Good thing Ivan Demidov is here

Last night, it wasn’t easy for the Canadiens, who lost 5-4 to the mighty Flyers.

We agree that Samuel Montembeault’s performance is at the heart of the story. But we also agree that the eye test reminds us that the whole club has been in the bag.

Monty was almost one of his team’s best yesterday, thanks to his mid-game performance.

But in between a lot of bad performances, we have to point out that a few guys stood up during the game. Kirby Dach is a name that springs to mind, thanks to his two goals.

Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky and company also had their moments when it mattered. But once again, the player who really stands out is Ivan Demidov. It’s a good thing he’s here.

On the powerplay, he found a superb passing line to set up Nick Suzuki’s goal. The usual.

But what’s new is that he also trusted his powerplay shooting. We know he’s got talent, and he showed it with a heavy shot.