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Habs in six

Sometimes, in sports, you lose games you should have won. This has happened a few times to CF Montreal in recent weeks…

But other times, you also win games you don’t deserve to win. This happened to the Habs last night in Nashville.

The Preds dominated the game 37-17 in shots on goal, but Jakub Dobes was at the top of his game (and luck) in front of the Habs’ net. Result: the Habs players left Tennessee in the early hours of the night with two more points in the bank.

The Habs, thanks to this fifth consecutive win, have taken a serious option on eighth place in the East, the last rank giving access to the playoffs.

The Habs have between 84.2% and 90.7% chance of extending their season after their 82nd game this morning. Wow!

I know, they wouldn’t even be close to making the playoffs if they were in the West, but they’re in the East, our Habs…

What’s great about this group of players is that everyone participates in the war effort. Everyone except maybe Joshua Roy, but anyway…

It’s only a matter of time before he’s sent back to the American League…

The team’s most talented young players are leading the group: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, and Lane Hutson.

The veterans are showing the way: Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson (back after missing a game to attend the birth of his first child), Joel Armia (who’s playing injured), David Savard (who’s giving it his all on the ice), Mike Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, Jake Evans, and Samuel Montembeault.

And all the depth players are giving it their all when they’re called upon to jump on the ice.

Yesterday, the Habs played with five left-handed defensemen. Two of them had to play on the right. David Savard, who had just played five games of about 10 minutes each, had to leave. He’s being evaluated daily.

Arber Xhekaj had to return to the lineup after watching four games from the press box. Since the night he made a mistake by pinching to give a giveaway, he hadn’t been in the lineup.

Yesterday, Xhekaj didn’t even play 10 minutes, but he still found a way to help the team: four hits and a blocked shot.

In short, he was used as a sixth defenseman, and a sixth defenseman doesn’t play much in the playoffs (or in games that get you to the playoffs).

You know what? I wouldn’t bet my house on David Savard being injured. Maybe he’s just a bit banged up, and having him travel to play a second game in two nights was unnecessary, given that the sixth defenseman doesn’t even play 10 minutes currently? Maybe they should have found a way to keep Xhekaj on his feet?

I’d put some cash on him being present tomorrow at the Bell Centre, though.

Jayden Struble (11:13), Olivier Kapanen (7:36), Jakub Dobes (a first start in a long time), Michael Pezzetta (4:39)… everyone has accepted their role with the Habs right now, and nobody seems to be complaining.

Martin St-Louis has won his bet, and that’s where a team can really be dangerous once the playoffs start.

A dozen or so players who decide to form a team and accept that each has a different role can do some damage.

The key to achieving this is to communicate well and be transparent. Kudos to Martin St-Louis and his staff for that!

Kapanen, Pezzetta, Xhekaj, Dobes, Savard… they don’t know when they’ll be called upon to help the team again, but one thing’s for sure: when they jump on the ice, they’ll give it their all. Because that’s how it works in sports…

Habs in six!

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Sports Express : the Canadiens expect to have Ivan Demidov this season

In recent weeks, we learned that Ivan Demidov had a chance to play in junior hockey once the SKA (KHL) was eliminated.

And with the SKA being eliminated in the last few days, more than ever, we knew there was a chance to see the best hockey player not playing in the NHL finish the season in junior hockey.

Everything to convince him to stay in Russia… with methods from the past.

What this means is that on the heels of the junior club’s game of the day, we were checking to see if Ivan Demidov would be in uniform today – even if the chances were slim.

And in the end, he is not.

Note that this does not mean he will never be. After all, his season in the KHL has just ended and we need to let time for these decisions to be made.

But for today’s game, nothing has been decided. We expect to see these discussions take place early in the week.

What we need to know, however, is that a surprising news story has emerged from Russia in the Demidov file. And this goes against everything that has been said elsewhere.

What are we talking about?

According to Sports Express, a major Russian media outlet, the Canadiens are expecting to see Demidov arrive in Montreal before the end of the regular season, which is in the coming days.

A spot in the top-6 would have been guaranteed for him.

Since there is no agreement between the KHL and the NHL for transfers, it is really unlikely to see Demidov arrive in Montreal before the end of the season. This is what has been said for weeks.

I don’t believe it. But if it happens, the hockey vibe will be even crazier.

