Roman Rotenberg would have had Ivan Demidov play him

Ahh, dear Roman Rotenberg…

Roman Rotenberg, SKA’s KHL coach, can be blamed for a lot of things. But in the playoffs, when he needed to see his club score goals, he played Ivan Demidov.

On average, the Russian played over 17 minutes per game in the Russian playoffs.

But of course, as you can see, it’s a different story in the NHL. After playing 11:57 on Monday, he got just 12:50 of playing time tonight in his team’s 3-1 loss.

Was he the particular target? Not necessarily.

After all, when you look at the guys’ playing time, it’s clear that Nick Suzuki’s trio and Christian Dvorak’s ate up most of the minutes on the ice.

There’s an imbalance in the forwards’ playing time that’s quite different from that of the Capitals, let’s say.

It’s all very well to talk about Patrik Laine (who doesn’t seem to mind the playoffs…) not jumping on the ice in the third, Emil Heineman getting two appearances in the third or Joel Armia getting one chance in the final period, but….

But Ivan Demidov could have played a bit more. It’s not the first time we’ve said that since his arrival in Montreal, anyway.

An easy example that comes to mind? Why, at the end of a six-on-five game, didn’t Laine Demidov take Laine’s place when the club was looking for a goal?

Why were Christian Dvorak and Brendan Gallagher there?

Dvorak AND Gallagher taking Demidov’s place at the end of the game when the CH needed a goal… it’s hard to explain.

You have to trust your best offensive players in important moments. And Demidov has the talent to help offensively.

We know that.

– Marc-Olivier Cook (@Cook_Marco) April 24, 2025

As for the rest of the game, it’s understandable since the trio they form with Josh Anderson was indispensable. It seems that way when veterans set foot in the playoffs, doesn’t it?

But at the end of a game like that, when he’d played well beforehand? It’s hard to understand.

I know Demidov isn’t the club’s savior. But the club only had 12 shots on goal after 40 minutes (he finished with 26, six less than the Caps) and he needed to score.

A savior could have helped… if he’d been placed in conditions to help the club.

extension

Patrik Laine must have been banged up on the bench when he didn’t play in the third period. He must also have flipped when he saw that, at six against five, he didn’t get his chance to play.

But the man who doesn’t mind facing Alex Ovechkin was clearly not in his coach’s good graces.

“I went with 9-10 players I thought could help our cause” – Martin St-Louis on Patrik Laine’s 3rd-period withdrawal

– Anthony Marcotte (@anthonymarcotte) April 24, 2025