Canadiens Daily
Habs Daily: Laval Rocket Surge, Demidov Praise, Playoff Watch,
Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on the weekend.
Montreal Canadiens News
Montreal’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, have officially finished the season as the top team in the North Division, the Eastern Conference, and the entire league. This means the Rocket will have a bye in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs, which involves a best-of-three series for some of the teams that are (much) lower than Laval in the standings.
The Rocket will wait to see whether the Toronto Marlies or the Cleveland Monsters will emerge to face them in the second round.[The Laval Rocket Are Building Something Special In The AHL]
brb, framing this #CalderCup Playoffs picture.
🖼️: https://t.co/OH5Bp0wpDB… pic.twitter.com/gP5g94l7re
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) April 20, 2025
ICYMI: Part One of our Capitals first-round series preview covered a lot of ground, including the schedule, each team’s key stats, a quick history lesson, and more. [Canadiens – Capitals Series Preview: Schedule, Key Stats, History]
ICYMI: Part Two of our Washington Capitals first-round series preview is available, including the X-Factors that could end up benefiting the Montreal Canadiens as they face one of the best teams in the league. One of those X-Factors happens to be the late-season addition of talented prospect Ivan Demidov to the lineup. [Canadiens – Capitals Series Preview: Top-5 X-Factors, Storylines]
Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery had great things to say about rookie Ivan Demidov. [Canadiens Forward Ivan Demidov Impresses Beyond Points]
Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery today on Ivan Demidov:
“It’s challenging (to prepare for him)…because you don’t have a lot of film on him, we haven’t seen him a lot…The two things I saw while watching him: one is that he’s one of those players where the moment, you… pic.twitter.com/DVHRwLFNhz
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) April 21, 2025
Keep an eye out for Game One’s playoff preview, which will be out once we can confirm the lineups, but in the meantime, enjoy this Canadiens playoff pump-up video.
This is an awesome Habs playoff hype video by the talented @GregoryHamel_ 🔥
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) April 20, 2025
Sunday Playoff Watch
The Toronto Maple Leafs opened up their series against the Ottawa Senators with a 6-2 win. The Senators outshot Toronto 33-24, however, it was Toronto that quickly built a lead in the first period and never looked back.
OEL BBY!!!!!@Rogers | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/ulQJ3w2rN1
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 20, 2025
The Carolina Hurricanes easily dispatched the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4-1. Newcomer Logan Stankoven scored twice for Carolina.
GIVE IT UP FOR THE ROOKIE pic.twitter.com/2t5Grx5iqW
— x – Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 20, 2025
The Vegas Golden Knights also got off to a great start, and were leading the Minnesota Wild 3-1 midway through the third period.
THE FIRST #StanleyCup PLAYOFF GOAL OF HIS CAREER!!!!! 🚪 pic.twitter.com/RGLgJtR0x7
— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 21, 2025
National Hockey Now Network
The honours just keep coming for Detroit Red Wings draft pick Dmitri Buchelnikov. He has been named MVP for his KHL club Vityaz. [Detroit Red Wings]
The last time Seth Jones played in a playoff game, it was in a near-empty building in Toronto. [Florida Panthers]
The NHL suspended Florida Panthers forward Jesse Puljujarvi two games for his hit to the head on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mitchell Chaffee. [Colorado Avalanche]
