Demidov And SKA St. Petersburg's First Round Opponent Revealed

The KHL season ended on Sunday, and essential matches were played that impacted the final standings and the playoff matchups. As a result, Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov and his teammates with SKA St. Petersburg will be taking on the Dynamo Moscow starting March 27.

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The two sides faced each other six times during the regular season, and to say the Dynamo dominated would be an understatement. St. Petersburg won a single game, and it needed overtime. Throughout the duels, Moscow outscored SKA 21-14.

In those six games, Demidov registered three points, all assists, including one on the overtime game-winner in SKA’s only triumph. Just like in the NHL, the first round is a best-of-seven. Game two is set for March 29, game three for March 31, and game four, the earliest Demidov’s playoffs, could end if his team is swept on April 2nd.

As previously mentioned, Canadiens fans shouldn’t get overexcited at the thought since the prospect’s contract with SKA only ends at the end of May. Once and if SKA is eliminated, Demidov could even be assigned to its team in the lower league SKA-1946 to help chase the Kharlamov Cup. As explained by Marco D’Amico in a recent article for RG.org, sending him back to a league he completely dominated would be puzzling.

Usually, such a move is made to help a youngster improve, but Demidov has little, if anything, left to learn at the MHL level. To me, it would be exposing a young, promising player to unnecessary risks. As hockey is a physical sport, injuries are always possible, and while SKA could claim they only want to improve their odds of winning another MHL level, it would undoubtedly look like a spiteful move.

St. Petersburg’s brass has repeatedly tried to sign Demidov to an extension multiple times during the season, but the skilled forward has always refused. Given that SKA is unlikely to terminate his contract even if they are eliminated, it probably would be in Demidov’s best interest to go far in the KHL playoffs and perform in a challenging environment.

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