Canadiens Daily
Habs Daily: Demidov’s Great Debut, Playoff Odds, Referee Blunder
Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Monday.
Montreal Canadiens News
Top prospect Ivan Demidov did not waste any time making an impact. The talented forward set up an Alex Newhook goal during his second shift in the NHL, and then followed it up with a great goal a few minutes later. [MUST SEE: Ivan Demidov Scores First NHL Goal]
The good news is that Demidov hit the ground running, the bad news is that the Canadiens had an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth, and they failed to do so, again. When you consider their opponents, the Chicago Blackhawks, have struggled all year, Monday was the epitome of a disappointing result. [Montreal Canadiens Waste Fantastic Ivan Demidov Debut]
The Habs did not deserve to win, however, the referees made a mistake when they failed to recognize Frank Nazar’s shootout goal. Just like in regulation, any goal review must take place before the play resumes. In this case, Patrik Laine had already failed on his shootout attempt before the referees reviewed the play. [Referee Mistake Creates Chaos In Crucial Canadiens Shootout]
Okay, let’s get down to brass tacks.
No, wait, playoff odds. That’s the ticket.
With the shootout loss, the Canadiens playoff odds dropped to 93.2 percent. The Columbus Blue Jackets are sitting at 6.8 percent, as they would have to win both their remaining games in regulation, and hope the Habs fail to register a point in the final game of the year to nab the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. In other words, the Habs are still heavily favoured to make the playoffs, but they’re also dead set on making it as difficult as possible. [Money Puck]
After the Eastern games tonight https://t.co/RbnckCLHNP pic.twitter.com/MC76PCsJdM
— MoneyPuck.com (@MoneyPuckdotcom) April 15, 2025
National Hockey Now Network
The NHLs Department of Player Safety has suspended New Jersey Devils forward Paul Cotter for two games following an illegal check to New York Islanders defenceman, Paul Cotter. [New Jersey Devils]
There are a lot of things to do on a nice Sunday afternoon in the spring. Playing hockey apparently was one of the possibilities that the Pittsburgh Penguins did not seriously consider. [Colorado Avalanche]
The Boston Bruins have a long list of issues to fix this upcoming offseason. But more than anything else, they need to find more players outside of David Pastrnak who can generate offence. [Boston Bruins]
