Demidov Back In Rotenberg’s Good Grace
After riding the pine all game long on Thursday, Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Ivan Demidov was back in SKA St. Petersburg’s coach Roman Rotenberg’s good grace. Deployed on the second line alongside former Buffalo Sabres’ first-round pick Mikhail Grigorenko and multiple times Gagarin Cup champion Sergei Plotnikov, the right winger spent 21:32 on the ice, in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Dynamo Msk.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Rotenberg said he wanted the youngster to work more for the team and that a player who scores 30 goals but ends his season at minus-five is not great. His minus-three rating in SKA’s 7-2 defeat against Spartak put the team’s best scorer in the doghouse.
Unfortunately for Rotenberg, though, his team fell behind 2-0 within 5 minutes and 30 seconds of the game's start after taking two penalties. SKA was able to stop the hemorrhage and worked hard to get back into the game, they scored with just under 17 minutes gone in the second frame to come back within one and Demidov got the primary assist on the play, even though he wasn’t the principal architect of the goal, he was just at the right place when the defenseman cut his teammate’s attempted pass, but he still had to get the puck to Marat Khairullin for the goal.
Demidov created some scoring chances in the final frame, but try as they may, Rotenberg’s men couldn’t muster another goal and suffered a fourth consecutive defeat. He ended his night with four shots on goal, one point, and two blocked shots a sign of his commitment to playing a team game.
There are now only seven games left in SKA’s regular season calendar. Despite the skid, they are still on course to make the playoffs, but limping into the Spring dance is rarely a sign of good things to come.
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
