.

The match was notably presented at the home of the Isles.

Since the match has gone down in history, the Islanders have taken the initiative to print physical tickets for the fans who attended the meeting.

But unfortunately, those who want to get a physical ticket will not be able to do so for free.

The price to acquire a ticket is $45, according to what Front Office Sports reports on X:

After the record was broken during yesterday’s match, a QR code appeared on the giant screen of the UBS Arena to offer the offer to the fans on site who were interested in buying a ticket.

But the prices were not displayed. There are still tickets available at the official Islanders store and some are already available on eBay.

Say that the price for a single ticket on eBay… it’s still quite expensive:

(Credit: eBay)
(Credit: eBay)

Obviously, it’s a beautiful piece for collectors.

The tickets will possibly gain value over time and that’s why there are people who won’t hesitate to spend a lot of money to get one.

Note that according to Front Office Sports, there are also used warm-up pucks available at a price of… $375 each.

It’s a lot of money, but all the profits made from the sale of the pucks will be given to the Islanders’ children’s foundation, which is a nice thought.

Alex Ovechkin breaking the record yesterday will not go unnoticed, after all.

Not at all, actually.

Overtime

– Nice photo.

– Still.

– I like the idea!

– Trent Frederic is still injured.

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Lane Hutson associates with Olivier Primeau and the Groupe Prime Drink

Lane Hutson has quickly become one of the crowd’s favorites in Montreal.

The small defenseman of the Canadiens has won the heart of the fans because he is excellent on the ice, but also because he has a superb personality.

Today, we are already talking about him as one of the most loved players in the city… even though he is still in his first full season in the National League.

With his name gaining popularity, the idea of associating with him is interesting from a marketing standpoint.

And that’s what Olivier Primeau was able to do.

The latter – with the help of a post on social media – announced the new partnership between Lane Hutson and the Groupe Prime Drink.

The Canadiens’ defenseman will have his signature on the new “Relax Downlow” drinks, which are already available in Couche-Tard convenience stores in Quebec.

We’re talking about a non-alcoholic, relaxing drink that is approved by Health Canada as a natural health product.

We’re also talking about a drink that is very low in calories:

Naturally, this is great news for the player.

Lane Hutson is only 21 years old, but he is already popular enough to partner with companies to sell products.

This is noteworthy.

Olivier Primeau’s announcement comes after seeing Lane Hutson break the record for assists for a rookie defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens.

He is still tied with Chris Chelios for the number of points (64), however.

We read in the post above that there will be exclusive publications and public appearances planned with the defenseman in the coming weeks, and at that level, I imagine we will surely have to wait until the end of the season to move the project forward.

The Canadiens are in the midst of a playoff run, after all… and it should not become a distraction for the player or the team. Hutson will need to conserve his energy to help his team on the ice.

Overtime

– He is sensational.

– Oh.

– Sick, for real.

– Players need to wake up to the bar.

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Ivan Demidov is (probably) going to evolve in the VHL

There is news regarding Ivan Demidov.

And for those who are wondering: no, he is not coming to Montreal.

The Canadiens’ prospect is instead expected to head to the VHL, the equivalent of the American League in Russia.

This information was revealed by RG Media in the last few minutes.

In the article in question, we can read that the fact of going to play in the VHL was Demidov’s preferred option because joining the Canadiens was not on the table.

The SKA apparently intends to assign him to SKA-Neva and if that happens, Demidov will have the opportunity to play with his big brother, Semyon.

SKA-Neva won its first round of the playoffs in the VHL.

The team will resume action on Thursday and will face Khimik Voskressensk for the first game of their second-round series.

We also note that according to RG Media, the goal of the SKA organization in Saint Petersburg is to allow its affiliated teams to win the VHL and MHL championships.

The SKA was quickly eliminated from the playoffs in the KHL and the executives want to ensure that the organization maintains its good reputation.

And it’s certain that by adding a talented player like Demidov to a VHL team – or even an MHL team because this possibility still exists -, it can help their chances.

Ivan Demidov’s contract with the SKA will end on May 31, but at least he will have the opportunity to play in a league until then to continue his progression.

The Canadiens’ prospect is following the SKA’s plan and that’s a good thing… because in Russia, we know that things are more complicated with the war.

And with the Torpedo team threatening its young players to send them to complete their military service if they don’t follow the instructions, Demidov may not really have a choice but to follow the club’s rules.

It would have been fun to see him arrive in North America sooner than expected… but it seems we will have to be patient before seeing him take the plane to Montreal.

Overtime

—

— It was deserved.

— The news of the day in waivers.