Skip to content
Your daily dose of hockey
News

Practice: Ivan Demidov still on the second powerplay unit
Félix Forget
Practice: Ivan Demidov still on the second powerplay unit
Credit: Getty Images
This morning, the Canadiens were practicing in Brossard in preparation for their first-round series against the Capitals.

For once, we’re talking about practice and not the lottery at this stage of the year for the Habs…

And of course, we were keeping a close eye on things, including Ivan Demidov. Yesterday, hearing Martin St-Louis mention the young Russian as a possible option on the first powerplay unit, was intriguing…

But apparently, it will have to wait for another day: according to colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois, who is in Brossard this morning with colleague Marc-Olivier Cook, the two powerplay units have not been changed.

Demidov is still on the second unit.

We recall that for nine games, the Habs’ powerplay has only one goal in 20 attempts. Patrik Laine’s shots, responsible for a ton of powerplay goals this season, are no longer going in… and for a team that has been so dependent on them all season, they can’t find other ways to score with the man advantage.

Well, we may have found one when a puck accidentally deflected off Juraj Slafkovský against the Blackhawks on Monday… but it will take more than that.

Demidov, who has already shown a ton of offensive creativity since his arrival, was seen as a possible solution to all this. It would have taken moving a big gun from the club to make room for him, but it could have been worth it.

However, Martin St-Louis seems to be saving that card for later. He is trusting his current units… and we can hope that the first unit will finally break through.

Otherwise, we can also hope that Demidov will make sparks on the second unit… but one thing is certain: the Habs will have to capitalize on their powerplay opportunities in a series where they are the underdog. And we can think that St-Louis passed that message on to his players this morning.


In Overtime

– Note that during practice, Samuel Montembeault did some solo work with Éric Raymond, who had him practice his movements when a player is behind his net.

– Let’s hope that helps them contain Alex Ovechkin.

– David Savard is having fun.

– Miro Heiskanen is approaching a return. He won’t play tonight, though.

– Matthew Tkachuk seems to be in shape.

– Interesting.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!
More Content