Martin St-Louis had no choice but to insert Ivan Demidov into his lineup

It’s confirmed: Ivan Demidov will play his first game with the Canadiens tonight at the Centre Bell, against Artyom Levshunov and Connor Bedard.

He will play with guys and use Bauer sticks because his new agreement with Warrior Hockey was signed a few weeks ago, but it will only come into effect in 2025-26. Whatever.

Demidov took part in the morning skate this morning at the Centre Bell with his new teammates and we now know that he will play alongside Alex Newhook and Joel Armia tonight (according to the Canadiens themselves, on the third line). Patrik Laine will play with Jake Evans and Oliver Kapanen on the fourth line. #SpecialistOfThePowerplay

Joshua Roy, Emil Heineman, and Michael Pezzetta will be the healthy scratches.

Pezzetta, Roy, and Heineman are healthy scratches.

The Suzuki and Dvorak lines remain unchanged

— Anthony Marcotte (@anthonymarcotte) April 14, 2025

Martin St-Louis had no choice but to play him
About two years ago, Martin St-Louis had to play Sean Farrell at the end of the season, probably because there was a deal between his agent and Kent Hughes. We could sense in his answers to journalists that not dressing Farrell was not an option for MSL.

“Ask the other guy upstairs.” – Martin St-Louis on Sean Farrell two years ago, kind of…

Except that in Demidov’s case, it’s not for the same reasons that the coach has no choice but to use him tonight. It’s the talent of the guy that doesn’t give Martin St-Louis a choice. Regardless of whether there was an agreement with Demidov’s agent or not…

The Canadiens have just played four games in which the offense has struggled. Imagine if the team, which needs to get two points tonight to confirm its place in the playoffs, had a fifth anemic game offensively… and Demidov was watching from the press gallery at the Centre Bell! The Canadiens cannot afford to lose this game tonight.

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15

These are the shots on goal by the Habs in their last four games.

The offensive leaders will have to start being more dangerous again.

In the playoffs, against the best team in the East, it will take more shots.

(If we can finally…

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— Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) April 14, 2025

“But Max, Demidov could be a distraction. He could hurt, more than help!”

I’ll tell you that if there is a distraction, it’s already there since his arrival in Canada on Thursday evening. And the Canadiens have just played two games of poor quality where no one seemed up to par (except maybe Jakub Dobes)…

Given this, you’re just as well off trying to turn the “distraction” into motivation and extra talent. The crowd at the Centre Bell will be behind the team like never before tonight, and that could allow the team to clinch their playoff spot against a team that will have several absent players tonight. #BiggestGameOfTheYear

Anyway, it’s not like Michael Pezzetta and Joshua Roy are very useful on the ice right now…

You know what? If Martin St-Louis and Kent Hughes are capable of having important discussions with their captain to gauge the mood of the locker room regarding the trade deadline, I’m pretty sure they did the same thing regarding Demidov’s integration.

The Habs have been a team of streaks this season. Several wins, followed by several losses, followed by several wins, followed by several losses…

Since Demidov can help his new team avoid a long slump, the coach couldn’t afford to deprive himself of him. That’s it. Especially since the team has been struggling to score the first goal for weeks…

Go Habs Go!

Overtime

– I’m looking forward to seeing the coach use Arber Xhekaj too, but that’s another story…

– The Canadiens will play their most important game in four years tonight. No pressure, Ivan…

– I was thinking about this… and I wonder if Lane Hutson will be able to have a playoff beard, if the team manages to qualify for the playoffs.

– I was told that Lane Hutson spent the season showing highlights of Ivan Demidov to his teammates in the locker room. He’s the player who’s happiest about Demidov’s arrival, from what I’m told. He thinks he has a new teammate who sees the game at the same level as him (and Martin St-Louis, notably).