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Habs Wrap: Demidov Impresses, Carrier Trade Impact, Playoffs

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MONTREAL — There’s always Montreal Canadiens news to be had on a daily basis, but there are only so many hours in a day. On Sundays, we recap the most exciting and relevant NHL news stories that you may have missed throughout the week so that you can stay in the Canadiens loop.



Monday

Patrik Laine scored the overtime winner, as the Canadiens overcame four different one-goal deficits to complete an entertaining playoff-style come-from-behind win. Nick Suzuki, Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak, and Juraj Slafkovsky also scored, while rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes maintained his perfect record (5-0) in the NHL. The game also featured a heavyweight tilt between Arber Xhekaj and Matt Rempe, resulting in yet another loss for the awkward Rangers forward.  [Habs Highlights: Xhekaj Fights Rempe, Canadiens Resiliency]

Lost in all the excitement of Sunday’s win was a pair of crucial saves by Dobes in overtime.

Dobes was playing in his first game at the Bell Centre. He was clearly impressed with the support from the home crowd.


On Friday we discussed the call-up options from the AHL, and while Jared Davidson would have been a good fit to replace Michael Pezzetta in the lineup, the Canadiens opted to recall cerebral forward Owen Beck instead. Beck quickly established himself as a trustworthy player for Pascal Vincent’s Laval Rocket, and he is probably the most logical choice when it comes to plug-and-play options from the farm. [Montreal Canadiens Call-Up Options From The Laval Rocket]

The Habs played reasonably well on Saturday, but a complete meltdown led to seven straight goals by the Toronto Maple Leafs. [Habs Highlights: Montembeault Vs. Dobes Debate Resurfaces]

Top prospect Jacob Fowler had an awful weekend in the NCAA. No, I’m just joking, Fowler doesn’t have bad weekends. He started off with a shutout win over Providence, the 7th ranked team in the country, and followed it up by saving 30 of the 31 shots he faced the following day versus the same opponent. Fowler is currently sporting a 15-3-1 record, as well as a sparkling .938 save percentage.

Tuesday

Seeing as goaltender Jakub Dobes was yet to lose through five career starts, Habs fans were split whether the rookie should be given the start on Tuesday versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. At the time of scheduling this article, 49 percent of fans want to see Dobes start, whereas 40 percent still consider Montembeault the go-to goaltender.

If I had to guess, I’d suggest Martin St-Louis won’t undercut his starter, which is still Samuel Montembeault, but there is a conversation to be had if Dobes keeps trending upwards.

The prevailing thoughts on both sides of the coin are clear. Montembeault deserves a longer runway, even if he’s not playing up to his potential at the moment, and Dobes deserves the starts because the Habs are in a playoff hunt and there’s no room for error.

While we can frame this as a controversy, but in reality it’s much closer to a (very) good problem. Having two capable goaltenders is a boon, not a curse. If Montembeault falters further, Dobes is there to pick up the slack, and the same would be true if the roles were reversed.

Speaking of Dobes, his father is in town, allowing him to reconnect, not to mention discuss his perfect 5-0 record in the NHL.


The Habs are scoring more often, but not every player has improved his scoring pace this season. The first line has certainly done its part, with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki leading the charge among forwards. [Canadiens Trends: Which Forwards Are Scoring More Or Less Often]

There was some bad news on the farm. Joshua Roy, the Laval Rocket’s leading scorer, will miss four to six weeks with an upper-body injury. Defenceman William Trudeau will also a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury.

Roy was set to represent the Rocket at the All-Star Game, and it remains to be seen if another member of the organization will join Logan Mailloux for the All-Star Weekend. Owen Beck is currently with the Habs, but there’s a chance he’ll be back in the AHL by the time the festivities kick off in early February. If Beck is not named as a replacement, both Adam Engstrom and Jared Davidson become logical choices.

Wednesday

Top prospect Ivan Demidov put on a show as SKA beat Lokomotiv 5-2. The 19-year-old phenom scored one of his nicest goals of the season, which is saying something because he’s becoming a human highlight-reel.

His goal featured a fantastic drive to the net that left defenders in his dust, not to mention the presence of mind by Demidov to use his left leg to block a last moment desperation stick check.

He also made an excellent pass to assist on Sergei Plotnikov’s game-opening powerplay goal.

With the two-point effort, Demidov now has 16 goals and 21 assists in 45 games, which is even more impressive when you consider he spent a significant portion of the season in the bottom-six, receiving minimal ice time.

Speaking of Russian prospects, Bogdan Konyushkov is still logging a ridiculously impressive amount of ice time for Torpedo.