More details to come…

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Jacob Fowler : the injury of Connor Hughes opens the door to the prospect

The Laval Rocket is certain to make the playoffs in the AHL. And even if the top of the AHL is not yet a certainty, there’s a good chance it will happen.

Result? The club can afford to rest some guys and bring in prospects and have them play games.

Just in case, without thinking too much about it, we’re going to bring up the name of American goalie Jacob Fowler in the conversation this morning. We’re saying it just for fun, of course.

Of course, we all know that the Canadiens wanted to send their prospect to Laval for the playoff run. The plan wasn’t to make him the team’s #1 goalie, but anything can happen in the AHL.

And that brings us to the fact that Connor Hughes got injured yesterday in a Rocket game in Western Canada. We saw him struggling to get up at one point during the game.

Does this mean Hughes will be injured for a few days/weeks? Nobody knows. All we know is that he wasn’t able to finish yesterday’s game.

We’ll have more details in the coming days.

And that brings us back to Fowler. The goalie has been in Montreal for a few days, taking shots from the Canadiens players, and he will practice with the Rocket on Wednesday.

If Hughes can’t dress for the Rocket’s games on Friday (in Rochester) and Saturday (in Syracuse), it’s logical to think that Fowler could.

I obviously expect to see Primeau play at least one of the two games this weekend. Would it be too early, no matter Hughes’ health, to have Fowler play?

Would the Rocket/CH rather wait until next week? Because yes, in my eyes, Fowler will play at least one game by April 19th.

(Credit: Rocket)

Hughes’ playing time wasn’t going to increase with Fowler’s arrival, and more than ever, Dobes isn’t about to return to Laval. If Fowler does well in his audition during the regular season, who knows what it could lead to.

To be continued, then.

Overtime

– $500 million for Vladdy in Toronto.

– Note.

– Good listening.

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Series: it’s going to take a disaster for the Canadiens to get out of this

It’s going to take a disaster for the Habs to miss the playoffs.

As long as the Canadiens don’t have a little hook next to their name in the standings, it’s too early to celebrate. But the way things are shaping up, Martin St-Louis’ men can certainly aspire to the playoffs.

Six points ahead of the Rangers is something.

(Credit: Sportsnet)

Tomorrow’s game could have the effect of “eliminating” Detroit from the race – especially if the Canadiens win in regular time. And let’s say the Rangers must start to get hot, too.

Six points ahead with five or six games left to play is really good.

The Rangers and Red Wings can get a maximum of 91 points this season. With seven points in five games, the Canadiens could therefore close the debate and qualify for the playoffs.

Is the team (#DansLeMix to your liking) with more than 84% chance of making the playoffs this morning, according to MoneyPucks?

The Canadiens have not been injured, but it would take a disaster for them to miss the playoffs.

What’s also impressive is that even if yesterday’s win (2-1 in Nashville) was not easily acquired against a team that has been eliminated for a long time, the Canadiens still found a way to win.

Martin St-Louis summed it up well using a baseball pitcher metaphor: even if the team didn’t have their fastball, the players found other ways to win the game.

 

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But what are these ways, exactly?

There are several elements that allowed the Habs to escape with the two points despite the absent players and the useless trip to Nashville after a game at the Centre Bell.

1. Martin St-Louis saw his team concede the first goal and saw Michael McCarron score another. He took the chance to turn the goal around and he was finally right.

Without that, the two-goal deficit would have been difficult to catch up. But there, Cole Caufield tied the game and the Habs held on. Big decision by the coaching staff, clearly.

2. If the Canadiens managed to win the game, it’s partly because of Jakub Dobes. The Habs’ #2 goalie doesn’t play often these days, but yesterday, he found a way to make up for his last more difficult outings by winning a big game on the road.

Was he perfect? Technically, not at all.

But the NHL is a league of results (except when a team is rebuilding) and yesterday, the goalie only allowed one goal. It wasn’t the most beautiful performance by a goalie in history, but he did the job in a game where the opponents had 20 more shots (37 against 17) than the Habs.

He understood the importance of the moment. And in his eyes, the Canadiens are ready for the playoffs.

3. Did Mike Matheson make a mistake on the Preds’ first goal? Yes. But I still think his importance in the defensive brigade is underestimated.

Yesterday, the Habs were playing not to lose their lead and Matheson played for 31:46, including long minutes on the penalty kill. He is really important for the Habs.

