Right now, the SKA is playing the second game of its series against the Dynamo. Ivan Demidov, who was the 13th forward of the club in the last game, is today on the first line.
Obviously, it’s a surprise.
But apparently, Roman Rotenberg realized he needed the kid’s talent to help him win. He gave him a big role, hoping to see Demidov produce offensively!
And in the end, that’s exactly what happened: it only took about ten minutes in the first period for the Habs prospect to score.
He took advantage of a clever pass from a teammate.
Today, the SKA is playing the second game of its series against Dynamo in the KHL. The club will want to avenge its defeat in the first game, when it was beaten by a score of 3-1.
So we were wondering what Roman Rotenberg would do for the second game, since he is used to playing with his lines…
And we got a big surprise: Demidov finds himself on… the first line.
He will play alongside Evgeny Kuznetsov, with whom he has had good chemistry on the ice since the beginning of the season.
(Credit: Screenshot/Telegram)
Clearly, Rotenberg has come to his senses: in a context where the club is struggling to generate offense, he cannot afford to do without the one who has been his best scorer this season. Demidov has not had a great end to the season, but he is too talented not to be used in a situation where the club needs to create offense.
We know it: Demidov can change the course of a game almost single-handedly. He is always one opportunity away from changing the momentum simply because he is full of talent.
Obviously, we’ll have to see if the pushed to have Demidov on his line.
But no matter: the important thing is that Demidov should regain a key role with the SKA today. Let’s see if he’ll be able to help his club now.
In Overtime
– Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel will play for the Blackhawks today.
The Montreal Canadiens are no longer in the playoffs as of last night, while the Columbus Blue Jackets took the last spot in the East.
They won a big emotional game, where they showed a lot of character and intensity to overcome two big deficits (0-3 and 3-5) and get two big points in a shootout.
At the Habs, it’s the opposite this week, as in three games, we showed no intensity and no character at the worst time of the season.
However, during the three games of last week, the Tricolore had shown everything the Blue Jackets showed last night.
The Habs had shown a lot of character to come back from behind against the Senators, Islanders, and Avalanche.
Why is it not the case this week?
Well, because the players are clearly exhausted and have no more energy in the tank.
We can really see it in each of the last three games that all the players on the team just don’t have any more juice, except maybe Lane Hutson.
The Habs are struggling.
They’re also dead tired, having used a tremendous amount of energy in previous games to overcome early deficits.
Friday’s 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes is ample evidence to suggest the #GoHabsGo might be out of gas.
The Habs’ comebacks in big games have greatly taxed the players, and we’re seeing the consequences now.
The players are tired, and this is transferring into a lack of cohesion, mental errors, little intensity, few scoring chances, and mediocre defensive play.
In short, the players are out of breath for the final sprint, after having given it their all to get back into the playoff race since the Olympic break.
The players have given it their all, but they didn’t get any help from their general manager, as the lineup was already very limited.
The top trio carried the team for a while, but now everyone is exhausted, and that’s where the Habs’ lack of depth really hurts.
However, Kent Hughes could have gone out and gotten some help at the trade deadline, but he didn’t.
One can seriously wonder if Hughes regrets not making the acquisition of a few depth players to give his coach more options and ammunition to finish the season.
Joel Armia, Josh Anderson, and surely several other players are playing hurt, and this is hurting the Habs’ performance.
So, adding one, two, or even three depth players to the lineup would have clearly helped the Tricolore.
With all the draft picks at his disposal, Hughes could have clearly gone out and gotten guys like Ryan Donato (who scored a hat-trick last night), Nico Sturm, and/or Mark Jankowski.
These are depth players who would have taken some pressure off the Habs’ current players, which would have allowed St-Louis to roll his lineup more.
In short, Kent Hughes chose not to make a choice between buying and selling, and this could hurt even more if the Habs don’t make the playoffs and finish in the “No Man’s Land”.
However, the players will still grow from all this experience and the mix that Kent Hughes wanted so much.
If we only think about that, this season is a success, given that the objective of the mix was achieved.
Let’s see if the players will be able to bounce back with 10 games left in the season.
Overtime
– The Chicago Blackhawks are signing two of their top prospects. They should play in the NHL this season.
#Blackhawks are signing both Sam Rinzel and Oliver Moore to entry-level deals out of Minnesota.
Both players are expected to make their #NHL debuts this season.
In this horrible slump of the Montreal Canadiens, we can establish several clear facts that lead to the team’s current failures at such an important moment.
