Demidov’s thrilling debut adds to buzz of Canadiens’ playoff chase

MONTREAL -- It’s an undeniable fact that there’s a lightness in the step of Montrealers when their Canadiens are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Well, instead of walking on air, as this town was doing after one period Monday, it is now shuffling gingerly across eggshells, the team’s bid to qualify for the postseason perhaps down to Game 82 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; RDS, SN1, SNE, SNO, FDSNSO).

If you want to see an entire city having an anxiety attack, this is the place.

The Canadiens squandered a third opportunity to nail down the second wild card from the Eastern Conference, their 2-0 first-period lead evaporating in what would be a 4-3 shootout loss to the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.

Their postseason fate remains in their hands, but it’s not a firm grip. That the Canadiens have lost three straight is doing nothing to boost confidence.

To advance, Montreal will need just one point against the Hurricanes or for the Columbus Blue Jackets to not win each of their remaining two games in regulation, starting with their game Tuesday at the Philadelphia Flyers and concluding against the New York Islanders on Thursday.

Never in franchise history have the Canadiens failed to make the playoffs four years in a row, twice failing three seasons consecutively: 1999-2001 and 2022-24. It’s a record they don’t want to set.

“I wouldn’t say it’s pressure,” captain Nick Suzuki said of the Canadiens having been unable to lock down their playoff spot. “We’ve just been battling all these games, playing big games down the stretch. They all feel pretty much the same.”

Full marks to the Blackhawks. Eliminated from postseason contention, they arrived inspired to play and clawed back to tie the game 2-2 after 40 minutes, went up 3-2 early in the third then pushed to the shootout win after the Canadiens tied it 3-3 with 2:57 remaining.

At stake on Monday was a playoff berth and a date with the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference First Round, but remarkably, in a brighter spotlight, was the NHL debut of forward Ivan Demidov.

This first period would have the fingerprints of Demidov over much of it if he hadn’t shown a sleight of hockey hand unseen here in a long while.

The 19-year-old from Sergiyev Posad, Russia, turned Bell Centre into an open-air arena. First, he lifted the roof off the building with a dazzling assist -- the announcement of his first point drew a louder cheer than that for accorded goal-scorer Alex Newhook -- then he reduced the place to rubble 7:32 later with his first NHL goal, chasing a dump-in off the end boards before sweeping in front of goalie Arvid Soderblom to score on a backhand.

“It’s crazy, you know?” Demidov told a huge media scrum at his locker after the game. “I feel the fans love me. It’s cool, it’s amazing.”

On a personal perspective, the game went: “Probably well. I got some good stuff today from the game. It’s a pretty nice experience. I think the first two period were good, but probably the third period I was just tired a little bit from the flight (Thursday from Europe to Toronto), jet lag. If we win, I’d say it’s a good game.”

The first confirmed cases of 2025 Demidov Fever were felt in this city last Tuesday with the surprise announcement that he was soon to join the Canadiens from SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey Leagu.

They grew a short while later when general manager Kent Hughes declared that the Canadiens had agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with Demidov, the No. 5 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Cases multiplied dramatically Thursday when fans tracked Demidov's flight from Turkey to Toronto, with dozens of fans in hot pursuit as a hockey player/rock star emerged through Canada customs at Pearson Airport with a smile, luggage and a bundle of sticks.

Not to suggest that the player’s impending arrival had some hyperventilating, but an 80-minute “Demidov Watch” live-streamed by camera phone climaxed with his three-minute walk through the airport to a chartered van, escorted by assistant general manager John Sedgwick, airport security and police with autograph-seekers frantically scrambling behind.

You’ve probably seen steadier footage of an earthquake.

On Saturday morning, probably still a bit jet-lagged, Demidov stepped onto Scotiabank Arena ice for a Canadiens optional skate, playfully ushered onto the rink by defenseman Arber Xhekaj hours before that night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was shown on the national telecast of the game sitting in an arena suite beside Jeff Gorton, the team’s executive vice president of hockey operations.

The following morning, a day off for the Canadiens, Demidov was on the ice at the suburban training facility, skating with defenseman Lane Hutson and Xhekaj.

By Monday, Demidov Fever was an epidemic. With a federal election two weeks away in Canada, candidate-style posters of Demidov were suddenly appearing around Montreal among those of the real candidates, in fact a promotion by the player’s equipment supplier.

“Demidov: There For The Canadiens,” they read in French.

For 20 minutes Monday, Bell Centre was rocking at full-bore playoff volume. But the Blackhawks shoved a stick in the spokes of the celebration in the second period and weathered renewed life in the building when the Canadiens forced overtime and the shootout.

“[Chicago] came in and wanted to not let us clinch our spot,” Suzuki said. “I thought we played decent overall. We could have won the game but now we move on.”

Again, with Montreal holding its breath for another day at least.