Alexandre Carrier played for 25:56 in his return to Nashville. Lane Hutson? 21:33. Kaiden Guhle? 19:08.

Even among the forwards, Christian Dvorak (19:57), Josh Anderson (17:59), and Nick Suzuki (18:39) were used a lot. Martin St-Louis needed to protect his lead and the best players played.

4. To get their fifth straight win in a game that was tough, the Canadiens needed their two purest scorers to step up. Cole Caufield (36th goal and 66th point, a career high in both cases) and Patrik Laine (20th goal this season) found the back of the net.

And for the first time in 10 years, the Habs have four 20-goal scorers in a season.

5. Nick Suzuki got his 84th point of the season and is one point away from surpassing Alex Kovalev for the best individual season for a player since 2007-2008 in Montreal. #Machine

Lane Hutson had his 64th point (the best season of Andrei Markov, for what it’s worth) and is one point away from surpassing Chris Chelios for the most points for a rookie defenseman in the history of the Montreal Canadiens. #Calder

6. Yesterday, there’s a player we didn’t talk about much: Justin Barron. He was facing his old team, but the playoff race and Alexandre Carrier’s return to Nashville took over.

Barron still played over 18 minutes on the ice.

overtime

The Canadiens (who are back home… until they go to Washington?) will have the day off today and tomorrow, the team will face the Red Wings in a very important divisional game. For the playoffs, it’s not bad, it’s probably the Red Wings’ last chance, let’s say it.

Which injured players will be in uniform for the Habs?

(Credit: NHL.com)
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Top-5 : Defeat of the Blue Jackets, but victory of the Red Wings

Last night, eight games were presented in the NHL.

The big story of the day was clearly Alex Ovechkin’s goal.

Here is the goal, for those who missed it:

Here are the other results and highlights:

1. Defeat of the Blue Jackets, but victory of the Red Wings

Two games, apart from the one in Montreal, that we were watching with a lot of attention were the ones between the Senators and the Blue Jackets and the Red Wings and the Panthers.

On the one hand, Ottawa took care of Columbus, but Florida couldn’t do the same with the Red Wings.

The Senators made short work of the Blue Jackets with a score of 4-0. In the victory, Linus Ullmark made a shutout with 30 saves.

In the Jackets, it was a bit less rosy in front of the net.

A change of goalkeeper was made in the first moments of the game.

In Detroit, the Panthers couldn’t help Montreal.

They lost 2-1 to the Habs’ next opponents. By the way, the Senators are only two points behind Florida and the third place in the Atlantic.

Here is the updated standings in the East:

(Credit: NHL.com )

2. The Wild put an end to a four-game losing streak

The Minnesota Wild must start to feel the heat.

The players from Minnesota lost their last four games against the Devils (twice), Rangers, and Islanders. Yesterday, they put an end to their slump by beating the Dallas Stars. Victory of 3-2 in overtime.

This victory is greatly important, as Minnesota distanced itself from the Flames by six points and the ninth place in the West.

That the Flames are not in the playoffs, it’s excellent for the Habs, that…

(Credit: NHL.com )

In the Wild’s victory, Matthew Boldy participated in all of his team’s goals. A goal and two assists.

He has 67 points in 78 games this season.

3. The Penguins are officially eliminated

To keep their season alive, the Penguins faced one of the worst teams in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks.

However, they lost 3-1 and are officially eliminated for the third consecutive season.

This is the third team in the East to be eliminated.

The Flyers and the Bruins are the other two. This is the first time since 1969 (the expansion era) that these three teams are not participating in the playoffs at the same time.

In the Blackhawks’ victory, which moves them away from 25% chance of winning the lottery, they were driven by Ilya Mikheyev.

He scored two goals.

On his first goal, Sam Rinzel scored his first point in the NHL.

Since the Habs are no longer at the bottom of the overall standings, it’s rare that we show you the reverse standings, but here it is:

(Credit: NHL.com )

San Jose appreciates this Chicago victory.

4. The Sabres stay alive

With a defeat and a victory of the Habs, the Sabres would have been officially eliminated.

But with a convincing victory against Boston (6-3), Lindy Ruff’s team is still alive.

For how long? One thing is certain, Buffalo is on fire.