The first line is no longer producing, the team is lacking opportunism, the powerplay is no longer working, Jake Evans’ line is completely dry, Arber Xhekaj and David Savard are struggling, the goalies are not helping the club, etc.
These are all facts that lead to the Habs’ lamentable failures this week.
However, for me, and for many Habs fans, the one that stands out the most, and hurts the team the most right now, is one that I didn’t even mention earlier.
This fact is that Mike Matheson is playing too much.
Again last night, the Quebec defenseman had a bad game, as he cost his team a goal at a crucial moment, in addition to making many mistakes and playing poorly throughout the game.
Habs veteran Mike Matheson in a must-win 1-1 tie game vs the Hurricanes.
It’s clearly not an easy season for Matheson, but seriously, it’s even worse over the last few games, when the Habs would need him and good performances from him the most.
Matheson has been costing his team almost a goal per game lately, and this is unacceptable from such a veteran.
Last night, as we can see in the sequence, he played nonchalantly and tried to do everything himself, when he could have simply and easily cleared the puck from the zone.
Result: he was easily stripped of the puck, and this led to a great scoring chance for the Hurricanes, forcing Lane Hutson to take a penalty.
And on this powerplay, the Hurricanes scored their winning goal, on a play where, again, Matheson played poorly and lacked intensity to go get the puck in the corner.
Against the Flyers, Matheson also had a bad game, especially on Matvei Michkov’s second goal.
Mike Matheson sends Matvei Michkov in all alone for a 2nd time tonight.
They have great chemistry. pic.twitter.com/ytVp5oTlYF
In short, clearly, the Quebec defenseman is hurting the Habs right now, and this is quite constant, at a crucial moment in the season.
So, of course, we can blame Matheson, but is he the only one to blame for his struggles?
No, he’s not.
We have to give a large part of the blame to the coaches, who insist on continuing to overuse Matheson, even though he’s clearly not keeping up and is making too many mistakes.
Rather than reducing Matheson’s ice time, St-Louis and his team (especially Stéphane Robidas) continue to play him 25 minutes per game.
I know Matheson is gonna take quite the beating on social media tonight, but I’d like to place some of the blame on our coaching staff for sending him out there constantly. Bro is exhausted and he’s making brainfart mistakes.
The guy is clearly exhausted and at the end of his rope, but we keep playing him as much as the best defensemen in the entire NHL.
Matheson has already given a lot to the Habs, and he has helped the team a lot, especially last year, and all this while he’s not even a number one defenseman.
It’s time to give the 31-year-old veteran a break, because seriously, it’s sinking the Canadiens’ season.
I’m not trying to be mean when I suggest Matheson needs less ice time. He’s the 9th busiest defenceman in the entire NHL, and he’s paid like a No.4-5.
The man has done way more than expected already, but he clearly needs a break. https://t.co/BdiYImKlI4
It’s not a quality and an advantage to have a defenseman who can play 25 minutes per game if he’s hurting the team more than anything else.
Matheson has had a lot of success in Montreal, and expectations for him have risen significantly, but now, it’s too much, and Matheson has become a defenseman who should play around 17 minutes on a second pair.
Let’s see if the coaches will stop overusing Matheson, especially now that Kaiden Guhle is back.
Overtime
– The most frightening moment of Kaiden Guhle’s life has left a big mark.
The scar on Kaiden Guhle’s right leg is roughly four inches long and will always serve as a reminder of what he said was “definitely the scariest moment” of his life. (By @EricEngels) https://t.co/P5K2mqBSGr
– The Habs need a win from the Lightning against the New York Islanders.
Very tough test for #Isles today as always here in Tampa.
Lightning are 26-8-2 at home and have won first two games of this three-game homestand by a combined 14-1, including 8-0 over Utah two days ago.
Unfortunately, this playoff fever did not travel well abroad this week, as the Habs were unrecognizable on the road.
The Habs lost all three games on the road this week, stringing together three horrible performances, which is completely opposite of what the team had been doing in the previous weeks.
It’s too bad, but the Habs are really playing very poorly right now, and you can see that the team is really running out of steam.
Well. That’s all folks. The team is out of juice: bad turnovers, brainfarts, can’t hit the net, etc. And somehow, we had enough chances to tie the game in the 3rd. Let’s just remember we were dead last after 20 games this season and be grateful and enjoy the rest, win or lose. pic.twitter.com/i9bohL6VEh
It was therefore a discouraging week for Habs fans, who saw their team go from being in control to being lost and mediocre.
