Surprise: Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov won’t be playing in Ottawa either

Félix Forget
Surprise: Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov won’t be playing in Ottawa either
Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images

This morning, we learned that Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov won't be playing at the Bell Centre tonight. It was a bit surprising, but there was still a chance we might see both of them play in Ottawa.

Because, let's not forget, once again, the Habs will be playing two games at the same time tonight: one in Montreal and the other in Ottawa.

So we were waiting to see what the team's lineup would look like in Ottawa… and it's quite surprising to see that the two young players just aren't there. Martin St-Louis has confirmed that the two players won't be playing tonight.

Because, in fact, all of the team's regulars (except for those two) will be playing tonight. Many of them will be playing in Montreal, and the rest will be in Ottawa.

Zachary Bolduc, Oliver Kapanen, Kirby Dach, Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj, David Reinbacher, and Jakub Dobes, among others, will make the trip. All the other regulars will be in Montreal.

So, of course, one has to wonder what's going on with Hutson and Demidov. It's not impossible that Demidov is still a bit bothered by his injury and that the team is playing it safe… but in Hutson's case, there's no indication that he's injured.

If that's the case, we obviously have to hope it's nothing serious.

One might also wonder if the Habs wanted to avoid playing both guys against the Senators, given that games between the two teams often tend to get out of hand. Maybe they want to avoid one of the two guys falling victim to a dirty play, much like Nick Cousins' stick check on Demidov during a preseason game last year.

The most important thing is that they're ready for Tuesday, you know. And if they're carrying any minor injuries, it's better to avoid having them get taken out by some guy looking to make a name for himself.


Overtime

It's worth noting that for Ottawa, the plan is for Jakub Dobes to play the entire game tonight. Kaapo Kahkönen, who will be his backup, is therefore not expected to play.

Remember that in Montreal, Samuel Montembeault and Jacob Fowler will split time in goal in what will likely be their last chance to win the #2 goalie spot for the Habs.

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