The Bruins may have won yesterday and David Pastrnak may have had a great weekend (three goals and five assists), but they are on a bad streak.

Boston has lost 11 of its last 12 games.

In the Sabres, Tage Thompson led the charge. He scored a hat-trick.

His second goal was quite something. Here it is:

This is his second hat-trick of the season against the Bruins.

Still.

Bowen Byram, Rasmus Dahlin, Peyton Krebs, and Alex Tuch also did well in the victory, each scoring two points.

5. Heavy defeat of the Canucks

The Canucks didn’t get eliminated last night, but it’s almost the same.

With a 3-2 loss to the Golden Knights, Vancouver is seven points away from the playoffs with five games left. Oh well…

Last night, Vegas scored the winning goal in the last minutes of the game.

In the second period, Kevin Lankinen allowed his team to stay within one goal.

He was good in the defeat, stopping 32 shots.

This save allowed his team to tie the game.

Vancouver won’t have an easy schedule until the end of the season.

The team will face the Stars, the Avalanche, the Wild, the Sharks, and Vegas again.

Overtime

– He potentially saved his team’s season.

– The end of an era.

– Players with two points or more on this Sunday of action.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– To watch tonight: Rangers-Lightning.

(Credit: Google)
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Perfect weekend for the Canadiens

After a big win against the Flyers last night, Martin St-Louis’ team was back in action tonight in Nashville.

Just before the game, we learned that David Savard and Emil Heineman would miss the game.

Here are the lineups:

Like last night, Montreal did not start the game well.

The Preds took advantage to score the first goal. Mike Matheson…

Michael Pezzetta, in the middle of the period, tried to wake up his team.

However, he was roughed up by Andreas Englund.

Nashville thought they had doubled their lead, but after review, the goal was called back for interference against Jakub Dobes.

What do you think?

In the beginning of the second period, Dobes made some key saves.

It whipped up his team. Cole Caufield scored his 36th goal of the season and is now just four goals away from 40 this season and 778 away from Alex Ovechkin’s record.

This was also his 66th point of the season, beating his personal record.

On the goal, Nick Suzuki collected his 84th point of the season.

This ties the number of points Alex Kovalev had during the 2007-2008 season.

Later, Lane Hutson fed Patrik Laine, who scored a five-on-five goal.

But more importantly, with the point collected by Hutson, he tied Chris Chelios’ record for most points by a rookie defenseman in Habs history (64).

Gr48 chase is on?

The rest of the game was all about Dobes.

He stopped 35 of the 36 shots directed at him.

Final score: 2-1 Montreal. Perfect weekend, then.

The Habs now have six points more than the Rangers and Red Wings, who are chasing them in the standings.

Montreal will be back in action on Tuesday against the Red Wings.

A big game against Detroit, who is still in the picture.

Overtime

– The Rocket lost, though.

– Kaiden Guhle and Juraj Slafkovsky were kicked out for their actions.

– Imagine if he had played the whole season.

– What a season!

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Roman Rotenberg: it’s better Russia than Montreal for Ivan Demidov

Finally.

Ivan Demidov’s season is over and he can finally sign his contract with the Habs. Not so fast, however, before bringing him to Montreal… He is still under contract with SKA until May 31st.

The two parties will meet tomorrow or Tuesday to discuss the next steps, according to a source close to RG.

We know that the club will do everything to keep its player in town.

Moreover, head coach Roman Rotenberg, a very powerful guy in the country, believes that the best place for Demidov is Russia, not Montreal.

I don’t know about Montreal (…) He is a SKA player, we didn’t think about Montreal, Quebec, or Toronto (…) It would be better for Alexander Nikishin and Demidov to stay in Russia, with SKA. – Roman Rotenberg

According to the coach’s opinion (sport-express.ru), it’s better that they stay, because they are leaders and he trusts them. He praises his approach, saying that his main goal is to develop young players. According to the coach, if you make a mistake in the NHL, you are sent to the AHL.

Maybe, Roman, but in the NHL, the best scorers are not left behind, because the other team is physically bigger…

Obviously, it may be a negotiation tactic to keep his prospect in Russia, but it looks a lot like a threat as well. Stay strong, Ivan, hold on for less than two months…

In the coming days, the former first-round pick of the Canadiens in 2024 (fifth overall) could join the SKA’s farm team in the MHL. By breaking his contract, he could theoretically join the Canadiens, but to do so, Rotenberg would have to agree. And that won’t happen.