Nothing is working for the Habs this week, and the two overtime losses just before this trip hinted that a slump was coming.
In fact, the losses to the New York Islanders and the Colorado Avalanche last week seem to have had a significant impact on the Canadiens.
Counting those two losses and the three losses on the road this week, the Habs are on a five-game losing streak.
Let’s just say it’s really the worst time for the team to be struggling, but as fans, there’s nothing we can do, and that’s what’s extremely frustrating, especially after the incredible emotions of the past few weeks.
Nothing is working for the Habs, from defense to offense to goaltending.
The Habs can’t score, and they’re giving up goals in bunches, just like they did earlier in the season when opposing teams would spend long minutes in the Habs’ zone.
Giving up 24 goals in five games is way too much, especially when you’re a team fighting for your life and a playoff spot.
Goals allowed by the Habs per game in their last 5 games:
In short, with their five consecutive losses and their horrible road trip this week, the Habs have gone from having almost 50% chance of making the playoffs to now having only 25%.
That’s a huge drop, and the team’s playoff chances have been cut in half in just one week.
What’s even worse for the Habs is that the three main teams they’re competing with for a playoff spot now have just as good of a chance, if not better, according to MoneyPuck.
(Credit: MoneyPuck.com)
So, it’s really a nightmare for the Habs this week, but despite everything, we mustn’t give up.
After their last game on the road this Sunday afternoon in Florida against the Panthers, the Canadiens will return home to the Centre Bell.
The fans will be there, and they’ll be ready to cheer on their team, which is still very much in the thick of the playoff race.
Playing at home will do the Habs some good, and hopefully, it will wake them up.
And lo and behold, after several very lucky evenings where the Canadiens’ opponents in the playoff race lost, what was bound to happen did, as the Columbus Blue Jackets overtook the Habs.
In fact, thanks to their 7-6 shootout win in a completely crazy game against the Vancouver Canucks, the Jackets joined the Habs at 75 points, but since they’ve played one fewer game, they moved ahead.
(Credit: NHL.com)
The Habs are therefore out of the playoff picture for the first time since March 17. Martin St-Louis’ team had held the last playoff spot in the East for nearly two weeks.
The Blue Jackets are indeed back in the mix, and compared to the Canadiens, they put on quite a show for their fans, demonstrating incredible fight and intensity to come back from 0-3 and 3-5.
In short, the Habs are currently out of the playoffs, and it’s entirely deserved when you look at how the team has been playing this week.
Of course, nothing is set in stone, but the Habs will have to bounce back quickly if they want to avoid sinking even lower.
2. The Rangers escape with a big point against the Anaheim Ducks
After seeing the Blue Jackets win, Habs fans had to at least hope that the Rangers would lose to the Anaheim Ducks later in the evening, and that’s exactly what happened.
The Rangers lost in overtime by a score of 5-4, and thus earned only one point, which keeps them behind the Canadiens, even though they also have 75 points.
They’ve played one more game and will be back in action tonight against the San Jose Sharks.
We can thank Mason McTavish for his winning goal in overtime, and also Olen Zellweger, who tied the game with less than two minutes left in the third period.
3. Connor Hellebuyck’s seventh shutout this season
Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck added to his impressive resume and is further establishing himself as the lone frontrunner for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the best goalkeeper of the regular season.
Last night, Connor Hellebuyck earned his 7th shutout of the season, as he stopped all 24 shots from the New Jersey Devils in a 4-0 win.
The seventh @pepsi shutout of the season for Connor Hellebuyck!
In short, let’s just say the Habs could have really used such a finish in their last few games, and a 28-goal scorer would have really helped the team in their playoff push.
It’s too bad, because Donato wouldn’t have cost the moon as a rental player.
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5. Sam Bennett does a lot of damage to the Utah Hockey Club
The playoff race is starting to fade away in the West, as the St. Louis Blues are pulling away, and meanwhile, the Utah Hockey Club is falling behind the pack.
With several consecutive losses, Utah is struggling, and last night, Sam Bennett pretty much nailed the coffin shut on Utah’s hopes with two goals in the Florida Panthers’ 2-1 overtime win.
Brad Marchand also earned his first point with the Panthers on the winning goal, and that was in his first game with his new team.
The Canadiens may have lost tonight against the Hurricanes, but the Rocket allowed the habs fans not to lose face on this Friday night.
Laval won 4-1 against the Toronto Marlies and with this victory, Pascal Vincent’s club qualified for the playoffs.
It becomes the seventh LAH club to obtain a ticket for the spring tournament.