The Tampa Bay Lightning were the better team on Tuesday night, but veteran netminder Samuel Montembeault put on a show, stopping 33 of the 35 shots sent his way, including 19 (!) high-danger saves.

A late-game push, including goals from Juraj Salfkovsky, Alex Newhook, and Jake Evans rewarded Montembeault for his solid work, and secured yet another impressive comeback win for the Habs. [Habs Highlights: Montembeault Shines In Big Comeback Win]

Cat Toffoli, Julie Petry, and Angela Price discussed the Canadiens’ exciting run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.


Patrick Laine was taken aback by the immediate support from Montreal Canadiens fans.

Thursday

The Montreal Canadiens roster is a puzzle that’s coming together nicely, as evidenced by the fact that they’re among the hottest teams in the NHL. And while most will point to the addition of Alexandre Carrier as the key reason why the Canadiens are a better team this year, he is but one (important) piece of the puzzle.

Trading for Carrier did give head coach Martin St-Louis more options on the back-end, not to mention a stabilizing presence on what is usually a very chaotic blue line. [How The Alex Carrier Trade Improved Lane Hutson Stats On Top Pairing]

The new QMJHL team based in Newfoundland will reveal its name and logo on Thursday. [Station Nation]

The Ohio State Buckeyes beat Notre Dame for the NCAA football championship, which means Jakub Dobes won his bet, and Jake Evans was forced to wear the wrong colours.

It wasn’t an optional practice on Wednesday, but rather a non-optimal practice, as several Habs players were not available, including Kaiden Guhle and Patrik Laine.

Two Canadiens prospects developing in the NCAA, Jacob Fowler (Boston College Eagles) and Michael Hage (University of Michigan) are in the running for the Hobey Baker award, given to the top collegiate player.

Friday

Thanks to a significant uptick in wins, the Montreal Canadiens have cracked the NHL’s Super 16 for the first time this season.


The Habs have been on quite the tear lately, but Thursday was one of their more difficult games of the season. While there’s a tendency to point fingers at individuals after poor performances, the loss to the Red Wings was the result of an entire team missing the mark. The Canadiens are back in action on Saturday, facing the New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre. It remains to be seen who Martin St-Louis will turn to, veteran Samuel Montembeault or rookie Jakub Dobes, but given the recent trends it’s safe to say Dobes is due for a start.  [NHL Escrow News To Make Canadiens Tweak Offseason Plans]

Lane Hutson’s mother, Julie, spoke about the excellent start to her son’s NHL career, including how his humble approach tends to yield great results.

Thursday’s game featured three different milestones, with both Patrik Laine and Christian Dvorak hitting the 500-game mark. Brendan Gallagher reached 800 games, which is impressive for a bevy of reasons. Not only did he surpass expectations for the majority of his career, he also did it with just one organization, a feat that’s becoming quite rare in the salary-cap era.


Ivan Demidov was held scoreless in SKA’s 5-3 loss to Dynamo, and I have to admit it was one of the weaker performances I’ve seen from the talented prospect. That being said, the bar is rather high in his case, and I’d be lying if I said he looked bad.

With 16 goals and 21 assists in 46 games, Demidov trails just Sergei Plotnikov (21G, 20A) for the team lead in scoring.

Saturday

The Habs assigned defenceman Jayden Struble to the AHL. He will join the Laval Rocket for a conditioning loan, which means he gets to spend up to 14 days in the AHL, which will equate to four Rocket games.

Even though the prevailing narrative is that Jayden Struble has struggled this season, the truth is that he only struggled alongside one particular defensive partner. Coincidentally, or not, everyone that has played alongside David Savard has had a hard time producing decent numbers. But when Struble played alongside anyone else, including Arber Xhekaj, the results immediately improved. [Finding A Role For Canadiens Defenceman Jayden Struble]

The Canadiens are fighting for a playoff spot with several other Eastern Conference teams, which means it’s time to take a look at the famous strength of schedule (SOS). Unlike previous seasons, which featured a very difficult SOS down the stretch, 2024-25’s schedule is much kinder to the Habs, and should help them when it comes to earning a Wild Card berth. [Canadiens Playoff Odds Impacted By NHL Strength Of Schedule]

With Jacob Markstrom on the mend, it appears Jake Allen will face his former team as the Canadiens play the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.

Prospect Sam Harris won a National Championship with Denver last year, and he’s enjoyed a huge uptick in scoring this season.

He had 14 goals and 7 assists in 42 games last year, whereas he has 13 goals and six assists in 21 games this season.

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