Forget Demidov for the end of the season and the playoffs, then, unfortunately. He will be able to sign on May 31st.

Let’s just hope that, during his stay in the MHL, he doesn’t get seriously injured. After all, during his team’s last game in the KHL, he narrowly avoided a serious injury.

(Credit: Sergey Demidov, X )

Overtime

– Tyler Thorpe will make his debut with the Rocket.

– Oh well.

– It’s nice to see.

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Emil Heineman and David Savard absent tonight

Late breaking news.

The Canadiens, who will be in Nashville tonight, will have to make do without two key elements: David Savard and Emil Heineman.

Both players will be absent and will be evaluated on a daily basis.

Josh Anderson, who was absent yesterday, was on the ice for warm-up, however.

More details to come.

In Overtime

– I would like to see his son break his record.

– I will believe it when I see it.

– Well done.

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Nine points in six games would secure a playoff spot for the Canadiens

There are currently six games left to play for the Habs and not only is the team in the mix, but it currently holds the last playoff spot.

It’s starting to feel like spring hockey in Montreal.

And what’s good is that the Habs currently have their destiny in their own hands. If they play better than their pursuers until the end of the season, the team will participate in the playoffs.

In fact, if the Canadiens manage to get nine points in their last six games, they will be mathematically assured of making the playoffs.

The team currently has a four-point lead over the Rangers, who have six games left to play, just like the Habs, and a six-point lead over the Red Wings and Blue Jackets, who both have one more game to play.

In other words, the maximum number of points each team can get is 12 for the Rangers and 14 for the other two teams. And of course, we’re talking about a perfect end to the season, which has little chance of happening.

So if the Habs reach 92 points, they will be certain to outrank their opponents, regardless of tiebreakers.

The Tricolore will face the Red Wings next Tuesday in Montreal, and with a win, they could really hurt the Detroit club.

With a harvest of nine points in six games, the Canadiens will be assured of participating in the spring dance.

A difficult task, but not impossible for the team, especially the way they’ve been playing recently.

In these six games, three opponents are within the Canadiens’ reach: the Predators (whom they face tonight), the Red Wings, and the Blackhawks. A potential six points.

Otherwise, the other opponents are the Senators, the Maple Leafs, and the Hurricanes. A higher level of competition, but still, getting three points out of six is feasible.

And we’re talking about a worst-case scenario. It’s unlikely that the Rangers and Red Wings will win all their games until the end of the season, and a harvest of eight, or even six points, could be enough for the Habs.

In short, it’s going to be an exciting end to the season, and it continues tonight as the Canadiens face the Predators in Nashville.

Overtime

– Alex Ovechkin’s class!

– Two series to finish in the KHL.

– The Blue Jays get swept.

– A bygone tradition?

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The season of Ivan Demidov is FINALLY over in the KHL

It’s official, ladies and gentlemen. Ivan Demidov’s season in the KHL is FINALLY over.

The SKA from Saint-Petersburg didn’t manage to force a final game in their series against the HK Dinamo Moscou and lost the 6th game by a score of 5-2.

A tough defeat to swallow for the habs prospect, but oh well. Considering how he was treated this season…

Now we have to wait and see what the SKA’s plan is with Demidov.

Let’s recall that the player could finish the season in the junior league… and that possibility is very real since the SKA was quickly eliminated from the playoffs.

This is something to watch in the coming days.

In all of this, we also have to wonder if it was Roman Rotenberg’s last game behind the SKA bench.

We know that there was a chance he would lose his job if his team was eliminated quickly in the playoffs and that’s exactly what happened.

To be continued…

Note that in his last potential career game in the KHL, Ivan Demidov finished the game with two shots and 16:11 of ice time.

In terms of his usage, it’s not unusual… but it’s not extraordinary either.

He should have been the most used player by his coach because he’s the team’s offensive motor.

Demidov finished the season as the SKA’s top scorer in Saint-Petersburg and Rotenberg wasn’t able to give him the ice time he deserved.

At least the team’s season is over. It was about time…

Extension

Obviously, we have to remember that Ivan Demidov’s contract with the SKA ends on May 31st.

The habs prospect is still tied to the team until then… and he will be able to sign his entry-level contract in the NHL starting on June 1st.