Surprise: Ivan Demidov will be on the first line of SKA today

Dose
Crédit:

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.

And in that game, Ivan Demidov was limited to 7:41 of ice time. In the context where the club was unable to generate offense, it was a strange observation.

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.

– Good news.

– The Dallas Stars can qualify for the playoffs as early as tonight.