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Habs Daily: Demidov’s Ice time, Newhook’s Top Line Stats, Laine

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montreal canadiens forward ivan demidov

All the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Tuesday.



Montreal Canadiens

Top prospect Ivan Demidov turned 19 yesterday, and while there’s no doubt he’s still the most talented player in the team’s prospect pool, the ice time issue has resurfaced in the KHL. Demidov has been kept under 10 minutes of ice time since November 11, and has only produced one assist in that stretch.

Despite the ridiculous usage, he’s still on pace for a very good season, but it’s hard to get excited about SKA games when Demidov is being used sparingly. The good news is that he only signed a one-year contract, which means he’s free to sign his ELC and join the organization this summer.

Last season, Juraj Slafkovsky was the only winger who yielded solid results on the top line while playing alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, but their encouraging stats fell apart in 2024-25. Now that Alex Newhook has had a chance to play with the top trio, the possession numbers have improved significantly, which is a surprise given Newhook’s usual numbers with the Habs.

With the first line firing on all cylinders, head coach Martin St-Louis can afford to give the second line more time to build chemistry. [Habs Analysis: Comparing Slafkovsky And Newhook On Top Line]

The fact that Patrik Laine immediately started scoring goals in a Canadiens uniform has been a great story, but it pales in comparison to his return to play after missing almost en entire season, which has seems to have made the greatest impact on his mental health situation.

Canadiens starter Samuel Montembeault mentioned the whole Team Canada situation weighed heavily on his mind. He’s been lights out ever since he was told he’d represent his country at the 4 Nations Faceoff.

National Hockey Now Network

For the second time this season, a player on the Pittsburgh Penguins bench has been forced to leave the game after being struck in the head by an errant puck. Penguins backup goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was minding his own business when a dump-in attempt went awry. [Pittsburgh Penguins]

Brandon Montour and Josh Mahura went out to dinner with their former Florida Panthers teammates Monday night in Seattle — and left the restaurant with their Stanley Cup championship rings. [Florida Panthers]

When the Grand Rapids Griffins suffered from the Red Wings’ lack of goaltending depth a couple of seasons ago, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman made it his mission to begin stockpiling younger goalie prospects. [Detroit Red Wings]