THE ROCKET OF LAVAL IS QUALIFIED FOR THE PLAYOFFS!
Win of 4-1 over the Marlies of Toronto. Alex Barré-Boulet (2x), William Trudeau and Florian Xhekaj found the back of the net. Cayden Primeau was smoking in the win with 31 saves. 42nd win of the year.
It’s funny, because the Rocket has more points than all these teams.
The north division is so competitive that Laval took more time to qualify.
(Credit: AHL.com)
With this victory, the affiliate club now has 42 wins and 88 points.
With 10 games left in the season, we can say that it is well established in the first rank of its division. This is the next step for Vincent’s troops, who want to win the Calder Cup, nothing less.
In tonight’s 4-1 win, David Reinbacher did not play. Don’t be afraid, his withdrawal from the lineup is part of his return to 100%. The Rocket plays tomorrow against the Flyers’ affiliate club and the defender could play.
On this Friday night where the habs did not look good, Cayden Primeau was brilliant, he stopped 31 of the 32 shots directed at him.
I don’t know how you felt at the start of the game, but with the recent Montreal sequence, I didn’t have much hope for this big duel against a power team.
Until the end of the second period, the habs held on.
But two quick goals hurt a lot. Firstly, after a Mike Matheson turnover, followed by a Lane Hutson penalty, Taylor Hall found the back of the net on a powerplay.
Sebastian Aho confided to journalists on Friday afternoon about the saga surrounding Mikko Rantanen’s short stay with the Hurricanes.https://t.co/xA4zqtmZyk
Tonight in Carolina, the Canadiens are playing with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
The reason: Kaiden Guhle is back.
I never would have thought I’d see him again so soon. He didn’t think so either. Before the game, in an interview with Patrick Friolet (RDS), the defenseman said he didn’t know when he would return, but never thought it would be so soon.
“We didn’t know when I was going to come back, but we never thought it would be this soon. I tip my hat to the medical team, they’ve been incredible!”
-Kaiden Guhle, to @PFrioletRDSpic.twitter.com/PZxiRHzxes
Guhle also thanks the medical staff and surgeons who did a great job with his injury.
The team’s best defensive defenseman hasn’t played since January 28 against the Winnipeg Jets. That evening, the 4-1 loss was even more bitter than usual: not only did Montreal lose its third game in a row, but it also lost one of its pillars on the blue line.
At first, we were even afraid of losing him for the rest of the season.
Fortunately, we are in late March and in a frantic race for the last playoff spot, Martin St-Louis’ team needs its defenseman.
(Credit: NHL.com)
In 44 games, the 23-year-old left-hander has four goals and 10 assists.
The player with a plus-2 record isn’t recognized for his offensive support anyway. He remains highly important to his team.
Remains to be seen if the Habs will be as cautious with him as they were with David Reinbacher.
Yesterday morning, the Flyers decided to fire John Tortorella, after another season of misery for Philadelphia.
The rebuilding process is not moving at the same pace as in Montreal, and it was no longer working. Tortorella himself put an end to his time in Philadelphia with his comments to the media.
It’s now time for interviews for Daniel Brière, the General Manager of the team. Could he look to the habs for help?
Tom Lapointe, a former sports journalist, raised the possibility that Pascal Vincent, the head coach of the Rocket, could take the place of “Torts”.
He’s doing an excellent job in Laval and could be a great option for Brière. He didn’t have the expected start in the NHL, but he didn’t have ideal conditions, far from it.
The Rocket is first in the AHL and could confirm a playoff spot very soon, which is quite incredible given that expectations were not so high at the beginning of the year.
Vincent has worked well with young players like Owen Beck and Florian Xhekaj, who have very important roles despite their age.
I’m one of those who believes that Vincent should be considered. It would be a big loss for the habs if he left, but he deserves to be considered. He’s an underrated coach who hasn’t rushed his way to where he is.
He could be a good option if Martin St-Louis doesn’t deliver in the next few years. But if Vincent continues to have success, another NHL team will surely offer him an interview.
Overtime
– The return is doing him good.
« On ne savait pas quand j’allais revenir, mais on n’aurait jamais pensé que ce serait aussi tôt. Je lève mon chapeau à l’équipe médicale, ils ont été incroyables! »
-Kaiden Guhle, au micro de @PFrioletRDSpic.twitter.com/PZxiRHzxes
Ivan Demidov scores first career playoff goal!#GagarinCup pic.twitter.com/xprQRstyIE
